Avalanche score five in second period to hold off Hurricanes

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Oct 21, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Fredrik Olofsson (22) takes a shot on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) for a goal in the second period at Ball Arena.
Oct 21, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Fredrik Olofsson (22) takes a shot on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) for a goal in the second period at Ball Arena.
Image: John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports

Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and three assists, Logan O'Connor scored a short-handed goal for the third straight game and added an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 in Denver on Saturday night.

Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan Johansen had a goal and assist each, Mikko Rantanen and Fredrik Olofsson also scored, and Alexandar Georgiev turned away 23 shots for Colorado.

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Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jaccob Slavin had a goal and an assist each, Brent Burns and Michael Bunting also scored, Stefan Noesen added two assists and Pyotr Kochetkov had 22 saves for the Hurricanes.

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Carolina was without center Sebastian Aho (upper-body injury) and goaltender Frederik Andersen (precautionary reasons).

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The Hurricanes took the early lead when Kotkaniemi beat Georgiev in front of the net at 16:09 of the first period. It was Kotkaniemi's third goal of the season.

The Avalanche got the equalizer in the final moments of the first period when MacKinnon sent a pass to the front of the net and Johansen tipped it in at 19:54. It was his second goal of the season.

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O'Connor gave Colorado a 2-1 lead on the penalty kill when he got the puck at center ice, skated in ahead of the defense and beat Kochetkov with a backhander at 1:57 of the second.

It was O'Connor's third of the season and tied Joe Sakic for the most consecutive games with a short-handed goal in Avalanche history.

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The Hurricanes struck quickly after that. Burns tied it with a power-play goal at 9:17 of the second, his second of the season, and it snapped the Avalanche's streak of successful penalty kills at 19 to start the season.

Just 1:25 later, Bunting gave Carolina a 3-2 lead with his second of the season, but Olofsson tied it at 12:21 when he scored his first of the season and first with Colorado.

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Lehkonen scored his second goal 1:49 later, MacKinnon got his third soon after and Rantanen's fourth of the season at 19:35 of the period made it 6-3.

Slavin's third goal of the season at 12:26 of the third got Carolina within two.

—Field Level Media