Breaking Down Artturi Lehkonen’s Hot Start

Artturi Lehkonen is off the best start of his career. Through the first 12 games of his season, the Avs winger has posted a career-best 10 goals and 14 points, the former of which leads the team and ranks third in the NHL. 

What is the reason for his hot start? Among other things, Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar attributed it to his competitiveness. 

“[He] plays way bigger than his size,” Bednar said. “[He] competes extremely hard in the hard areas and in the scoring areas. He’s a guy that wins the bulk of his races, the bulk of his touches [and] the bulk of his battles. That’s why he’s been having success. He’s a super intelligent player, too, and obviously has skill, but that (competitive) aspect of his game is head and shoulders above most players in the League, in my opinion.” 

One of those so-called hard areas fits into NHL EDGE’s description of the high-danger area, which is defined as “the area within 29 feet of the center of the goal and bound on both sides by an imaginary line drawn from the face-off dot to 2 feet outside the goal post.”  

Of Lehkonen's 10 goals, a co-NHL-leading seven have been from that high-danger area. Additionally, his 15 high-danger shots on goal lead the Avalanche.  

“They’re not identical,” Bednar said about Lehkonen’s goals. “But, they’re very similar. It’s in a hard area. It’s winning a battle. His puck decisions are good. And I’ve always felt that he’s like that, just sometimes they (goals) go in a little bit quicker than others.”

Lehkonen’s third goal of the campaign highlighted his elite hand-eye coordination and puck skills, as he intercepted Blues goalie Jordan Binnington’s clearing attempt out of midair, leading to an open goal from the slot.

For his fourth goal of the season, Lehkonen exemplified what Bednar said about winning races and battles. When Avs defenseman Josh Manson takes a shot from the point, Lehkonen is already skating towards the slot and therefore has inside position to box out Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz and win the race to the puck before scoring.

Lehkonen’s fifth tally of the campaign came off the rush when he won a race with Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson to the net, where he was in a perfect spot to receive Nathan MacKinnon’s feed and score

Like his third goal, Lehkonen’s sixth tally of the season showcased his elite hand-eye coordination while also exemplifying his ability to operate in tight spaces. Standing below the left goal line, Lehkonen gloved an airborne puck before dropping it to his backhand and scoring in a condensed area.

Lehkonen’s seventh goal of the campaign is a bit of an outlier, as it doesn’t come from the slot or at the front of the net. But it does display his accuracy. While open at the left circle, he receives the puck and takes a shot in a smooth sequence of motions.

Lehkonen's eighth goal of the season is much more like his first six, as he beats Devils forward Anthony Mantha to a deflected puck in the low slot and scores.

Lehkonen’s ninth tally of the campaign is similar to his first two, except this one was at five-on-five. Before scoring, he’s able to find a pocket of space in the left slot before taking a strong one-timer despite a Tampa Bay player’s stick being in the path of Lehkonen’s stick.

Similar to his fifth goal, Lehkonen’s 10th tally of the season came off the rush. This time, he skated between two Nashville Predators players and won a race to the left doorstep, where he was in perfect position to receive Martin Necas’ feed.​

Lehkonen is a prime example that being an intelligent, hardworking and competitive player who wins battles leads to positive results.