Artturi Lehkonen is no stranger to important goals in his NHL career, but his biggest just won the Colorado Avalanche the Stanley Cup!
The Avalanche bested the back-to-back champions — the Tampa Bay Lightning — in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night. A huge two-goal second period helped lift the Avalanche over the Lightning 2-1 by game’s end, with Nathan MacKinnon getting the 1-1 equalizer and then Lehkonen getting the follow up 10 minutes later for the game winner.
On a rush down the ice, Lehkonen snapped a quick shot that bested Andrei Vasilevskiy glove side, a shot that the veteran netminder had no chance of stopping with just how fast it came off the Avalanche forward’s stick.
ARTTURI!!! 🗣️🗣️🚨#StanleyCup | #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/kfkjBGv4Hm
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 27, 2022
The goal was also Lehkonen’s fourth game winner of these playoffs, leading the field of all players by the end of the postseason.
It took 20 more minutes for the Avalanche to close out their first Stanley Cup win since 2000, but here’s how the game ended for the new champions of the NHL.
The Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup pic.twitter.com/hhTaPWcXp5
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) June 27, 2022
What a moment for the Avalanche and what a goal from Lehkonen to bring Lord Stanley back to Colorado!