Artturi Lehkonen scores hat trick as Avalanche defeats Utah in growing regional rivalry – The Denver Post

SALT LAKE CITY – Geography says there is potential for a rivalry to develop between the Colorado Avalanche and Utah HC. It’s still up to the players and teams, not the locations on the map, whether they create a proper map.

The Avs and their new Rocky Mountain neighbors moved closer to realizing their potential Friday night. Artturi Lehkonen scored his first career hat trick while Nathan MacKinnon had three points and his first contest in three seasons as the Avalanche beat Utah 4-1 in a spirited affair on Friday night at the Delta Center.

“It was great,” MacKinnon said. “We always have a good crowd on the street near our city. There were a lot of Avs jerseys, which is always fun when you’re out and about. It was super loud when we scored. It was a fun atmosphere.”

Mackenzie Blackwood, who signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract earlier in the day, made 34 saves for the Avs, another good start since her arrival from San Jose 18 days ago.

Lehkonen scored his second goal with 5:14 left in the third period. He scored on the rebound of a Valeri Nichushkin shot for his 12th goal in 25 games, then fired the No. 13 into an empty net. MacKinnon’s three assists increased his NHL-leading total to 60 points.

The Avs have now won four straight and eight of their last 10 games, extending their best streak of the season.

“Yeah, I think (it’s coming),” MacKinnon said. “Especially if we get (Jonathan Drouin) back because he is such a dynamic part of our team. But that’s 22-12 since 0-4. Just pretty solid. (Jared Bednar) said before the game that we have the fourth-best record in the league since we started.

“The start still counts, but I like where we are.”

Not only did MacKinnon help set up Colorado’s first three goals, he also recorded his first official contest since March 2022. Temperatures on the ice rose during the first period but boiled over in the final seconds of the second.

MacKinnon passed the puck behind the Utah net to the left point before Barrett Hayton came over and scored on him. The two centers fought with each other and quickly dropped the gloves for a brief fight. Seconds later, after the horn sounded to end the quarter, another larger scrum developed around the Utah net.

“This team, for whatever reason, played hard against us both in Arizona and now this year,” Bedar said. “Your team is coming, lots of young, experienced players. You can see that in the overall standings… you have to reckon with them.

“I can imagine there being a rivalry without question because of the proximity we are in, but more importantly for us, it just seems like they keep playing us hard and we keep playing hard “We have to work to win these games.”

It was MacKinnon’s first official fight since March 27, 2002, when he faced Matthew Dumba of Minnesota. According to Hockey Fights, it is the ninth fight of his career and the fourth against someone from this franchise – the first three came against a player from Arizona before the move.