COLORADO AVALANCHE: MacKinnon gets assist in 6-3 loss to Capitals

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) and Washington Capitals left wing Conor Sheary (73) compete for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

by: Colleen Flynn

Posted: Oct 19, 2021 / 08:04 PM MDT

Updated: Oct 19, 2021 / 08:04 PM MDT

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WASHINGTON (KDVR) — Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon earned an assist in his season debut 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.

MacKinnon returned to the team after being on COVID-19 protocol for a week when he tested positive on Oct. 12. He missed the first two games of the season.

J.T. Compher scored an unassisted goal in the first period to get the Avalanche on the board, and got an assist on Mikko Rantanen’s third period score. Darren Helm scored his first goal as an Avalanche member in the second period with assists from Logan O’Connor and Bowen Byram.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice for the Capitals and the team got goals from Nick Jensen, Anthony Mantha, Nic Dowd and Alex Ovechkin.

The Capitals outshot the Avalanche 39-27 and MacKinnon was minus 5 for the game.

Next up, the Avalanche face off against the Florida Panthers on Thursday. The Cats beat the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Lightning on Tuesday.