The Avalanche’s top line combined for 11 points in the 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Colorado wrapped up its five-game road trip with four wins and one loss coming back to Denver.
Scott Wedgewood was fantastic in net for his third start in burgundy and blue. He made 25 saves on 27 shots improving his save percentage to .951 since joining the Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen contributed five of the six goals. Valeri Nichushkin was the only non-top-liner to find the back of the net.
The Avs had a solid defensive game and kept their legs moving most of the night except for the second period. By the numbers, the teams matched up evenly but the final score proved which was the better team.
“It’s the way we’re playing now, the habits and kind of putting some things together here,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “The guys are trying to build on it on a nightly basis. So hopefully we can keep that moving forward.”
Good: Top Line Production
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MacKinnon opened up the Avs scoring at 13:29 in the first period and had four assists for a five-point night. He hit 600 career assists in his 821st game — only two current players hit the milestone in fewer games: Connor McDavid (616) and Sidney Crosby (704).
Mikko Rantanen earned his third hat trick of the season in his 600th game — only two other players in franchise history have more: Peter Stastny (4 in 1982-83) and Miroslav Frycer (4 in 1981-82). The 28-year-old Finn also had two assists for a five-point point game.
“Hockey is crazy game sometimes. Even if you have really good looks, couple games in a row, you hit the post, sometimes it not going in, and then you get couple lucky ones. I’m just trying to work hard and enjoy the ride,” Rantanen said after the game.
The duo combined on five of the six goals, a total of 366 times in their careers, surpassing the now former franchise-leading pair Anton Stastny and Peter Stastny (361).
Bad: Sleepy Second Period
Rantanen was the only Avalanche player to score in the second period and the team fell back on its heels. The Penguins got two past Wedgewood to come within one and challenge the Avs’ lead.
Although both Pittsburgh goals were 5-on-5, the Avs took three penalties in the middle frame. The infractions slowed the team down and took some momentum out of their game.
“They made a couple plays, and out of some chaos, we gave up a couple really good scoring chances. First and third were fine. It was the second period kind of lost its flow with all the penalties and whatnot. So I didn’t feel like that was our best period,” Bednar said.
