Nathan MacKinnon recorded a goal and three assists to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night in Denver. The Avalanche, playing their third game in four nights, overcame an early deficit by scoring four unanswered goals, including three in the second period.

Artturi Lehkonen contributed two goals, while Gabriel Landeskog and T.J. Hughes also found the net for Colorado. Hughes’ goal marked his first career NHL tally. Martin Necas assisted on three goals, and Cale Makar added two assists. Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 29 shots.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring quickly, with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust netting goals just 29 seconds apart in the first period. Malkin scored 8:28 into the game while falling, beating Blackwood after charging down the right wing. Rust followed at 8:57, tipping in a pass from Sidney Crosby during a 2-on-1 rush. Penguins backup goaltender Arturs Silovs made 27 saves despite the loss.

The Avalanche responded with Lehkonen’s first goal at 11:01 of the first period, where he tipped in a pass from MacKinnon. Colorado then gained momentum in the second period, with Lehkonen scoring again just 25 seconds in to tie the game at 2-2 by knocking down a rebound glove-first. Landeskog put the Avalanche ahead at 4:24, finishing a set-up from Brock Nelson. Hughes scored on a tip-in from MacKinnon’s pass at 14:57. MacKinnon then extended the lead to 5-2 with a power-play one-timer from above the left dot late in the period, completing a stretch of five consecutive goals for Colorado.

Pittsburgh was unable to mount a comeback, with Silovs turning away a MacKinnon penalty shot attempt shortly before Landeskog’s goal. The Avalanche maintained control through the third period.

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins rallied to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 in Anaheim. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period on goals from Tim Washe and Beckett Sennecke, Boston scored four unanswered goals, including three on the power play. Elias Lindholm scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and finished with two points. David Pastrnak contributed a goal and an assist, while Frederic Brunet netted his first NHL goal earlier in the game. Matthew Poitras also scored, with Pavel Zacha and James Hagens each providing two assists.

Boston goaltender Michael DiPietro made 25 saves for his first NHL win in his sixth game. The Ducks were shut out on five power-play chances and managed only four shots in the final period. Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal stopped 18 shots but could not maintain the early lead.

The Avalanche improved to 4-2-0 with the win, while Pittsburgh fell to 1-4-1 in their last six games. Boston extended its winning streak to four games, and Anaheim suffered its second consecutive loss.