T.J. Hughes picked a pretty memorable night to break through.
The rookie scored his first NHL goal, Artturi Lehkonen added two more, and Nathan MacKinnon piled up four points as the Avalanche stormed back from an early two-goal hole to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Friday at Ball Arena. Gabriel Landeskog also scored, Martin Necas finished with three assists and Cale Makar had two helpers. Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 29 of 31 shots in net as Colorado improved to 5-2-1.
Hughes’ first NHL tally came at a key moment, and he knew it.
"[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."
He also made sure to point to the people who helped get him there.
“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 fed Hughes on the play, said the young forward has already shown plenty.
"[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."
Colorado also handled its business on special teams, going 1-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Penguins grabbed the first punch early. Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring at 8:28 of the first period from the high slot, and Bryan Rust made it 2-0 just 29 seconds later with a shot from the right doorstep off the rush.
Lehkonen got Colorado moving again at 11:01 of the opening period, cutting the deficit in half with a shot from the left doorstep off the rush after MacKinnon set him up. Blackwood then held the line with a save on Samuel Girard’s shot from the slot at 11:38.
The Avalanche tied it 25 seconds into the second period when Lehkonen struck again, this time on a backhand from the doorstep after catching the puck in the air and dropping it to his stick. Blackwood later said what Lehkonen brings goes well beyond the scoring column.
"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."
Colorado took the lead for good at 4:24 of the middle frame when Landeskog buried a shot from the right doorstep after Brock Nelson collected a rebound off Kadri’s shot and slipped him a clean feed. Blackwood preserved that advantage shortly after, stopping Rickard Rakell’s backhand breakaway attempt at 4:59.
The Avalanche then pushed the game out of reach late in the period. Hughes finished off MacKinnon’s backhand feed from the doorstep at 14:57 for his first NHL goal, and MacKinnon capped the night at 15:06 of the third period with a power-play one-timer from the left circle for his sixth of the season.
Colorado now heads out on a two-game road trip, starting Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers at 5 p.m. MDT on Altitude, Altitude+, Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM and the Altitude Sports Radio App.
In Other News...
Avalanche Open Road Trip With One Lineup Issue Fans Will Notice
The Avalanche head into a two-game road trip with a lineup wrinkle that should stand out right away: theyll be without Nic Roy, Zachary LHeureux and Logan OConnor because of injuries. That leaves Colorado trying to get through the start of the trip shorthanded against a Flyers team that is still looking to steady itself after picking up its first win of the season.
Mackenzie Blackwood is set to get the start in goal for Colorado, adding another layer to a game that already carries a bit of early-road-trip pressure. Philadelphia will counter with Joseph Woll, and while the Flyers have shown some life with that recent win, they remain a team still battling issues on both ends of the ice, which gives the Avalanche a chance to settle in quickly if their remaining lineup can hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Cale Makar Just Got The Kind Of Praise Avs Fans Love
Cale Makar is already one of the defining players of the Avalanche era, and now he has a little more outside validation to go with it. Drew Doughty, a former Norris Trophy winner himself, recently called Makar the best defenseman in the NHL and said he should win the award every year, the kind of praise that tends to land well in Colorado, where Makar has long been viewed as the standard-bearer on the blue line.
He has backed up that reputation quickly this season, opening with three goals and nine points in seven games after offseason surgery. The Avalanche have also started leaning into his shot more on the power play, adjusting their approach to feature him from the point. It is another sign that, even while the team is still settling into the season, Makar remains the player opponents have to account for first. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche May Have Found The Third Line Bednar Needed
A third line has started to look like more than just a stopgap for the Avalanche, and that matters for a team that has spent recent seasons searching for reliable depth beyond its top scorers. Jaden Schwartz, Fedor Svechkov and T.J. Hughes have given Colorado a different kind of balance early on, with the group driving play well enough to tilt shot attempts and scoring chances in the right direction.
Schwartz brings the steady hand of a veteran, Svechkov has handled the defensive and penalty-kill work, and Hughes has provided the kind of energy and offensive spark that can change a shift. Jared Bednar has sounded encouraged by the way those pieces fit together, and if the line keeps this up, it could end up giving Colorado the kind of third-unit support that pays off in tighter games later on. [Read more 🡒]