Nathan MacKinnon drove Colorado’s response after an early two-goal hole, finishing with a goal and three assists as the Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Ball Arena on Friday. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 29 shots, while Colorado dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen in its first multi-goal comeback victory of the season.
Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, Martin Necas supplied three assists and T.J. Hughes collected his first NHL goal for the Avalanche (5-2-1). Colorado has gone 4-2-1 over its past seven games, alternating between wins and losses during that stretch.
After the horn
Pittsburgh struck twice in 29 seconds midway through the opening period. Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring at 8:28, cutting from the right circle into the high slot before beating Blackwood with a far-side wrist shot while falling to the ice.
Bryan Rust made it 2-0 at 8:57, burying Sidney Crosby’s cross-ice feed on a 2-on-1. Crosby carried down the left wing and found Rust to the right of the crease for the finish.
The helper was Crosby’s 1,110th career assist, moving him past Joe Thornton into seventh place outright in NHL history.
“We had a really good start,” Crosby said. “We knew they would push back, but we did not hold up well enough against that push. They got too much out of the second period. We need better structure and fewer mistakes that end up in our net.”
Lehkonen began Colorado’s climb at 11:01 of the first. MacKinnon worked around Penguins defenseman Declan Carlile down the right side and slid a pass into the crease, where Lehkonen got inside position and tucked the puck under Arturs Silovs’ blocker.
Colorado tied it 25 seconds into the second period. MacKinnon’s attempt struck the right post, and Lehkonen controlled the rebound after knocking it down with his glove before backhanding the puck through Silovs.
“He is always in the right spots,” MacKinnon said of Lehkonen. “We had a good warmup together before the game, and that chemistry is carrying over.”
Blackwood called Lehkonen an underappreciated piece of the Avalanche lineup.
“He does not get enough credit,” Blackwood said. “Everyone in this room appreciates him and knows what he means to us. I see those plays from him in practice all the time.”
Silovs denied MacKinnon on a penalty shot at 4:09 of the second after Erik Karlsson hooked the Colorado center on a breakaway. The Avalanche stayed on the attack, however, and Gabriel Landeskog put them ahead 15 seconds later.
After Brock Nelson collected the rebound from Nazem Kadri’s slot shot, he fed Landeskog at the right post. Landeskog swept the puck past the glove of a sprawling Silovs for a 3-2 lead.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar saw the shift in the Avalanche’s game once they began playing more directly.
“Our group knows what makes us successful, but we have had trouble putting together a complete 60 minutes,” Bednar said. “When we play with the intensity and discipline we need, we are a very good team. We have to find a way to make that our game for the full night.”
Hughes gave Colorado breathing room at 14:57 of the second, arriving at the top of the crease to tap in MacKinnon’s centering pass just after an Avalanche power play expired.
“It felt great, especially at that point in the game,” Hughes said. “Nate made a great pass. The power play had just ended, but we had moved it well, and he made the play for me.”
MacKinnon praised Hughes’ work ethic and his comfort around the goal line, noting that the rookie had to finish a difficult chance moving against the grain.
MacKinnon supplied the final margin with a power-play one-timer at 15:06 of the third period. Cale Makar set him up from the left dot, and MacKinnon beat Silovs over the blocker.
Silovs finished with 27 saves for Pittsburgh (3-4-1), which has dropped five of its past six games, going 1-4-1 in that span.
Penguins coach Dan Muse liked Pittsburgh’s first-period work but pointed to its inability to answer once Colorado gained traction.
“When they began to build momentum, we were not able to put together enough shifts to slow things down,” Muse said. “The first period showed what this group can do when it is on. The challenge is bringing that consistency for the whole game.”
- MacKinnon registered the 44th three-assist game of his career, tying Peter Forsberg for the most in Avalanche history since the franchise arrived in Colorado in 1995-96.
- His four-point night was his 23rd at home, tying Joe Sakic for the second-most in franchise history. Peter Stastny leads with 28.
- Colorado’s last multi-goal comeback on home ice came April 8, 2025, a 3-2 shootout win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
- Brent Burns became the sixth defenseman in NHL history to play 800 home games. His last missed home game came Nov. 7, 2013, while he was with the San Jose Sharks.
- Penguins forward Egor Chinakhov was unavailable after sustaining a lower-body injury in Thursday’s practice.
