Lehkonen's Last-Second OT Goal Gives Avs Thrilling Win in Edmonton

That guy loves scoring overtime goals in Edmonton!

The best 64:59.5 of hockey in the NHL this season was played last night in Edmonton. At the end, it was once again Artturi Lehkonen standing in the same area of the halfboards where he celebrated a Western Conference title two springs ago after scoring the overtime winner in Game 4.

Did Saturday night’s game have the same implications of a conference final contest with one team on the verge of punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in roughly two decades? No. But for this season, it was a true test and battle between two strong Cup contenders vying for position down the stretch.

Thanks to Lehkonen’s last-second tally, it was the Colorado Avalanche coming away with two points and a 3-2 win.

A slow start finished anything but. Two of the fastest teams in the league trading scoring bids up and down the ice after trading punches in the middle frame. 

In a game billed as a match-up of two of the league’s biggest superstars in Nathan MacKinnon vs. Connor McDavid, only one managed a point. That one point just happened to be the primary assist on the game winner, a remarkable backhand to the front of the net where a streaking Lehkonen slammed the puck into the back of the net so hard that it hit the center post and came out almost as quick as it went in.