EDMONTON — Artturi Lehkonen scored with less than a second remaining in overtime to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, at Rogers Place in one of the best games of the NHL season.
Nathan MacKinnon threw the puck toward the net from the right wall in the dying seconds and Lehkonen was there to pounce. Sean Walker scored twice and Alexandar Georgiev made 32 saves to help the Avs sweep through their Western Canada road trip.
Walker scored his first goal with the Avalanche to give Colorado the lead midway through the second period. Lehkonen’s perfectly weighted pass found Walker streaking into the zone, and he snapped a shot past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.
He scored for a second time with 5:32 remaining in the third to rally the Avs after the Oilers had grabbed the lead with two tallies in the period. Fellow newcomer Casey Middelstadt came out from behind the net to the right of the goalie and fed Walker cutting towards the cage for a one-timer a little more than three minutes after Edmonton went ahead.
Walker has earned plenty of praise from coach Jared Bednar and his teammates for how fleet afoot he is and how willing he is to join the offensive attack. It’s been a strong fit through the first four games since he arrived from Philadelphia for a 2025 first-round pick and Ryan Johansen.
Lehkonen’s pass to spring Jonathan Drouin for a breakaway earlier in the period might have been even better. Drouin was hooked on the play and earned a penalty shot, but Skinner turned it aside.
Edmonton thought it had tied the game early in the third period, but Zach Hyman clearly kicked the puck into the net. The Oilers kept pushing, controlling the next several minutes. Colorado had a couple of chances on the counter but couldn’t convert and Warren Foegele did level the score at 5:46 of the third. He deflected a shot from the right point by Evan Bouchard.
One of the Oilers’ newcomers, Sam Carrick, gave Edmonton the lead when he found a loose puck in front of Alexandar Georgiev. The play started when Corey Perry lost his stick in a skirmish with Josh Manson, but Perry was able to kick the puck to Mattias Janmark and collected a second assist for his efforts.
Colorado played well in the opening period, but found a way to put more pressure on the goaltender in the middle frame. The Avalanche had 16 shots on goal in the period after just seven in the opening 20 minutes.
The first period was one of the fastest-paced 20 minutes of the season. Neither team scored, but there were as many high-level defensive plays as scoring chances. Edmonton is a much-improved team at that end of the ice, particularly since an early-season coaching change. The Oilers blocked 18 shot attempts in the opening period, and also were able to get in the way of several potentially dangerous passes as well.
These are two of the most talented teams who also like to play fast, and that was evident right from the start. They haven’t seen each other all season, but will play two more times in Colorado’s final 14 contests, including game No. 82 at Ball Arena.
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