Avalanche shut out by Penguins in 1st loss, NHL-record road streak ends

PITTSBURGH -- Tristan Jarry made 31 saves, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins hand the Colorado Avalanche their first loss this season and end their NHL-record 15-game road winning streak with a 4-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Colorado had not lost on the road since March 4 at the Dallas Stars, passing the Buffalo Sabres  (14 straight from April 3-Nov. 13, 2006) for the longest road winning streak (spanning seasons or otherwise) in League history. 

“I didn't feel like we were sleeping or anything,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I just felt like for the first 40 minutes, they were on point, physical, highly competitive. We didn't execute through that at all.  

“In fact, we tried to execute through it instead of simplifying our game and getting pucks in behind their defensemen.”

The shutout was Jarry’s second in five starts this season for the Penguins (3-4-0), who were outscored 14-6 in three straight losses.

Reilly Smith scored twice and has four goals in seven games after being acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade from the Vegas Golden Knights on June 28. Sidney Crosby and Lars Eller also scored.

“I thought this might have been one of the best games we’ve played all year from a structure standpoint,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we were able to create a lot of offense off our defense. I think that’s going to be an important element of our game moving forward.”

Alexandar Georgiev was pulled in the third period after making 20 saves on 24 shots for the Avalanche (6-1-0), who led the NHL with a plus-16 goal differential in their first six games. Ivan Prosvetov made five saves in relief.

Smith put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 on its first shot on goal at 4:40 of the first period, three seconds after a power play expired. Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard went down to block a pass from Rickard Rakell but slid the puck to Smith in the slot for a wrist shot.

Smith scored again to make it 2-0 at 16:51, chipping in a shot off a pass from Evgeni Malkin on a 2-on-1.

"It seems like almost all the time, teams that are in the playoffs around Thanksgiving are the teams that are in there at the end of the season,” Smith said. “You can't fall too far behind because it's so hard to make up games.”

The Avalanche trailed by more than one goal for the first time this season.

“We're going to have more of these, probably. Obviously, we don't want to,” Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. “We just have to learn from this and move on. … They played a hard game. I just don't think we played up to our standards tonight in terms of playing fast and hard.

“It's a learning lesson for all the new guys. We're going to lose at some point.”

Eller extended the lead to 3-0 at 6:00 of the second on his first goal with the Penguins, a backhand with Georgiev scrambling in the crease after Radim Zohorna tapped the puck off Josh Manson’s stick.

Colorado had a four-minute power play after Malkin was given a double minor for high sticking at 16:25 but could not score on three shots on goal.

Jonathan Drouin had the best chance at 19:43, when Jarry gloved his one-timer.

"The power play is usually a direct reflection of your 5-on-5 play,” Bednar said. “It didn't surprise me that our power play had a tough night based on the way we were playing 5-on-5.”

Crosby scored through traffic from the high slot for the 4-0 final at 10:35 of the third.

“The leadership we have in here, it's unexplainable,” Jarry said. “The guys we have every night, they're pushing us. They're pushing us to be at our best and I think that elevates the whole team.”

NOTES: Georgiev had won 12 straight road starts since March 13, tied for the longest streak in NHL history with Eddie Johnston (Feb. 14-Dec. 8, 1971, with the Boston Bruins). … The Avalanche were 0-for-5 on the power play after scoring on six of 21 chances (28.6 percent) in their first six games. … Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury sustained in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. … Pittsburgh defenseman John Ludvig did not play after sustaining a concussion in his NHL debut on Tuesday. He is out indefinitely. … Prosvetov played for the first time since being claimed off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 9.