Avalanche defeat Penguins, on verge of clinching playoff berth

DENVER --Devon Toews scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:26 remaining in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 at Ball Arena on Saturday.

Mike Matheson tied it 2-2 for the Penguins at 15:07 of the third period when he shot past Darcy Kuemper from the bottom of the right face-off circle as the goalie dove. Toews scored the game-winner 27 seconds later at 15:34, after Nathan MacKinnon's shot caromed out in front off the end boards.
"It's kind of simple hockey, and I don't know if he meant to miss the net or not, but it worked out nicely, [with a] perfect bounce off the back of the boards right to me," Toews said.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored, Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist, and Kuemper made 38 saves for the Avalanche (49-14-16), who won for the 28th time at home this season (28-4-3) to tie the Colorado/Quebec Nordiques record (2000-01, 2017-18).
"Our guys obviously get up for playing at home, playing in front of our fans, [and] tonight was a perfect example of that," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "The anthem singer was awesome. The crowd was buzzing. The chants were starting before the first puck drop. It's hard not to get into that, right? … Our fans were as excited about the game as we were."
The Avalanche are first in the NHL standings with 104 points and could become the first team to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth if the Vegas Golden Knights lose to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
Sidney Crosby scored, and Tristan Jarry made 35 saves for the Penguins (41-19-10), who have lost four of their past six games (2-3-1) and remained one point behind the New York Rangers for second in the Metropolitan Division.
"I thought it was just a really good hockey game," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was a well-played game on both sides. We had a lot of looks. We had a fair amount of chances; we would normally, I think, convert on some of those. But they played extremely well also. It was a real competitive hockey game. I just thought it was a real good game on both sides."
Rantanen made it 1-0 at 9:59 of the second period when he batted a rebound out of the air over Jarry.
Crosby tied it 1-1 at 14:46 on a rebound from a Kris Letang point shot.
"We generated some good chances, really quality chances, and unfortunately not enough went in," Crosby said. "They got a bounce and buried it. We know that they're a dangerous team. They don't need much, and that was basically the difference today."

Aube-Kubel made it 2-1 at 15:06 with a slap shot from the top of the right circle.
"They did everything right," Bednar said. "They won the wall battle in the [defensive zone]. I think it was [Nico] Sturm that got the chip on it. [Alex Newhook] is slashing across to pick it out, and then 'Kuby' coming over for support. So they do everything right leading into that goal.
"And I think 'Newy' bobbled it. I don't think he meant to drop-pass that, but [when] you're in the right spots good things happen."
NOTES: Penguins forward Jason Zucker did not play after sustaining an undisclosed injury in a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. … Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri did not play after sustaining an upper-body injury in a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Bednar said there is no timetable for his return but that he is confident Kadri will be back by the playoffs. … Letang extended his point streak to four games (seven assists) and has scored 60 points for the second time in his NHL career (67 in 2015-16). … Matheson scored his 10th goal of the season, tying an NHL career high set in 2017-18 with the Florida Panthers, and is the sixth Penguins defenseman to score 10 or more goals in a season since 2005-06. … Rantanen extended his point streak to five games (seven points; four goals, three assists). … MacKinnon became the first player from the 2013 NHL Draft class to reach 400 assists. … Sturm got his first point in eight games with the Avalanche since being acquired in a trade with the Wild on March 15. … Colorado forward Darren Helm had two hits and played 10:03 in his 800th NHL game.