- Oct 16, 2026
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SportsMafia Wire graphic. Photo: Troutfarm27 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Team logos via ESPN.
The Colorado Avalanche erased an early deficit and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Friday night.
Pittsburgh carried a 2-1 lead out of the first period after Evgeni Malkin scored his fourth goal of the season and Bryan Rust found the net 29 seconds later. Sidney Crosby set up Rust's marker, recording his 1,110th career assist and moving into seventh place on the NHL's all-time assists list. Ville Koivunen replaced injured Egor Chinakhov on Malkin's line.
The advantage did not hold. Colorado scored five consecutive goals to pull away, with T.J. Hughes tallying immediately after a penalty expired. Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood denied Rickard Rakell on a semi-breakaway during the Penguins' push. Declan Carlile struggled on the top pair. The defeat marked Pittsburgh's second straight loss.
"The first unit is an absolute disaster right now and needs to be broken up," an observer said of the Penguins' power play.
Pittsburgh continues its road swing Saturday at the Vegas Golden Knights in the second game of a back-to-back, followed by a Monday matchup at the Utah Mammoth.
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).