DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon can deliver a little bit of everything, including the honest truth.
“One of those nights that just sucked,” the Colorado Avalanche forward said Monday after a 7-2 loss to a Pittsburgh Penguins squad that was missing Sidney Crosby.
Colorado, the league's top team for most of the season, has hit a bit of a rough patch. That, coupled with the torrid play of the Dallas Stars, has dramatically tightened things up in the Central Division.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar prefers not to fixate day-to-day on the standings, which is probably a good thing given the recent developments. The Avalanche, who were 13 points clear of the Stars — 11 over the Minnesota Wild — on Jan. 19, suddenly find themselves just three points ahead heading into their game against Dallas on Wednesday night at Ball Arena. The two teams meet again in Dallas on April 4.
“Everything's crucial right now,” center Brock Nelson said. “We just (need) a little bounce-back.”
The Avalanche are still trying to meld everything together following acquisitions before the deadline that added centers Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy, along with defensemen Brett Kulak and Nick Blankenburg. Since the trade deadline on March 6, they're 3-3, including a shootout win at Dallas that night.
“The chemistry matters,” said MacKinnon, who had a goal against Pittsburgh to notch his fourth straight 110-point season. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s just different. New teams, and then a lot of different line combinations lately, for everybody. It’s hard. It sounds like an excuse. (Monday night) was just bad, too. We just played bad."
A rash of injuries has taken a toll as well. Colorado is currently without captain Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Artturi Lehkonen (upper body) and Ross Colton (upper body). Logan O’Connor, who's missed all season after undergoing hip surgery in June, could be back soon.
“The flow's off, for sure. A lot of new faces,” said MacKinnon, whose team is currently relying on a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen. “I think lines and D-pairs need to sit down and go through clips and figure out what our system is right now.”
Because, at the moment, he feels like there's too much passing around the perimeter. The Avalanche, who lead the league in goals (246), have been held under 30 shots in their last three games.
“Sometimes winning can mask some stuff," MacKinnon said.
They're also struggling on the power play, scoring 34 goals on 215 opportunities. The percentage (15.8) is near the bottom of the league.
“We need everyone on the same page," MacKinnon said. “We need more communication before the game, meetings — really know what we’re going to do over and over again.”
On Monday night, the goaltenders struggled, too. Scott Wedgewood, who entered the game as the NHL leader with a 2.16 goals-against average, allowed three goals in 13 minutes before being pulled. Mackenzie Blackwood surrendered four goals after taking over in net.
“The goals and chances that were given up (Monday) are just blatant guys getting beat, guys getting out-competed, just not digging in enough,” Bednar explained. “We’re giving up easy chances.”
They have an opportunity to get back on track Wednesday night against Dallas, which lost 6-3 at home to Utah on Monday. The Stars are 8-1-1 over their last 10 games.
“It's a lot like the playoffs right now. You can't let one game affect the next,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said after Monday's loss. “We want to get two points against those guys every chance we can get. Looking forward to another big game.”
There's been plenty of big games between these two rivals. The Stars eliminated Colorado in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last season. The year before, Dallas knocked off Colorado in six games during the second round.
“(Expectations) are going to be high,” Nelson said. “Both teams will be wanting to send a message.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar looks on in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday, March 16, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood deflects a shot in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday, March 16, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) collects the puck in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
ATLANTA (AP) — Travel disruptions continued Tuesday in the U.S. as airlines worked to recover from a powerful storm system that had already snarled flight schedules a day earlier.
Carriers canceled more than 1,000 U.S. flights on Tuesday and delayed about 4,200 others, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The disruptions were most severe at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with over 200 flights canceled and roughly 450 delayed.
The disruptions follow a chaotic Monday for air travel, triggered by powerful storms that dumped snow by the foot in the Midwest and swept through the eastern half of the country, leading to thousands of cancellations at major hubs, including in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Gusts approached 50 mph (80 kph) in parts of New York, the National Weather Service said.
Kelly Price, who was trying to get home to Colorado after a family vacation in Orlando, Florida, said her Sunday night flight wasn’t canceled until early Monday.
“By that time, the only place for us to sleep was the airport floor. So we’re all tired and frustrated,” she said, adding that the soonest flight she and her family could book doesn’t leave until Tuesday afternoon.
Air travel was already under pressure before the storms. A partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14 has thinned staffing at some security checkpoints, at times leading to longer lines. And airports are crowded with spring break travelers and fans heading to March Madness, the annual NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.
On Monday alone, more than 4,800 U.S. flights were canceled. Delays topped 12,800. They included about 600 canceled flights at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, more than 500 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson and roughly 450 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, according to FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration also issued ground stops and delays at several major airports as conditions worsened.
The storms also unfolded just as airport security screeners missed their first full paycheck over the weekend. The ongoing shutdown affects only the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration.
Democrats in Congress have said Homeland Security won’t get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.
It is the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay. Once the government reopens, employees will have to wait for back pay.
Some airports have reported longer security lines due to staffing shortages as more TSA workers take on second jobs, can’t afford gas to get to work or leave the profession altogether. Homeland Security has said more than 300 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began.
In Atlanta, Mel Stewart and his wife arrived four hours earlier than usual on Monday for their flight out of Hartsfield-Jackson to make up for longer TSA lines.
“I think it’s being politicized way too much — way too much,” Stewart said of the shutdown. “And these people are working. They work hard, and for TSA people not to get paid, that’s silly.”
Outside the Atlanta airport, TSA union leaders held a news conference Monday warning that air travelers could face increasingly long wait times as the shutdown continues. Supporters held signs reading, “We want a paycheck, not a rain check.”
Many TSA workers “are coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossessions, empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts,” said Aaron Barker, a local leader with the American Federation of Government Employees. Even so, he said, many officers continue reporting to work despite mounting financial strain.
Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press reporters Margery A. Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.
People wait in a departure terminal at Ronald Reagan National Airport, in Arlington, Va., Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
People wait in a departure terminal at Ronald Reagan National Airport, in Arlington, Va., Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A man sleeps in the baggage claim area of Ronald Reagan National Airport, in Arlington, Va., Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Jamie Sims left, and Carlos Serna, right, try to get some rest as they wait for their cancelled flight to El Paso, texas to be rescheduled at Love Field Airport in Dallas, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
