MacKinnon, Rantanen point streaks for Avalanche highlight week ahead

Auston Matthews going head to head with Patrik Laine and Matt Duchene's return to Colorado with the Ottawa Senators are among the highlights of the week ahead in the NHL.
Here's a look at 5 things to watch:

1. Matthews vs. Laine

Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine go head to head twice this week when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, SN, TVAS) and at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, NHL.TV). Each is looking to begin his NHL career with a third straight 30-goal season, a feat achieved by four players since the end of the 1980s (Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Bure, Sergei Federov).
Matthews (16 points; 10 goals, six assists) got off to a historic start by earning multiple points in his first seven games and at least one point in 17 consecutive regular-season games since Feb. 22 (30 points; 17 goals, 13 assists). The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in four games against Laine and the Jets.
Laine, chosen No. 2 in the 2016 draft, has five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games. He has six points (five goals, one assist) in four games against Matthews and the Maple Leafs, including a hat trick Oct. 19, 2016.
The games are the only two times Matthews and Laine will oppose one another in the regular season.

2. M&M boys

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen can become the first set of teammates in Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to have simultaneous season-opening point streaks of at least nine games when they play the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, NBCSP, ALT, NHL.TV).
MacKinnon (14 points; eight goals, six assists) and Rantanen (14 points; two goals, 12 assists) are the second set of teammates in Avalanche/Nordiques history to begin a season with eight-game point streaks, joining Joe Sakic (13 points; eight goals, five assists) and Anton Stastny (11 points; one goal, 10 assists) in 1988-89. They're also the 21st set of teammates in NHL history to start a season with point streaks of at least eight games:
The others since 1993-94:
* Nikita Kucherov (19 points; 12 goals, seven assists in 11 games) and Steven Stamkos (21 points; four goals, 17 assists in 11 games) with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017-18.
* Radek Bonk (12 points; four goals, eight assists in nine games) and Marian Hossa (12 points; five goals, seven assists in 8 games) with the Ottawa Senators in 2003-04.
* Pavol Demitra (12 points; seven goals, five assists in nine games) and Doug Weight (13; four goals, nine assists in nine games) with the St. Louis Blues in 2001-02.
MacKinnon, runner-up for the Hart Trophy in 2017-18, is making an early case to win it this season. His eight goals are the most by an Avalanche player in the first eight games of a season since the Avalanche relocated to Colorado in 1995-96.

3. Duchene returns to Colorado

Matt Duchene returns to Colorado when the Senators play the Avalanche on Friday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV) for the first time since he was traded to Ottawa on Nov. 5, 2017. The forward, chosen by the Avalanche with the No. 3 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, played against them during the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm.
Duchene has 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 75 games with the Senators, including eight points (one goal, seven assists) this season. He had 428 points (178 goals, 250 assists) in 586 games for Colorado from 2009-17.

4. Millennium man

Ryan Suter is expected to play in his 1,000th NHL game when the Minnesota Wild face the Los Angeles Kings at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, FS-W, NHL.TV). The 33-year-old defenseman was selected by the Nashville Predators with the No. 7 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft.

5. For Pete's sake

Peter DeBoer will work his 750th regular-season NHL game as a coach when the San Jose Sharks visit the Hurricanes on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-CR, NBCSCA, NHL.TV). DeBoer is 358-289-101 with the Florida Panthers, Sharks and New Jersey Devils. He coached the Devils and Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 and 2016.