Penguins vs. Avalanche Recap: Colorado Answers With Five Straight

The Avalanche beat the Penguins 5-2 on Friday night, scoring five straight goals after Pittsburgh jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st. Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring at 8:28 and Bryan Rust made it 2-0 just 29 seconds later. Artturi Lehkonen answered at 11:01 of the 1st and tied it 25 seconds into the 2nd. Gabriel Landeskog put Colorado ahead at 4:24 of the 2nd, T.J. Hughes made it 4-2 at 14:57, and Nathan MacKinnon closed it with a power-play goal at 15:06 of the 3rd. Shots were nearly even at 32-31 for Colorado, so the goalies told the story: Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves on 31 shots, while Arturs Silovs made 27 saves on 32. Colorado scored once on four power plays, and Pittsburgh came up empty on three. Three DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Cale Makar 1+ points (-240 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Makar had a point in 5 of 6 games this season and 8 of his last 10 from last season, and Colorado was scoring 4.4 goals a game. The -240 price implied 71%. - What happened: Makar finished with 0 goals and 2 assists in 22:19, including 5:04 on the power play, clearing the line by 1.5. He set up T.J. Hughes for the 4-2 goal at 14:57 of the 2nd, then assisted on MacKinnon's power-play goal at 15:06 of the 3rd. - Worth watching: Both of his points came on goals MacKinnon was part of, and he logged more than five minutes on the power play. At a fair price the points prop stays worth a look; our pass point was -260.

Sidney Crosby 2+ shots on goal (-220 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Crosby had 2+ shots in 6 of 7 games this season (18 shots) and 8 of his last 10. Pittsburgh was a +160 road dog, so we expected chase-mode volume. - What happened: Crosby put 2 shots on goal in 19:46, clearing the line by 0.5. He also had an assist on Bryan Rust's goal at 8:57 of the 1st that made it 2-0 Pittsburgh. - Worth watching: The script played out as we read it, with Pittsburgh trailing from 4:24 of the 2nd on. It landed with no room to spare, so the price matters here; our pass point was -240.

Evgeni Malkin 2+ shots on goal (-155 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Malkin had 2+ shots in 5 of 7 games this season (16 shots) and 7 of his last 10 from last season. The -155 price implied 61%. - What happened: Malkin had 2 shots on goal in 17:01, and one of them was his wrist shot at 8:28 of the 1st that opened the scoring, set up by Ville Koivunen and Erik Karlsson. He cleared the line by 0.5. - Worth watching: Malkin and Crosby each logged 3:16 of power-play time. When Pittsburgh is a road dog and expected to chase, the 2+ shot line for both is worth a look at a fair price.

How the game played out

The 2nd period flipped it. Colorado scored three times in the frame, starting 25 seconds in, to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. MacKinnon finished with a goal and three assists, and Martin Necas added three assists. MacKinnon's power-play goal late in the 3rd was the fifth Colorado goal on Silovs, who faced 32 shots.

Trends to watch

• MacKinnon was in on four of Colorado's five goals, and Necas assisted on three of those. MacKinnon, Necas and Lehkonen combined on both Lehkonen goals, a group worth tracking for Avalanche points props.
• Colorado won 59.6 percent of faceoffs, while Pittsburgh won 40.4 percent.
• Blackwood stopped 29 of 31 for a .935 save percentage, while Silovs finished at .844. Pittsburgh's shot volume (31) was there; the finishing was not.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More hockey coverage lives on the NHL hub and in our NHL recaps, and if you are new to these markets, start with our guide to the player prop.