Recap: Avalanche top Penguins at Ball Arena

1 week ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images


It wasn’t pretty, but the Avs did what they needed to do in the end. The Colorado Avalanche made a statement Tuesday at Ball Arena: “Never give up.”
Casey Mittelstadt put the Avs ahead on the power play with 4:09 remaining, Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, including an empty-netter, Nathan MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 17 games, and the Avalanche fought tooth and nail to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-1.
Jack Drury also added an empty-netter in the waning moments as Colorado improved to 3-0 on their six-game homestand.
Scott Wedgewood, who had only played one game in the previous five weeks due to injury, earned first-star of the game honors as he was lights out in net, stopping 32 shots in his first game since February 22. Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves as the Penguins fell to 1-5-1 since the Four Nations break.
First Period
Just over six minutes into the game, MacKinnon set up Martin Nečas for a one-timer, but the puck just slipped off the toe of his blade on the follow-through, resulting in an easy save.
With 9:12 left in the frame, Wedgewood came up big with a blocker save as Emil Bemstrom tried to snap a wrister home as he entered the defensive zone. Makar had an opportunity to score the first goal of the game with about 3:15 left in the period. He looked for a shooting lane, but his shot was just wide.
The definition of the first was fast and furious. Both teams had some defensive breakdowns at points in the period, but there was also outstanding goaltending and a few lucky breaks. Nichushkin split the D but was robbed of a highlight-reel goal when Nedeljkovic made a scintillating save. Devon Toews also found an opening but rang it off the post. Furthermore, the Penguins poured on the pressure down the stretch, but Wedgewood held the fort down.
At the end of the first, the Penguins had 13 shots on goal, while the Avalanche had eight. However, Colorado refused to recoil and kept grinding.
Second Period
Pittsburgh dominated puck possession at the start of the period, but Wedgewood continued to shut the door. Their resilience paid off as the Penguins got a little bit too greedy. Following a breakdown in their own zone, the Avalanche pounced on them when Makar got a hold of the puck along the boards and dumped a bank pass to MacKinnon behind the net before sliding the puck over to Lehkonen for a one-timer that soared over Nedeljkovic’s glove to make it a 1-0 score.
Meanwhile, a defensive turnover by the Avalanche nearly equaled the score. Jack Drury coughed up the puck to Evgeni Malkin, who snapped a shot that Philip Tomasino attempted to redirect, but Wedgewood was able to gather it up.
With around 8:40 left, the Avs went on a 2-on-0 rush with Nichushkin leading the charge while shorthanded but was denied with a blocker save. The Avs went right back on the penalty kill after Toews was nabbed for holding Sidney Crosby as he carried the puck across the blue line. After back-to-back kills, both squads fought neck and neck for puck possession, until a rare turnover by Makar allowed Rickard Rakell to capitalize on the opportunity to nod up the game at one apiece.
Third Period
Nearly eight minutes into the final period, MacKinnon was hooked by Kris Letang on his way to the net with no penalty called. After icing was called moments later, Letang cross-checked Nichushkin after the whistle, and that also wasn’t called. The crowd followed up by erupting into a mass amount of boos.
On the following possession, Parker Kelly rang a shot off Nedeljkovic’s helmet before the puck changed hands.
It’s hard to believe, but the Avalanche went on their first power play of the game with 5:37 left in the period when Anthony Beauvillier tripped up Logan O’Connor. And Colorado capitalized when Nichushkin set up Mittelstadt with a cross-crease feed for a sweet goal that bounced off Nedeljkovic’s helmet and in.
With 1:15 left in the game, the Pens pulled Nedeljkovic to get the extra attacker, but it was all for naught as it only took seven seconds for Lehkonen to score to make it a 3-1 game.
Pittsburgh decided to keep the net empty, but it led to the same result — another empty-netter — when Drury scored despite getting tripped down to the ice on the way to the net. That officially ended a wild night as the Avalanche sent the home fans happy with a 4-1 victory.

Takeaways
Nichushkin didn’t score tonight, but he made his presence known. Nedeljkovic robbed him twice on breakaways, and his signature forecheck was a force to be reckoned with this evening. And of course, he got his revenge when he set up Mittelstadt for the go-ahead marker.MacKinnon also had two assists on the night to give him 992 career points. On the other side of the ice, Sidney Crosby recorded an assist to give him 1,662 points.
Bryan Rust may have a last name that indicates sloppiness, but he’s on an impressive streak against Colorado. After recording an assist on the Rakell goal, he extended his point streak against the Avalanche to seven games.
Upcoming
The Avalanche (36-24-2) host Alexandar Georgiev and the San Jose Sharks (17-37-9) on Thursday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. local time on ESPN....

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