Mikko Rantanen scored three goals and added two assists to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Nathan MacKinnon contributed a goal and four assists, while Scott Wedgewood made 25 saves for the Avalanche, who have now won three consecutive games and four of their last five.
Cody Glass and Michael Bunting scored for the Penguins, who have lost two of their past three games after a four-game winning streak. Tristan Jarry made 21 saves.
MacKinnon put Colorado up 1-0 at 6:31 of the first period. He won a race for a loose puck in the neutral zone, created a two-on-one, and fired a shot past Jarry’s left arm from the left faceoff circle.
Rantanen, playing in his 600th NHL game, made it 2-0 at 18:22. Cale Makar retrieved a loose puck in the left circle and passed it to Rantanen in front, where Rantanen lifted the puck over Jarry’s right pad.
Rantanen added another goal at 5:46 of the second period, pushing the lead to 3-0. Calvin de Haan faked a shot from the blue line and passed to Rantanen near the corner. Rantanen then fired it in short side.
Glass put the Penguins on the board at 7:21, scoring from the right circle off a pass from Evgeni Malkin to make it 3-1.
Bunting pulled Pittsburgh closer at 18:53, narrowing the gap to 3-2. Erik Karlsson sent a spinning pass from the corner to Bunting in front, and Bunting scored with a wrist shot over Wedgewood’s blocker.
Valeri Nichushkin extended Colorado’s lead to 4-2 at 3:23 of the third period. He carried the puck down the right side, maneuvered around Pittsburgh defenseman Marcus Pettersson, and slid the puck by Jarry’s right skate.
Artturi Lehkonen made it 5-2 at 12:21 when Rantanen set him up for a wrist shot that beat Jarry blocker side.
With Jarry pulled for an extra attacker, Rantanen completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal from the right circle at 15:08.
