Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche rout the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night.

With veteran defensemen Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon all missing with various ailments and newcomer David Jiricek making his Wild debut, the back end was sure to be at least part

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Logan O'Connor each had a goal and an assist for the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-1 win at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Logan O'Connor each had a goal and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

Logan O’Connor put the Avs on the board first with his fifth of the season at 3:46 of the opening period. Josh Manson caught the Wild in the middle of a line change and turned a Minnesota clearing attempt into a pass to O’Connor behind the defense.

The Wild were without Kirill Kaprizov, Jakub Lauko, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber, all sidelined due to injuries. As a result, the Avalanche (26-16-1) jumped out to a two-goal advantage in the first period, getting goals from Logan O'Connor 3 minutes, 46 seconds into the period and from Ross Colton 16:52 into the frame.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

The Wild did a lot of roster manipulation to get David Jiricek onto the roster for his NHL debut. The right-shot former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman was by far the Wild’s best and somehow wasn’t on for a goal against in 16 minutes.

Leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov, captain Jared Spurgeon and depth winger Jakub Lauko remained out, but joining them was the Wild’s top defensive unit: Brock Faber stayed sideline

Jiricek, 21, was the Columbus Blue Jackets sixth overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft. He has played in 11 games with the Iowa Wild after the trade and has two assists. The Iowa Wild play the same structure as the Wild so they guys who play for the AHL team know what will be expected of them at the NHL if they get a chance.

Colorado Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin, who missed Wednesday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks due to a lingering upper-body injury, returns to the lineup against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.