What Happened
The Colorado Avalanche rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Friday night in Denver. Nathan MacKinnon led the way with three assists and a power-play goal, and Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, including the tying goal 25 seconds into the second period. T.J. Hughes netted his first career NHL goal, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves after a shaky start. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust had staked Pittsburgh to a 2-0 lead with goals 29 seconds apart.
Key Details
- MacKinnon finished with three assists and a power-play goal.
- Lehkonen scored twice, tying the game 25 seconds into the second period.
- Hughes scored his first NHL goal on a pass from MacKinnon.
- Blackwood stopped 29 shots for Colorado.
- Malkin and Rust scored 29 seconds apart in the first period.
- Colorado went 1-for-4 on the power play in Brett McLean's debut running the unit.
What It Means
The comeback gave Colorado five unanswered goals and a win in McLean's first game overseeing the power play, a role he took after Dave Hakstol left to coach Arizona State's men's program. Landeskog's go-ahead goal was the 83rd of his career, tying Mikko Rantanen for sixth in Avalanche history. Sidney Crosby's 1,110th assist moved him into sole possession of seventh on the NHL's all-time list.