MacKinnon’s Four-Point Night Leads Avalanche Past Penguins, 5-2

DENVER: Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists as the Colorado Avalanche recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Friday. Pittsburgh led 2-0 before the opening period was nine minutes old. Artturi Lehkonen scored Colorado’s first two goals, Gabriel Landeskog supplied the winner and T.J. Hughes added his first NHL goal as the Avalanche scored five times without reply at Ball Arena.

MacKinnon assisted on both Lehkonen goals and Hughes’ milestone before scoring on the power play late in the third period. Martin Necas had three assists, Cale Makar added two and Blackwood stopped 30 of Pittsburgh’s 32 shots. Colorado improved to 5-2-1; the Penguins fell to 3-4-1 despite goals from Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust.

Pittsburgh outshot Colorado 14-5 in the first period, but the Avalanche answered with an 18-11 shot advantage and three goals in the second. The decisive stretch came early in that period. Lehkonen tied the game after 25 seconds. Arturs Silovs then stopped MacKinnon’s penalty shot at 4:09, keeping Pittsburgh level, only for Landeskog to score 15 seconds later. Blackwood stopped Rickard Rakell’s backhand attempt at 4:59, preserving Colorado’s new lead.

Two Pittsburgh goals in 29 seconds

Malkin opened the scoring at 8:28 of the first period, with Ville Koivunen and Erik Karlsson receiving assists. Rust followed at 8:57 from Sidney Crosby and Samuel Girard.

Lehkonen’s first goal arrived at 11:01, assisted by MacKinnon and Necas. It reduced the margin to one with almost half the opening period remaining. Neither team scored again before the intermission, leaving Colorado close enough to draw level with the first goal of the second.

Lehkonen equalizes, Landeskog supplies the winner

The same scoring combination produced the equalizer: Lehkonen from MacKinnon and Necas, 25 seconds after the restart. The official play-by-play records a MacKinnon shot at 0:22 and Lehkonen’s backhand goal three seconds later. It was Lehkonen’s sixth goal of the season.

The subsequent penalty shot came after Karlsson hooked MacKinnon on a breakaway. Silovs’ save mattered immediately because the score was still 2-2. Landeskog scored at 4:24, assisted by Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri.

Kadri had the recorded shot at 4:21, Nelson collected an assist and Landeskog finished the scoring play three seconds later. Colorado had turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead with three consecutive even-strength goals. Blackwood’s save on Rakell 35 seconds after the winner ensured that Pittsburgh did not immediately undo that work.

Hughes made it 4-2 at 14:57 of the period, with MacKinnon and Makar assisting. The rookie’s first NHL goal gave Colorado a two-goal cushion entering the third period.

Colorado postgame: Bednar wants a complete game

Jared Bednar’s assessment extended beyond the comeback. In comments reported by The Denver Gazette, Colorado’s coach said the Avalanche had to sustain their intensity and discipline throughout the game. He put responsibility for the response after the first period on the team’s leadership.

“We have to find a way to get it there for 60 minutes,” Bednar said.

Hughes told the Gazette that he understood the importance of his goal and credited MacKinnon’s pass. He noted that the power play had just expired, and described the opportunity to work with MacKinnon and Makar as a matter of finding space for them.

“Just trying to get open for them when I can,” Hughes said.

In his postgame availability, Bednar credited Lehkonen’s battles and net-front work, and said Brett McLean emphasized recovering lost offensive-zone faceoffs.

Blackwood called Lehkonen an underappreciated teammate whose daily work in difficult areas matters to Colorado’s dressing room.

According to NHL.com’s postgame report, MacKinnon praised Lehkonen’s positioning and said Hughes looked comfortable along the goal line, where his pass-first instincts fit. He also commended the difficulty of Hughes’ finish.

Pittsburgh postgame: the second-period response falls short

In that NHL.com report, Dan Muse said Pittsburgh could not string shifts together to interrupt Colorado’s momentum after a promising first period. Crosby said the Penguins expected a response but conceded too much in the second; he pointed to structure and avoiding mistakes.

Crosby’s assist was his 1,110th, moving him ahead of Joe Thornton into seventh place on the NHL career list.

In Pittsburgh’s postgame reporting, Karlsson questioned finishing and the power play; Rust credited a simpler start but said Pittsburgh lacked consistency between periods.

Silovs also questioned Lehkonen’s handling of the airborne puck before the tying goal, Taylor Haase reported for DK Pittsburgh Sports. Muse told Haase that the Penguins considered a challenge but judged the chance of an overturn “a very low probability.” Pittsburgh did not challenge, and the goal stood.

Watch the released coach and player interviews

Which lines were most effective?

Lehkonen, MacKinnon and Necas were Colorado’s most productive regular scoring combination. They shared 10:23 at five-on-five, outscored Pittsburgh 2-1 and held a 10-8 advantage in shots on goal. Their two goals together were the comeback’s foundation, although MacKinnon’s four-point total also included work with different personnel and on the power play.

The Kadri, Nelson and Landeskog combination added the winning goal and allowed none in 8:38 together. Its shot count was 3-4, so its favorable goal result came from converting a limited number of shots. Colorado dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with forwards rotating through other combinations.

Pittsburgh’s Robertson, Kuzmenko and Kindel unit had the strongest shot margin among its main forward groups, finishing 8-3 without a goal for either side in 6:43. Crosby, Rust and Rakell played the most together, 11:07, producing a 9-8 shot advantage and splitting two goals. Malkin, Novak and Koivunen also split two goals, with shots even at 6-6.

On defense, Toews and Makar were Colorado’s most-used pair at five-on-five. Their 10:29 together produced an 8-8 shot count and one Colorado goal without a Pittsburgh reply. Kulak and Malinski also finished ahead in their smaller sample, 3-1 in shots and 1-0 in goals over 6:33.

Letang and Stastney supplied Pittsburgh’s best shot results among its principal pairs: 9-2 in 13:33, with no goals scored by either side. Karlsson and Carlile had the more difficult results, with Colorado holding a 13-7 shot advantage and a 2-1 edge in goals during their 11:55 together.

TSP calculated shared five-on-five time and on-ice goals and shots from NHL shift and event records, excluding power plays, penalty shots and empty-net play. These are single-game results.

MacKinnon drives the offense, Blackwood protects the recovery

MacKinnon’s nine shots accounted for 28.1 percent of Colorado’s total. His 22:59 of ice time led the Avalanche’s forwards, and his four points left him with six goals and 10 assists through eight games. Lehkonen converted two of his three shots; Necas contributed three assists while recording one shot himself. Their contributions were different, but each was involved in the two goals that erased Pittsburgh’s lead.

Colorado’s scoring was not limited to that combination. Nelson and Kadri assisted on Landeskog’s winner, while Hughes supplied the fourth goal. The Avalanche’s first four goals were recorded at even strength. MacKinnon’s power-play goal at 15:06 of the third period, assisted by Makar and Necas, extended an existing two-goal lead.

Blackwood’s work remained important after the comeback. He stopped all 18 Pittsburgh shots over the final two periods and finished with a .938 save percentage. Silovs made 27 saves on 32 shots for an .844 save percentage, including his penalty-shot stop on MacKinnon.

Power play, penalty kill and faceoffs

Colorado finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage and allowed Pittsburgh no goals on three opportunities. The Avalanche recorded seven power-play shots in 6:52, while the Penguins had three in 5:09. Pittsburgh’s final opportunity began when Josh Manson was called for tripping at 9:00 of the third period, with the score 4-2. Colorado killed it before MacKinnon’s later goal increased the margin.

Hughes’ goal was officially an even-strength goal, arriving four seconds after Ben Kindel’s penalty expired. Colorado’s power-play personnel were still on the ice for the finish.

The faceoff results were more clearly in Colorado’s favor. The Avalanche won 34 of 57 draws, or 59.6 percent. Nelson supplied 14 wins in 22 attempts and Fedor Svechkov won eight of 10. Crosby went 10-for-20 for Pittsburgh, while Tommy Novak finished 7-for-20.

Lineup notes and what comes next

Colorado used 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Its listed scratches were Nicolas Roy and Zachary L’Heureux. Pittsburgh’s scratches were Ryan Johnson, Hendrix Lapierre and Egor Chinakhov. Scott Wedgewood backed up Blackwood, and Sergei Murashov backed up Silovs; neither reserve goaltender played.

The Penguins have the quicker turnaround, visiting the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night before continuing to Utah on Monday. Colorado has the weekend off before consecutive road games in Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Complete game statistics

Official even-strength shot totals include Colorado’s penalty shot and Pittsburgh’s extra-attacker play. The five-on-five combination tables above exclude both.

Colorado skaters

Pittsburgh skaters

Goaltenders

G: goals. A: assists. P: points. SOG: shots on goal. TOI: time on ice. EV: even strength. PP: power play. PK: penalty kill. FO W–L: faceoff wins and losses. “Attempts blocked” means the player’s own shot attempts blocked by an opponent. Attendance: 18,111. Statistics: NHL game summary and event summary.

Correction, October 17, 2026, 8:07 AM MDT: The NHL’s current final game and event reports list 32 Pittsburgh shots and 30 Blackwood saves. This article has been corrected from 31 shots and 29 saves, including the second-period total, save percentage, Kindel’s shot total and the affected five-on-five shot counts.