Avalanche Collect Sixth-Straight Win with 3-2 Score Over Capitals

Sweet six.
The Colorado Avalanche kicked off a three-game homestand with a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.Colorado is now 26-17-3 on the season and has won six-straight games.

For the Avalanche, Artturi Lehkonen, Andrew Cogliano, Alex Newhook scored. Logan O'Connor handed out two assists, while a total of eight different skaters recorded at least a point. In Colorado's net, Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 37 of the 39 shots.The Avalanche utilized a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the sixth-straight game.
For the Capitals, Conor Sheary and Alex Ovechkin scored. Between the pipes, former Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves on 26 shots.

GAME SUMMARY:

First Period:
8:57 - COL 1, WSH 0 -The Avalanche found the back of the net for the game's icebreaker at just under the midway mark in the first period. The goal unfolded as Nathan MacKinnon accelerated up ice and into Washington's zone. The centerman absorbed a heavy hit from Dmitry Orlov, but still managed to send the puck to the slot, where Lehkonen crashed the passing lane and whipped the puck past Kuemper to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. MacKinnon secured his 700th-career point with the primary assist.

Second Period:
2:04 - COL 2, WSH 0 -Andrew Cogliano redirected a point shot from Kurtis MacDermid past Kuemper to double Colorado's lead 2-0.

4:48 - COL 2, WSH 1- Washington responded with a strike of their own early in the second period. Conor Sheary skated to the net front and tipped down a shot from Martin Fehervary past Georgiev to trim the Capitals' deficit down 2-1.
15:39 - COL 3, WSH 1 - On a quick transition play, Alex Newhook turned on the jets as he collected a pass from Logan O'Connor in the neutral zone. The winger zipped up ice and quickly snapped a low shot past the far side of Kuemper to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead in what would end up being the eventual game-winning goal.

Third Period:
9:44 - COL 3, WSH 2 -From his office at the left faceoff circle, Alex Ovechkin tee'd up and blasted a shortside one timer past Georgiev off a cross-ice feed from Dylan Strome to bring the Capitals within one goal.

Tweet from @Avalanche: The Dogg continues to do Dogg things.700 career points and counting 👏#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/edjDCMci6C

NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehkonen netted his 15th goal of the season.
• Cogliano put away his eighth goal of the season.
• Newhook recorded his 11th goal of this year's campaign.
• With an assist on Lehkonen's goal, MacKinnon registered his 700th career point (255, 445) in 673-career games. MacKinnon is also the first player from the 2013 NHL Draft to reach 700 points.
• Head Coach Jared Bednar coached his 500th-career game for the club. He boasts an overall record of 500 266-185-49. Bednar is the third-longest tenured head coach in the NHL behind Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper (2013) and Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2015).
• Makar missed his fourth-consecutive game of the season due to injury and is listed as day-to-day. The defenseman was riding a six-game point streak - where he compiled 10 points (4G, 6A) in that span - prior to the injury.
• Georgiev made his 33rd start of the season, which established a new career high, and improved his record to 19-11-3.
• Colorado finished the game 0-for-0 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
• Darren Helm (lower body) and Makar (injury) were scratches for the Avalanche.

NEXT GAME:

The Avalanche continue their three-game homestand leading up to the All-Star break as they host Anaheim on Thursday. The puck drops between the Avs and Ducks at 7:00 p.m. MT.