Nathan MacKinnon is out to prove he's the NHL's most valuable player.

The Colorado Avalanche forward recorded two goals, one assist and 11 shots in Sunday's win over Detroit, extending his personal point streak to 12 games and strengthening his team's bid for a Western Conference playoff spot as a result.

Everything seems to be going his way these days, as evidenced by a fortuitous bounce on his second goal of the afternoon:

MacKinnon now sits on 38 goals and 51 assists for 89 total points through 64 games, temporarily moving him into a tie for second among all players and within striking distance of Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, who entered Sunday's game against Edmonton with 91 points.

On a point per game basis, however, MacKinnon holds the advantage, as his 1.39 average is tops among all players.

Add in that Colorado has rebounded tremendously following an historically awful 2016-17, and MacKinnon should be at the forefront of any conversation in regards to the Hart Trophy.

Securing a postseason spot is key, as someone from a non-playoff team hasn't been named MVP since Mario Lemieux in 1988, and it only happened three times prior to that.

As it stands, MacKinnon and the Avs are rolling to an impressive finish.

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Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson indicated that Marc Bergevin will remain the team's general manager after this season, according to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette.

"We all know it's a very difficult season for us in all areas," Molson told RDS. "Marc and I are talking about it all the time. He knows that team performance at all levels is unacceptable and we have a plan to fix it.

"I'm talking about all areas: leadership, development recruitment, players on the team. We need to improve, we must become better. We have not been able to do that this year. We will succeed, I trust Marc to manage this transition, but he is aware that it needs to improve."

The Habs sit near the NHL's basement and Bergevin has been criticized for some the moves he's made as the club's GM, including the P.K. Subban-Shea Weber blockbuster, the Mikhail Sergachev-Jonathan Drouin swap, and Carey Price's massive contract extension.

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In the midst of a deadlocked hunt for a playoff spot, the Colorado Avalanche will receive a huge boost Sunday, as defenseman Erik Johnson will play against the Detroit Red Wings after missing a month with an upper-body injury, the team announced.

Johnson's return couldn't have come at a better time, as the Avalanche are in quite the battle for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference:

The Los Angeles Kings, who currently sit in third in the Pacific Division, are also at 84 points.

Every point will matter down the stretch, and having a steadying presence return to the blue line will be key. In 56 games this season, Johnson has 22 points while averaging a team-high 25:43 time on ice.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele will play Sunday against the Dallas Stars after missing the last five games with an upper-body injury, head coach Paul Maurice said, according to Jets TV Reporter Mitchell Clinton.

Scheifele suffered the upper-body injury on March 6 agains tth

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Notre Dame, Ohio State, Cornell, and St. Cloud State will make up the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Hockey Championship bracket.

The remaining 12 teams in the bracket will be announced at noon ET.

The NCAA Frozen Four will take place April 5 and 7 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., giving St. Cloud State a possible home-ice advantage if they're able to advance that far.

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The 2017-18 Montreal Canadiens made history for all the wrong reasons Saturday.

In getting squashed 4-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre, Montreal set a franchise record for road regulation losses in a single season, according to TSN.

The Habs own the NHL's worst road record at 9-23-4, and rank dead last in both goals for and goals against away from home.

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was forced to exit Saturday's game in Vancouver after taking a puck up high.

No immediate update on his condition was offered, but he wasn't able to return.

Vlasic is averaging 22:39 of ice time this season, second on the Sharks only to Brent Burns.

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