Nathan MacKinnon bloodied in fight with Stars’ Roope Hintz, his second of the season

Roope Hintz, Nathan MacKinnon, the Stars and the Avalanche delivered one of the most unexpected moments of the young season in Denver tonight.

Hintz and MacKinnon dropped the gloves, two of the league’s most skilled centres squaring off. MacKinnon left the ice with a bloody nose.

Nobody saw this one coming. The Dallas centre is known far more for his skill than for this kind of tilt.

It’s the second time already this season MacKinnon has dropped the gloves. He took on Brandt Clarke in Colorado’s home opener against Los Angeles.

That’s a pattern worth noticing for a player carrying a $12,604,000 cap hit. He has five goals and 10 points in five games, and the Avalanche can’t afford to lose that production.

Hintz brings his own health concerns into it. He was helped off after a kneeing major from Brandon Carlo earlier this month, and Dallas has been careful with him since.

Jared Bednar and Glen Gulutzan watch their stars trade skill for gloves

Both coaches would rather see their stars scoring than squaring off. The Stars are 2-2-1, and the Avalanche are 3-2-0 after a 6-3 loss to Toronto on Saturday.

Hintz, 29, carries an $8,450,000 cap hit and has three points this season. For Dallas, losing him to a hand injury would hurt as much as any loss in the standings.

There’s also respect in it. Two skilled players settling something themselves says plenty about how heated this matchup has become.

MacKinnon has to stop doing this. Twice in the first five games is a pattern, and the Avalanche need their superstar’s hands on a stick rather than in a scrap.

WATCH THE WHOLE FIGHT HERE

It’s like a concert violinist volunteering to move the piano. Admirable, maybe, but everyone in the room is holding their breath.

Expect the next meeting between these teams to carry plenty of edge.

The highlight will be everywhere by morning. The question in Denver is whether the Avalanche’s best player keeps volunteering for nights like this.

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