NHL rescinds Nathan MacKinnon's major penalty against Oilers

It's a small reprieve for Nathan MacKinnon.

The NHL rescinded a major penalty assessed to the star Colorado Avalanche forward in Tuesday's game against the Edmonton Oilers, MacKinnon said on Thursday.

Players are liable to a one-game suspension for receiving two majors within a certain amount of games.

MacKinnon received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct after colliding with Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram.

He was driving the net during a scoring chance when he made contact with Ingram through the blue paint. Ingram immediately went down and appeared to be in pain.

The referees called the five-minute major penalty for goaltender interference, which was confirmed upon a lengthy review.

Speaking after the game, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar disagreed with the decision to charge MacKinnon with a five-minute major.

"There's no chance he hits the goalie if (Darnell) Nurse doesn't run into him," Bednar said to reporters. "I don't care if he's injured, not injured, if it's a severe crash, not a severe crash — it's not a penalty. If you put guys into your own goalie, it's not a penalty.

"The goalie's hurt, so it's five (minutes). Again, I really don't give a crap if the goalie's hurt. That's on their d-man, not our guy."

Added Cale Makar: "They ref the way they want to ref. Sometimes they miss stuff, sometimes they don't, and it's just the way it goes sometimes."

MacKinnon, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 2024 and is in the running to receive it again this year, finished with 14:17 playing time and one shot on goal. In 61 games this season, the Cole Harbour, N.S., native has 104 points.

Ingram, 28, has been the de facto No. 1 amongst a struggling goalie tandem, starting 18 games with a .892 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average.

The Oilers also lost Colton Dach and Ty Emberson to injuries in the game, while the Avalanche's Ross Colton left with an injury.