The Colorado Avalanche have won three of their past four games to continue their climb up the Central Division standings.
Strong play from forward Artturi Lehkonen continues to spark the surge.
Lehkonen enters Monday’s visit to the division rival Chicago Blackhawks on a nine-game point streak. He has collected nine goals and four assists over that span. His two goals Saturday helped steer Colorado to a 5-2 home win against the Calgary Flames.
To Lehkonen, the output is a product of his surroundings.
“(I’m) playing with really good players,” he said. “Just trying to get to the quiet ice and find openings in the offensive zone. And I mean, also with the guys that I play with, they find me more often than not. So, yeah, just try to shoot and get it toward the net.
“I’m just trying to find holes, and I mean, a couple of good bounces for sure.”
Lehkonen’s linemates, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas, each contributed a goal and assist versus Calgary. Meanwhile, the lead defensive pairing of Cale Makar (four assists) and Devon Toews (two) was active in the attack.
Makar said the top line is “humming” as Colorado begins a two-game road trip.
“(Lehkonen is) finding really good spots offensively to put pucks in the net and then facilitate for other guys, too,” Makar said. “He’s definitely one of the hardest-working guys I know, comes to compete every single day, and he’s getting rewarded right now.”
Chicago returns to the United Center amid a stretch that has the club playing five of six on the road.
The Blackhawks have lost five of six overall after Saturday’s 5-4 overtime defeat to the Bruins in Boston. Anton Frondell tallied two early goals and Ryan Greene and Connor Bedard scored in the third period to give Chicago a 4-2 lead. But the Bruins beat Arvid Soderblom twice in the final 7:54 to tie the game, then netted the game-winner at 2:32 of OT.
“That was probably our best game of the year,” said Bedard, who added an assist. “Just the way we were battling, not shying away from anything, taking hits, getting into the fight maybe more than we did against Detroit (a 4-1 loss on Thursday). It (stinks) to see the result, how it ends, and we have to find a way to win, but most of the game we played pretty well.”
Chicago coach Jeff Blashill essentially echoed Bedard’s sentiment while praising the efforts of Frondell, whose multigoal game gave him three goals this season.
Frondell scored on the power play 6:04 into the game and redirected a Tyler Bertuzzi shot for another goal at 3:31 of the second period.
“I thought ‘Frondy’ played great,” Blashill said. “I thought he played a great game. It was unfortunate not to get the win out of it based on when guys play as good as they play. But again, that’s the way it goes.”
Patrick Kane earned the primary assist on Frondell’s first goal to become the first American-born player — and 21st overall — to register 900 career assists.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar won his 453rd career game on Saturday. That’s the ninth-most all-time for a single club while surpassing former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville’s 452 victories with Chicago.