Ice Breaker: MacKinnon goes for four, and Boston’s power play bails it out
MacKinnon had a goal and three assists as Colorado erased a 2-0 hole, and the Bruins scored on three straight power plays in Anaheim.
Pittsburgh scored twice in the first nine minutes in Denver, and then Nathan MacKinnon decided he'd seen enough. Four points later, the Avalanche had five straight goals and the Penguins had a long flight to Vegas. Boston did its own comeback act in Anaheim on a quiet two-game Friday.
Last night
Avalanche 5, Penguins 2
Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust scored 29 seconds apart to put Pittsburgh up 2-0. Artturi Lehkonen answered later in the first and again 25 seconds into the second. Gabriel Landeskog gave Colorado the lead at 4:24 of the second, T.J. Hughes added one, and MacKinnon finished it with a power-play slapper in the third. Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves.
Lind's read: MacKinnon had one goal, three assists and nine shots in 22:59. When one guy drives nine shots and has a hand in four of five goals, the other team's game plan is mostly hope.
Anaheim scored twice in the last 38 seconds of the first, Tim Washe and Beckett Sennecke 21 seconds apart. Boston then scored on three straight power plays: Frederic Brunet in the second, David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm in the third. Matthew Poitras added the fourth, and Michael DiPietro made 25 saves.
Sully's chirp: Anaheim gave Boston four power plays and Boston cashed three. That's not a penalty kill, that's a tip jar.
Three stars of the night
- Nathan MacKinnon, COL — 1G 3A, nine shots.
- Artturi Lehkonen, COL — two goals, the second 25 seconds into the second period.
- David Pastrnak, BOS — 1G 1A, the power-play goal that tied it.
Lind's number
3 for 4. That was Boston's power play in Anaheim, and it erased a two-goal hole without an even-strength goal until the fourth. The Bruins' power play is at 27.3 percent through eight games by our count, so this wasn't a fluke night. Against this team, staying out of the box is the whole penalty kill.
By our count
MacKinnon has 16 points through eight games, per NHL data. That ties him with Jack Eichel for second in the league, two behind Connor McDavid's 18. Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha both stretched point streaks to four games, and Lehkonen is up to six goals in eight.
Sully's take of the morning
Look, Rickard Rakell put five shots on net, played 18:51, and is now six games without a point by our count. Kris Letang's at six too.
Buddy, I'm begging you, the puck goes in the big net with the guy in pads. The Penguins led 2-0 and then spent the next 49 minutes watching MacKinnon like it was a nature documentary. Grade: D. I said what I said.
Kessler's corner
Minnesota Duluth hammered Minnesota 7-1, which is going to be a long bus ride down I-35 for the Gophers. Michigan won 4-1 at Denver, and Western Michigan beat Notre Dame 6-1.
Pabs' Florida line
USF beat FGCU 6-1 on the road in M3, while FGCU's M2 club handled Montana State 4-2. The Bulls' win is the one the rest of the state should notice.
Meg's line
On the women's side, Minnesota beat Ohio State 6-2, and Colgate shut out BU 2-0 on the road. The W read: the Gophers just served notice on the WCHA.
Tonight
Fourteen games. The Panthers host Seattle at 6 p.m. at Amerant Bank Arena on Prime Video, and Florida is a -185 favorite at DraftKings (-180 at Hard Rock) with a total of 6.5. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Pabs' preview lands this afternoon. Tampa Bay hosts Vancouver at 4 p.m. The one to watch is Pittsburgh at Vegas at 10 p.m.: the Penguins on the second leg of a road back-to-back against Eichel, who's tied with MacKinnon. Boston plays its own back-to-back at the Kings at 9.
