MacKinnon understands why he was benched briefly vs. Preds

Nathan MacKinnon won't elaborate, but says he's learned his lesson.

The young Colorado Avalanche center confirmed he was benched by head coach Jared Bednar for several shifts in Saturday's loss to the Nashville Predators, adding that the matter has been resolved.

"I wasn't playing that (well) and just needed to sit down for a bit and regroup," MacKinnon told reporters, including The Denver Post's Terry Frei, on Sunday. "I played a good second half."

The 21-year-old also had a short discussion with Bednar before Sunday's practice.

"(We talked for) 15 seconds," MacKinnon said. "I get it. It's all good.

"It was a good reminder to stay focused," he added. "It's just in-game stuff that happens in sports. It was like three or four shifts. It wasn't a big deal."

The 2013 first overall pick played 16:32 on Saturday, his third-shortest ice time of the season and his least since Dec. 10 when he played a season-low 15:12 against the Montreal Canadiens.

MacKinnon took a stick to the hand in the first period against Nashville, but Bednar confirmed his forward's brief absence wasn't injury related.

"Well, certainly it wasn’t because he got dinged up," Bednar said. "He played a good game for us. He missed a few shifts there in the second period."

MacKinnon had scored in back-to-back games before Saturday's benching. He ranks second on the struggling Avalanche with 11 goals and leads Colorado with 28 points in 41 games.