{"id":508533,"date":"2026-03-17T22:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T22:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/508533\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T22:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T22:26:18","slug":"nathan-mackinnon-calls-out-avalanche-with-raw-criticism-of-lineup-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/508533\/","title":{"rendered":"Nathan MacKinnon calls out Avalanche with raw criticism of lineup decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> and the Colorado Avalanche are experiencing some adversity in the 2025-26 NHL season. On that note, the star alternate captain dropped a bold message, putting Jared Bednar and company on notice about the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just been making so many mistakes,\u201d MacKinnon admitted postgame, via Guerrilla Sports. \u201cI don\u2019t like [playing] seven defensemen. Different defensive pairs every shift isn\u2019t great. The flow is off for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKinnon\u2019s statement is a clear warning shot for head coach Bednar and the Avalanche<\/a>. If a team leader like MacKinnon isn\u2019t pleased with the 11\/7 lineup, then it should be a wake-up call for the coaching staff. An 11\/7 lineup means the Avs are dressing 11 forwards and 7 defensemen.<\/p>\n

Why is Colorado playing 11 forwards?<\/p>\n

The Avalanche are currently without Ross Colton, who sustained an upper-body injury during Colorado\u2019s 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Colton is considered day-to-day but has now missed three straight games in the 2025-26 NHL<\/a> season. <\/p>\n

\"Nathan<\/p>\n

Nathan MacKinnon during the medal ceremony at 2026 Winter Olympics<\/p>\n

Rather than replace him, Jared Bednar has opted to call up defenseman Nick Blankenburg and have him serve as an extra blueliner. The move paid off in the first game, as Colorado defeated Seattle by a score of 5-1. <\/p>\n

\"Colorado<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon\u2019s net worth: How much money does he have?<\/p>\n

<\/a>Avalanche are running into trouble without Colton<\/p>\n

However, the Avalanche have dropped consecutive games since, including a disheartening 7-2 loss at home to the Penguins. Perhaps after hearing MacKinnon publicly criticize the coaching decision, Bednar will assemble a 12\/6 lineup once again. <\/p>\n

Up next, Colorado will take on the Dallas Stars (March 18) in a pivotal game for first place in the Central Division. The Avs can\u2019t afford to give the Stars any advantage, and right now, it seems like playing an incomplete forward line does just that.<\/p>\n

SurveyHow should Colorado’s lineup look?<\/p>\n

How should Colorado’s lineup look?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche are experiencing some adversity in the 2025-26 NHL season. On that note,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,192,144,5277,5,517,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-508533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-avalanche","8":"tag-avalanche","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-avalanche","11":"tag-coloradoavalanche","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}