Lehkonen Scores Twice, MacKinnon Records 700th-Career Assist as Avalanche Defeats Sharks 4-2

Wednesday Win

Artturi Lehkonen scored a pair of goals and Nathan MacKinnon recorded the 700th and 701st assists of his career to help the Avalanche defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at Ball Arena on Wednesday. Josh Manson and Brock Nelson both added tallies for Colorado, Valeri Nichushkin posted three assists and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced.

"[Picking up] two points is what matters for us," Lehkonen said. "And it was a big win for us."

With the win, the Avalanche improved to 37-9-9.

How It Happened

Lehkonen opened the scoring at 1:05 of the second period with his 18th goal of the season in a net-front scramble.

Colorado doubled its lead at 15:47 of the middle frame when Lehkonen scored his second goal of the game and 19th of the season via a left-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon, who picked up his 700th-career assist on the play. MacKinnon is the third-fastest active player to reach 700 assists (925 games played), behind Connor McDavid (699 games played) and Sidney Crosby (856 games played).

Timothy Liljegren put San Jose on the board at 43 seconds of the third period via a one-timer from the right point that was deflected on its way to the net.

The Sharks tied the game at 3:34 of the third period when Philipp Kurashev via a shot from the left doorstep off the rush.

Manson gave the Avs a 3-2 lead at 12:44 of the third period while the teams were playing at four-on-four with his fourth goal of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Nichushkin.

The Avalanche took a 4-2 lead at 18:43 of the third period when Nelson scored his 29th goal of the season via an empty-net tally.

Next Up

The Avalanche faces the Utah Mammoth on the road on February 25th at 7 p.m. MT on Altitude, Altitude+ and Altitude Sports Radio 950 AM.