DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and Valeri Nichushkin netted his second NHL hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Wednesday night for their ninth straight win.
MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to reach 400 goals and first to score them all for the Avalanche. Joe Sakic had 625 goals, the first 233 coming with the Quebec Nordiques before the team moved to Colorado. Michel Goulet is second in club history with 456, all for Quebec.
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Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington cools down during a time out in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, right, allows in a goal on a shot by Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon celebrates as he skates back to the team box after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, back, shoots the puck at St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
MacKinnon, who added two assists, leads the NHL with 34 goals. His 70 points were tied with Edmonton star Connor McDavid for most in the league.
Nichushkin scored twice during a four-goal barrage in the first 4:39 of the game and finished with three goals. Brock Nelson scored later on a power play for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 12 shots.
Colorado has won 15 straight at home, where it is 17-0-2, and has just two regulation losses (30-2-7) this season. The Avalanche’s 69 points tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the most through 39 games.
Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on the first eight shots he faced and finished with 37 saves. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for St. Louis, which has dropped two straight. The Blues' 13 shots on goal were a season low.
Nichushkin made it 1-0 a minute in, and MacKinnon scored his first of the game at 3:13. Nichushkin got his second of the night 13 seconds later, and MacKinnon’s slap shot 1:13 after that capped the early scoring.
It was the fastest four goals to start a game in franchise history and third in NHL history.
Nelson, who got his 300th career assist on Nichushkin’s first goal, scored midway through the game. Nichushkin scored 1:34 after Dvorsky spoiled Blackwood's shutout bid with his sixth of the season.
Blues: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.
Avalanche: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington cools down during a time out in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, right, allows in a goal on a shot by Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon celebrates as he skates back to the team box after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, back, shoots the puck at St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENYSHI, Ukraine (AP) — Atop a steep granite cliff overlooking a river about two hours' drive west of Kyiv, hundreds of people pitched tents on a festival camping ground. By day, they climbed the rock face, swam in a nearby reservoir or enjoyed stand-up paddling. As evening fell, live bands and DJs took over the stage as rock and electronic music drifted through the forest.
The Stoned Climbers festival, which took place last week in the Zhytomyr region, is Ukraine’s biggest outdoors event combining climbing and live music. Like many public events in wartime Ukraine, the festival blended ordinary leisure with reminders that the war is never far away.
Visitors received multiple air raid alert notifications on their phones throughout the weekend. Soldiers on leave quietly blended into the crowd, while organizers directed all profits from this year’s festival to a fundraising initiative supporting Ukraine’s Azov Brigade. Unlike last year, however, no Russian drones or missiles crossed the sky above the campsite on their way toward Kyiv.
The volunteer-run festival was launched in 2023 by about 15 friends who had spent more than a year climbing together after becoming fascinated by Yosemite’s climbing culture.
The U.S. national park has long been regarded as one of the birthplaces of modern rock climbing, where climbers built a counterculture around sleeping in tents, living out of vans and spending months on the granite walls of the valley.
“We realized climbing could be much more than just a sport,” said festival co-founder Dmytro Isaienko, 39. “It’s about a specific way of life — in nature, camping, on the rocks.”
Isaienko and his friends wanted to challenge the perception that climbing was reserved for elite athletes. Their first festival attracted about 150 visitors. This summer, attendance grew to more than 500, most of them beginners or amateur climbers.
Organizing the festival during wartime has given it a broader purpose, Isaienko said. He believes creating places where people can gather, learn new skills and spend time together has become a way of sustaining one’s well-being through a prolonged war.
“You need to get away from the war for a while,” he said. “Leave Kyiv and come spend some time here together, a little longer than usual.”
On the rocks below, instructors help complete beginners fasten their harnesses, chalk their hands and search for the next hold on the granite wall. Whenever someone reaches the top of the 25-meter (82-feet) cliff — often for the first time — spectators, instructors and climbers break into applause.
Among the festival’s newcomers was 21-year-old Liliia Karpach, who traveled from Ukraine’s western Lviv region for her first Stoned Climbers festival.
“I decided to come because it had been a very long time since I’d climbed on real rocks,” she said. “I also wanted to meet the community in person and get to know new people.”
She said climbing is mental as well as physical exercise, and hopes others will give it a try.
“If you’re really nervous about coming on your own, invite some friends,” she said. “Even if neither of you knows how to climb, you’ll have a good time together.”
Helping first-time climbers gain that confidence is one of the most rewarding parts of the festival for instructor Andrii Lamei, 24.
While belaying a young woman during her first climb, he calmly talked her through the most difficult part of the ascent. As she climbed higher, her movements became more confident. After reaching the top, Lamei encouraged her to pause before descending.
“Look around,” he shouted. “Enjoy the moment. You made it.”
“Climbing helps you work with stress,” Lamei said. “It helps you manage stressful situations in everyday life.”
He dreams of climbing outside Ukraine one day but, like most Ukrainian men, he cannot leave the country while wartime travel restrictions remain in place.
“I want to go across the border to visit Yosemite, to visit Norway's mountains, but I can’t,” he said. “But maybe this is how I’m forced to enjoy what I have here.”
For Isaienko, that is precisely why festivals like Stoned Climbers matter.
While many Ukrainians have put parts of their lives on hold during the war, he hopes the community taking shape around the cliffs shows that new traditions can still emerge.
“This is a festival for everyone,” he said. “Including people who have never tried climbing before.”
And each time another first-time climber reaches the top, the applause rising from the rocks below suggests that, little by little, that community is growing.
Women rest after climbing during the Stoned Climbers festival near Denyshi, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People climb on a cliff during the Stoned Climbers festival near Denyshi, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A man installs a tent during the Stoned Climbers festival near Denyshi, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman plays a dj set during the Stoned Climbers festival near Denyshi, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A man climbs on a cliff during the Stoned Climbers festival near Denyshi, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
