Avalanche 5, Penguins 2: Hughes' First NHL Goal After 2-0

October 16, 2026 - Denver - Sidney Crosby sent it across. Bryan Rust tapped it in. Ball Arena was 2-0 Pittsburgh, 29 seconds after Evgeni Malkin had already beaten Mackenzie Blackwood while falling down. The next five goals all went the other way. One of them was T.J. Hughes on one knee at the crease.

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2. Colorado is 5-2-1. Pittsburgh is 3-4-1, five losses in six (1-4-1), the NHL recap said. Shots were 32-31 Colorado. Attendance was 18,111, per ESPN. Ville Koivunen, Declan Carlile, Connor Dewar, Brent Burns, and Gavin Brindley are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists. Artturi Lehkonen scored twice. Martin Necas had three assists. Cale Makar had two. Blackwood stopped 29 of 31. Arturs Silovs stopped 27 of 32 in 57:26.

Malkin falling down, then Lehkonen twice

Malkin opened it at 8:28 of the first. Wrist from the high slot, far side past Blackwood's right foot, scored while falling, the NHL recap said. Koivunen and Erik Karlsson the assists.

Rust made it 2-0 at 8:57. Crosby down the left side, cross-ice, tap at the right of the crease. Samuel Girard the other assist. Crosby's helper was the 1,110th of his career. The Associated Press recap put him in sole possession of seventh in NHL history, one assist shy of matching Ray Bourque's 1,111 with one franchise.

Lehkonen cut it to 2-1 at 11:01. MacKinnon went down the right side, around Carlile, and found him crashing the net. The puck went under Silovs' blocker. MacKinnon told NHL.com Lehkonen is always getting to the right areas, and that they had a good warmup, good chemistry in the gym, and it was translating.

The tie came 25 seconds into the second. MacKinnon's rebound glanced off the right post. Lehkonen gloved it, dropped it in the paint, and backhanded it five-hole. Blackwood, on NHL.com: Art's like the unsung hero. He doesn't get enough credit. Everybody in here really appreciates him.

Landeskog's 83rd, Hughes' first, then a one-timer

MacKinnon got a penalty shot at 4:09 after Karlsson hooked him on a breakaway. Silovs stopped it with his left pad. Fifteen seconds later Gabriel Landeskog made it 3-2. Nazem Kadri shot. Brock Nelson found the rebound. Landeskog swept it past a sprawling Silovs at the right post. The Associated Press recap called it Landeskog's 83rd career go-ahead goal, tied with Mikko Rantanen for sixth in Avalanche history. Joe Sakic is first at 210.

Hughes scored his first NHL goal at 14:57, shortly after a Colorado power play expired. MacKinnon centered. Hughes tapped it at the top of the crease. He told NHL.com it felt really good, a big goal in a big time of the game, a great pass from Nate. MacKinnon said it is not the easiest shot to put in, against the grain, and that Hughes looks comfortable on the goal line. The Avalanche club recap quoted Hughes thanking his family, Michigan teammates, and Brooks Bandits friends.

MacKinnon closed it 5-2 at 15:06 of the third on the power play. One-timer from the left dot off Makar, top shelf over Silovs' blocker. Necas the other assist. Colorado finished 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the kill, the Avalanche recap said. The Associated Press recap noted it was assistant coach Brett McLean's Avalanche debut running the unit after Dave Hakstol left for Arizona State.

The NHL recap said Colorado dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Egor Chinakhov did not play after a lower-body injury in practice Thursday. Burns became the sixth defenseman in NHL history to skate in 800 career home games. Jared Bednar told NHL.com he is convinced the group knows what makes it successful, and that they are having a tough time putting together a full 60. Crosby said they got a great start, knew Colorado would push, and did not hold that push enough in the second.

Colorado visits Philadelphia on Monday. Pittsburgh visits Vegas on Saturday.

AthX Engine on a 17.90 four-point night

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored MacKinnon at 17.90 (a goal, three assists, nine shots, one block, plus the power-play bonus). Lehkonen is 9.80. Necas is 8.10. Makar is 7.20. Rust is 5.70. Hughes is 5.20. Blackwood's win, 29 saves, and two goals against land at 12.20. Silovs is 4.80.

Colorado's team line is 21.00. Pittsburgh's 2-5 floors at 0.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a MacKinnon four-point home night, and for a Penguins group that led 2-0 and scored zero after 8:57. They are not the same number.

Track MacKinnon, Lehkonen, Hughes, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, Avalanche.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020119. Information only; not financial advice.*