Welcome to the Show, T.J.: Hughes Scores First NHL Goal, Lehkonen Tallies Twice as Avalanche Comes Back to Defeat Penguins 5-2

A Night to Remember

T.J. Hughes scored his first-career NHL goal, Artturi Lehkonen tallied twice and Nathan MacKinnon posted four points (1g/3a) to help the Avalanche erase a 2-0 deficit and defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Ball Arena on Friday. Additionally, Gabriel Landeskog added a tally, Martin Necas posted three assists and Cale Makar registered two helpers. In net for the Avalanche, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced.

"[It] felt really good," Hughes said about his first goal. "It was a big goal in a big time of the game, and Nate gave me a great pass."

When asked who he'd like to thank along his journey, Hughes said his support system.

“Grateful for my family," Hughes said. "My mom and dad. I haven’t talked to them yet, but they’re probably pretty excited. My sisters, they’re very supportive too. Family and grandparents, all that. Close buddies at home, (University of) Michigan buddies, Brooks (Bandits hockey team) buddies, like a lot of those guys.”

MacKinnon, who set up Hughes' goal, said the rookie has been playing really well this season.

"[He's made] a lot of great plays," MacKinnon said. "He's pretty comfortable around the net, so I think getting down on one knee looked comfortable. That's not the easiest puck to put in." 

On special teams, Colorado's power play went 1/4, and its penalty kill went 3/3.

With the win, the Avalanche improved to 5-2-1.

How It Happened

Blackwood's first save of the night came at 1:50 of the opening frame when he denied Nick Robertson's backhand shot from the right doorstep.

Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring at 8:28 of the first period via a shot from the high slot.

Bryan Rust doubled the Penguins' lead at 8:57 with a shot from the right doorstep off the rush.

Colorado cut its deficit in half at 11:01 of the first period when Lehkonen scored his fifth goal of the season via a shot from the left doorstep off the rush set up by MacKinnon's feed.

Blackwood kept the Avalanche's deficit at one with a key save on Samuel Girard's shot from the slot at 11:38 of the first period.

The Avs tied the game at 25 seconds of the middle frame when Lehkonen scored his second goal of the game and sixth of the season via a backhand shot from the doorstep after catching the puck in the air and dropping it to his stick.

"Art's (Lehkonen) the unsung hero," Blackwood said. "He doesn't get enough credit. [He] goes to work every single day. [He] gets to the spots nobody wants to go. [He doesn't get] a lot of credit, but everybody in here really appreciates him, and he knows how much we value him."

Landeskog gave Colorado a 3-2 lead at 4:24 of the middle frame with his third goal of the season via a shot from the right doorstep that was set up by Brock Nelson's nifty feed after he collected the rebound created by Kadri's shot.

At 4:59 of the middle frame, Blackwood kept Colorado ahead with a huge save on Rickard Rakell's backhand shot on a breakaway.

Colorado doubled its lead at 14:57 of the middle frame when Hughes scored with a shot from the doorstep set up by MacKinnon's backhand feed.

MacKinnon gave the Avs a 5-2 lead on the power play at 15:06 of the third period with his sixth goal of the season via a left-circle one-timer.

Next Up

The Avalanche begins a two-game road trip with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday at 5 p.m. MDT on Altitude, Altitude+, Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM and the Altitude Sports Radio App.