- Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists in a 5-2 Avalanche win over the Penguins
- Colorado erased a 2-0 hole after Arturs Silovs stopped MacKinnon on a penalty shot
- Read below for Jared Bednar’s take on the Avalanche’s 60-minute problem
Nathan MacKinnon finished with a goal and three assists as the Avalanche rallied past the Penguins 5-2 at Ball Arena on Friday.
Pittsburgh jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust in the first period. Colorado answered with five straight, and MacKinnon had a hand in four of them.
The turning point came early in the second. MacKinnon was awarded a penalty shot at 4:09 after Erik Karlsson hooked him on a breakaway, and Silovs stopped him with the left pad. Watch the save:
It didn’t hurt the Avalanche for long. Gabriel Landeskog put Colorado up 3-2 just 15 seconds later, finishing a pass from Brock Nelson.
Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, and MacKinnon set up both. The first was a centering feed in the first period, and the second came 25 seconds into the middle frame off a rebound that glanced off the post.
MacKinnon talked about the chemistry with Lehkonen after the game.
“He’s always getting to the right areas. We got a good warmup going before the game, me and ‘Lehks.’ Good chemistry in the gym, and it’s translating.”
MacKinnon’s next assist went to rookie T.J. Hughes, who tapped in a centering pass for his first NHL goal and a 4-2 lead. Take a look at the goal:
MacKinnon finished it himself with a power-play one-timer from the left dot off a Cale Makar feed at 15:06 of the third.
The night moved him up a couple of Avalanche lists. It was his 44th career three-assist game, tying Peter Forsberg for the most in franchise history since 1995-96. It was also his 23rd four-point game at home, tying Joe Sakic for second in Avalanche history behind Peter Stastny’s 28.
Bednar was asked about his team’s inconsistency after the win. Colorado has alternated wins and losses over its last seven games and sits at 5-2-1.
“I’m convinced our guys know what makes us successful as a team, but we’re just having a tough time right now putting together a full 60. But when we decide to play and play the right way with the right level of, for me it’s intensity and discipline, then we’re a really good team.”
Pittsburgh dropped to 3-4-1 and has lost five of its last six. Sidney Crosby did pick up his 1,110th career assist on the Rust goal, passing Joe Thornton for seventh in NHL history.
Colorado gets a chance to win back-to-back games for the first time in a while Monday against the winless Flyers.
