First Period

At 3:57 of the first period, the Avalanche defense lost track of Pittsburgh forward Tommy Novak, allowing him to slip into the zone for a clean look on Scott Wedgewood. The Colorado netminder came up with a big save to keep the game scoreless.

Exactly one minute later, Nathan MacKinnon picked off a pass from Parker Wotherspoon, broke in alone, and wired a shot off the crossbar and in to give Colorado a 1-0 lead. It marked MacKinnon’s league-leading 46th goal of the season.

Pittsburgh evened things up 3:12 later when Samuel Girard, a longtime Avalanche defenseman who was dealt at the deadline for Brett Kulak, set up Chinakhov for a one-timer from the point that beat Wedgewood to make it 1-1.

Colorado regained the lead with 4:36 remaining in the period, as Malinski snapped a wrist shot through traffic and past Arturs Silovs for his first goal in 27 games. Earlier in the sequence, Silovs had denied him with a blocker save, but Malinski stayed with it and was rewarded to put the Avalanche back in front.

After Noel Acciari was called for tripping Josh Manson, it took Colorado just five seconds to capitalize on the power play. Cale Makar found Martin Necas for a one-timer, and Necas blasted it past Silovs for his 33rd goal of the season, extending his road goal streak to eight games.

Just 35 seconds later, Parker Kelly joined the scoring frenzy, finishing off a one-timer off a pass from Logan O'Connor for his career-high 16th goal, quickly pushing the Avalanche lead to 4-1. And for O'Connor, he recorded his first point in his first game back in nearly a year following a second offseason hip surgery.

At the end of the first period, the Avalanche hung a four-spot on the Penguins to take a 4-1 lead, outshooting Pittsburgh 15-12.

Second Period

At the 7:05 mark of the period, Wedgewood made the save of the game, robbing Ben Kindel with a diving glove stop. Kindel, the hero of the earlier NHL 26 simulation, could hardly believe Wedgewood came up with it.

At 7:38, Penguins forward Justin Brazeau thought he had cut into the deficit, but his goal was overturned. Officials ruled his left skate was in the crease before Devon Toews made contact, which led to Wedgewood being knocked over as Brazeau scored from his knees. Much to the frustration of Penguins fans and head coach Dan Muse, the goal did not count.

Colorado was assessed a double-minor when Nazem Kadri tried to lift Novak’s stick but caught him up high in the mouth. The Avalanche went on the penalty kill but successfully killed it off, keeping the score at 4-1.

Necas scored his second of the night with 2:31 left in the period when he fired in a rebound off a point shot from Devon Toews to give Colorado a four-goal lead.

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