Necas' Two-Goal Game and Wedgewood's Stellar Night in Net Propel Avalanche Past Penguins 6-2

Two Points in Pittsburgh

Martin Necas posted a pair of goals and Scott Wedgewood recorded a fantastic 27-save performance in net to help the Avalanche defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday. Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Malinski, Parker Kelly and Ross Colton all added goals for the Avs, while Logan O'Connor recorded an assist in his first game of the season. 

"Not bad," O'Connor said about how he felt in his return to the lineup. "Shake a lot of the rust off early. Especially the first couple shifts, things feel like they're going faster. You're not used to certain types of situations. So, [it's] definitely nice to get the first one under my belt. It's been a long time coming, and hopefully as the games go on, [I'll] feel more and more comfortable and continue to find my game more and play to my identity more and more as it goes on."

With the win, the Avalanche improved to 47-13-10.

"He was outstanding," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said about Wedgewood's performance. 

How It Happened

MacKinnon opened the scoring at 4:57 of the first period via a breakaway goal after his poke check inside his own blue line led to him taking the puck from Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon. That tally was the 300th even-strength goal of MacKinnon's career.

Egor Chinakhov tied the game for Pittsburgh via a one-timer from the point at 8:09 of the first period.

The Avs took a 2-1 lead at 15:24 of the first period when Malinski scored his fourth goal of the season via a shot from the point after he intercepted the Pittsburgh clearing attempt.

Necas doubled Colorado's lead on the power play at 16:44 of the first period with his 33rd goal of the season via a left-circle one-timer set up by Makar's feed five seconds after a face-off.

The Avalanche took a 4-1 lead at 17:19 of the first period when Kelly scored his 16th goal of the season via a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by O'Connor's low-to-high feed.

At 7:38 of the second period, Justin Brazeau scored for the Penguins, but the goal was taken off the board after as successful Avalanche challenge for goaltender interference.

Necas scored his second goal of the game and 34th of the season to give the Avs a 5-1 lead at 17:29 of the middle frame via a shot from the low slot, capitalizing on a rebound created by Devon Toews' left-point one-timer.

Rickard Rakell made it a 5-2 game at 11:47 of the third period with a goal from the doorstep.

In his first game since March 10th, Colton scored his ninth goal of the season via an empty-net tally to give the Avs a 6-2 lead at 16:20 of the third period.

Next Up

The Avalanche concludes its road trip on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets at 6 p.m. MT on KTVD-20, Altitude, Altitude+ and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM.