What goes around doesn’t always come around in the divine art of puck luck, but redemption worked in eerily parallel ways for Artturi Lehkonen on Tuesday night.
His shorthanded goal with 4:56 remaining in the second period gave the Avalanche the lead for good in a tense 3-2 win over the Flyers at Ball Arena.
It was Lehkonen’s second game back from a concussion that sidelined him for a week. In his first game back, Colorado was on the power play late in the third period, seeking to break a 1-1 tie in St. Louis. But as Lehkonen skated along the boards, he was screened off by an official and lost the puck, which careened toward no-man’s land in the defensive zone. In a race to it, Avalanche forward J.T. Compher slipped and lost a stride on his opponent. Shorthanded goal for a 2-1 deficit.
So there was a lingering cosmic imbalance Tuesday night as Colorado went on the penalty kill, tied 1-1 with Philadelphia. And as Erik Johnson fired the puck along the boards. It took an unnatural bounce and floated into the same open space. Another one-on-one race. This time, Philadelphia’s Cam York lost speed and tumbled to the ice. Lehkonen was the penalty killer who scooped up the puck and capitalized.
“Very similar. Very similar goals,” coach Jared Bednar said, laughing. “That goal is created because of great forecheck rush coverage, and (Johnson) makes a strong stand on the line and then stays on the puck instead of just the hit. He was quick to get his stick on it and battle it out. … Didn’t look like we were going to be able to get there, but I think their guy was a little bit tired.”
Lehkonen celebrated his eighth goal and 19th point of the season with an emphatic fist pump. The Avalanche (15-10-2) never relinquished that lead.
“It kind of slowed down a bit. I don’t really know what happened,” Lehkonen said. “I wasn’t going on it at first, but then it took a fortunate bounce.”
In the first period, the bounces and automatic plays that generally go Colorado’s way — the same plays that down-on-their-luck Philadelphia fans expect to favor their opponents — were flipped upside down. Reliable defenseman Devon Toews had an opportunity to clear a loose puck from the crease, but he didn’t get a good stick on it. It remained at point-blank range for York, who scored an easy cleanup goal.
So the Avs were left with a 1-0 deficit at first intermission, and the accompanying fear of a season-sweep by the Flyers.
But missing one chance to bolster a lead against Colorado can give nightmares to even the best teams. Philadelphia certainly couldn’t afford to botch a breakaway. James van Riemsdyk did. He shanked a shot over Pavel Francouz’s net early in the second period.
That would have made it 2-0. The Avs proceeded to dominate possession for an extended stretch. They outshot Philadelphia 8-0 for the first 12 minutes of the second period, played entirely at five-on-five.
“I think we did a better job hanging onto the puck and forcing them to defend a little more,” Bednar said. “Still think there were times in the game where we were passing up on some shots. They’re a team that blocks a lot of shots.”
Compher threaded a perfect pass between two defenders on the rush, and Toews converted a sneaky five-hole finish — another case of timely redemption.
“I trust (Compher) to make that play, and that’s why I go to that space, expecting him to make that play,” Toews said. “It doesn’t always work out. But tonight it did.”
Then came Lehkonen’s go-ahead goal. The only irony of a short-handed winner is the current context: After finishing 0-for-3 on the power play, the Avs are 1-for-19 in their last six games.
It wasn’t enough to deter them this time. Compher scored an insurance goal in the third period to complete a multi-point night for both him and Lehkonen, and Francouz saved 26 shots playing his second consecutive game as starter Alexandar Georgiev got a rest. After the Flyers scored with their goalie pulled, Francouz held off a late barrage including one last kick save with one second left.
“We’ve been in that position many times,” Compher said. “Up a goal late in the third. They’re going to pull their goalie and they’re going to get chances. Frankie made some big saves. I would have liked to win one of those faceoffs at the end to help him out.”
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