The Colorado Avalanche picked up a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the first round. A former Montreal Canadiens forward played a role in the Avalanche’s victory, as Artturi Lehkonen put together a strong performance.
At the 15:29 mark of the second period, Lehkonen scored the game-opening goal to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. It was a nice goal from the former Canadiens forward, too, as he picked up Nathan MacKinnon’s rebound in front before beating Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg with a wrist shot in front of the net.
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With this game being a low-scoring one, there is no question that Lehkonen’s goal ended up being an incredibly important one. It was just the latest strong game from the former Canadiens forward this year, as he had another good season for the Avalanche in 2025-26. In 70 games this season with the Central Division club, he had 21 goals, 287 assists, 48 points, and a plus-32 rating.
Lehkonen was selected by the Canadiens with the 55th overall pick of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In 396 games over six seasons with the Habs from 2016-17 to 2021-22, he had 74 goals, 75 assists, and 149 points.
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