Avalanche Showcase Resilience with 4-1 Victory Over Penguins

DENVER, Colo. — The Colorado Avalanche proved their tenacity Tuesday night at Ball Arena, overcoming a tough matchup to secure a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With just 4:09 left in the game, Casey Mittelstadt scored on the power play, putting the Avalanche ahead for good. Artturi Lehkonen added two goals, including an empty-netter, extending Nathan MacKinnon‘s home point streak to 17 games. The win marks Colorado’s third straight victory, improving their record to 36-24-2.

“We did not move the puck at all tonight,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We had some guys play really hard in areas to cover up some mistakes, but we beat up the puck pretty bad tonight.”

Scott Wedgewood, returning after an injury hiatus, was outstanding in goal, stopping 32 shots and earning first-star honors for his performance. “It felt great to be back out there,” Wedgewood said. “We held ourselves accountable and put ourselves in a position to win the third period.”

Pittsburgh’s Alex Nedeljkovic faced 21 shots and recorded the loss, continuing a tough stretch for the Penguins, who fell to 1-5-1 since the Four Nations break. “I loved our team game,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “The guys played hard tonight; it’s unfortunate that it came down to a penalty late in the game.”

The Avalanche took an early lead at 6:36 of the second period when Lehkonen converted a pass from MacKinnon, giving them a 1-0 advantage. However, at 18:04, Rickard Rakell redirected a shot from Bryan Rust, tying the game 1-1.

The third period saw a flurry of action, culminating in Mittelstadt’s power-play goal. After Nathan MacKinnon was hooked in front of the net, Mittelstadt scored off a cross-crease pass from Val Nichushkin. “That was an unbelievable play by Val,” Bednar added.

With the lead, the Avalanche utilized a strategic empty-net goal from Lehkonen and another from Jack Drury in the game’s final minute to seal the victory. “We knew we needed to tighten up towards the end, and we executed,” Drury said.

Looking ahead, the Avalanche will face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday at Ball Arena, while the Penguins prepare for a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. The Avalanche’s win also marked their 1,200th regular-season victory since relocating from Quebec in 1995-96.