Tanev scores OT winner, Penguins deal Avalanche first loss
Penguins 3 Avalanche 2 (OT)
PITTSBURGH — Brandon Tanev scored a short-handed goal in overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Colorado 3-2 on Wednesday night, the first loss of the season for the Avalanche.
Tanev, Pittsburgh’s biggest free-agent pickup in the off-season, scored his first goal with the Penguins at 3:57 of overtime.
He swooped into the zone short-handed and threw a shot on goal that went between Philipp Grubauer’s pads. Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog knocked the puck into the net, giving Pittsburgh its fourth straight win for the first time since an eight-game winning streak last season.
The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby continued a season-long, seven-game point streak, scoring his fourth goal of the season.
Jake Guentzel added to his six-game point streak with his fifth goal in four games. Matt Murray made 26 saves.
The Avalanche, the NHL’s last unbeaten team, looked to start the season with six straight wins for the first time since 2013-14.
The best start in franchise history came during the 1985-86 season, when the team was located in Quebec and the Nordiques opened 7-0.
Nathan MacKinnon scored his third for Colorado, off an assist from Mikko Rantanen. Both have a six-game point streak to open the season. Matt Calvert also scored, and Grubauer stopped 30 shots.
MacKinnon tied the game at 2-2 at 2:56 of the third period. Alone in the slot, MacKinnon took a pass from Rantanen and flipped a wrist shot past Murray.
Pittsburgh played without five of its top nine forwards.