Rantanen’s Hat Trick Leads Avalanche to a 6-2 Win Over the Penguins – The Hockey Writers NHL News Latest News, Analysis & More

On Tuesday night, two of the top superstars in the NHL went head-to-head as Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. The Penguins (12-13-4) were coming off a big win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night (Dec. 7). The Avalanche (16-13-0) entered the game following a 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night.

Related: Penguins’ Player Grades Through 25 Games

To no one’s surprise, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan turned to Tristan Jarry, who had won his previous four starts. Coming off a 25-save shutout, Scott Wedgewood got the start for Colorado.

Game Recap

The first period saw both teams create great chances to take the lead early, but Colorado opened the scoring at 6:31. MacKinnon tallied his 10th of the season on a wrist shot that beat Jarry to the glove side. At 18:22 of the first period, Mikko Rantanen added an insurance goal for the Avalanche off a perfect pass from Cale Makar. Taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room, Wedgewood extended his shutout streak to 80 minutes. Colorado outshot Pittsburgh 10-8.

The second period saw the Penguins generate a lot of sustained zone time. Surviving that, as well as a penalty kill, the Avalanche went up 3-0 at 5:46 on Rantanen’s second goal of the game. Less than two minutes later, Cody Glass broke through to make it a 3-1 game with his first goal in a Penguins sweater. Michael Bunting made it a 3-2 game with just 1:07 to go in the second. Colorado held an 8-7 shot advantage through the middle frame.

Opening the third period, the Penguins came out with a ton of energy, but the Avalanche survived again and made it a 4-2 game. Valeri Nichushkin notched his seventh of the season at 3:23. After another successfully killed penalty, the Avalanche made it a 5-2 game on Artturi Lehkonen’s eighth of the season. With Jarry pulled at 15:08, Rantanen finished off his hat-trick night to make it a 6-2 final. The Penguins outshot the Avalanche 12-9 in the third period.

Wedgewood was stellar for the Avalanche, making 24 saves in the win. Jarry made 21 saves in the losing effort.

Looking for another bounce-back win, the Penguins will travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Thursday night. After a five-game road trip, the Avalanche will host the Utah Hockey Club, also on Thursday night.