Martin Necas scores twice as Avalanche crush Penguins

Martin Necas scored twice and Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves in the Colorado Avalanche's 6-2 road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Colorado is on a three-game winning streak and a four-game (3-0-1) points streak. The Avalanche (47-13-10) lead the NHL with 104 points, including a league-best 53 road points from their 24-7-5 away record.

Wedgewood stopped 30 of 32 shots to earn his 26th win of the season.

Sam Malinski had a goal and an assist. Nathan MacKinnon, Parker Kelly, and Ross Colton scored the Avalanche's other goals.

Necas has already set new personal season highs in goals (34) and points (88) through 67 games played.

The loss dropped the Penguins (35-20-16, 86 points) into third place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is 1-2-1 with 21 goals allowed over its last four games.

Igor Chinakhov and Rickard Rakell scored for Pittsburgh, and Arturs Silovs stopped 24 of 29 shots.

Colorado was a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. The Avalanche successfully killed off a four-minute Penguins power play in the second period, and then over a minute of a 5-on-3 disadvantage in the third period.

At 4:57 of the first period, MacKinnon scored his league-leading 46th goal in spectacular fashion. MacKinnon poked the puck away from Parker Wotherspoon at the Colorado blue line and then raced down the ice, outpacing Wotherspoon and firing a shot past Silovs.

Chinakhov's one-timer point shot equalized for the Penguins 8:09 into the first period. The Avalanche responded with a longer-range goal of their own at the 15:24 mark, as Malinski's shot from the high slot deflected off the post and into the net.

Malinski's goal was the first of three tallies for the Avalanche within a two-minute span. Necas scored on the power play 16:44 into the first period, and Kelly followed up with another goal just 35 seconds later.

At the 17:29 mark of the second period, Necas converted a rebound after Silovs stopped Devon Toews' initial shot.

Rakell narrowed the Penguins' deficit at 11:47 of the third period, but Colton scored an empty-netter at the 16:20 mark.

--Field Level Media