Nathan MacKinnon thought back to the Colorado Avalanche's struggles last season and couldn't help but chuckle. "We were out of the (playoff chase) with 30 games left," he said. Thanks in part to MacKinnon, it's a much different story this season. MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Semyon Varlamov stopped 44 shots and the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Thursday night. read more http://www.espn.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400962691
