|
 Defenseman Olli Maatta got the game winner when the Penguins scored
three times in a span of 3:24 to beat the Avalanche.
Center Matt Cullen also scored and right winger Patric Hornqvist had
two assists for the Penguins.
Pittsburgh trailed 2-1 entering the third and killed off three
penalties -- including a 5-on-3 for 36 seconds -- before Bennett
tied it at 7:19.
Pittsburgh did not win a game last season when trailing heading into
the third period, but they have now done it twice in 13 games.
Maatta gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead when his shot from the side of
the net went off goaltender Reto Berra and popped up in the air. The
puck then hit the crossbar and went off Colorado center John
Mitchell and into the net.
Bennett gave Pittsburgh breathing room with his second of the night
and fifth of the season just 1:19 after Maatta's goal.
Center Matt Duchene and defenseman Erik Johnson scored for Colorado
and Berra finished with 29 saves.
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves for the Penguins.
At 5:34 of the first period, Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon's shot
deflected off the leg of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang to
Duchene, whose snap shot beat Fleury on the far side. It was his
15th goal of the season and 14th in the past 18 games.
[to top of second column] |
The Penguins tied it 5:22 later with a shot that went off two
sticks. Maatta took a shot from the point, Hornqvist tipped it
toward the net, and Cullen got the second tip past Berra for his
third of the season.
Johnson gave Colorado the lead again when he redirected a centering
pass from center Carl Soderberg at 15 minutes of the first. It was
his fifth of the season.
NOTES: The Penguins officially put RW Pascal Dupuis on injured
reserve after he announced he was retiring due to a medical
condition related to blood clots on Tuesday. Dupuis, 36, had played
in 34 games -- 18 this season -- since the start of the 2014-15
season because of blood clots. ... Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog
was a late scratch from the lineup with a back issue. ... Pittsburgh
D Kris Letang returned to the lineup after missing two games with an
undisclosed injury. He entered Wednesday leading Penguins defensemen
in points with 14. ... Avalanche RW Jarome Iginla played in his
1,421st game Wednesday. He is three games behind Pat Verbeek for
27th all-time.
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