Penguins score 3 goals in 3:24 to rally past Avalanche again, 4-2
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Beau Bennett and Olli Maatta combined for three goals in 3:24 during the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Wednesday night.
Bennett had two goals during the flurry and Maatta had the game winner. Maatta also had an assist.
Bennett tied it at 2 with a backhander at 7:19 of the third, and Maatta put Pittsburgh ahead 2:05 later when his sharp-angle shot went off goaltender Reto Berra and popped up in the air. The puck hit the crossbar and went off Colorado's John Mitchell and into the net.
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Bennett scored his second of the night and fifth of the season 1:19 later.
Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves for Pittsburgh, and Matt Cullen also scored.
Matt Duchene and Erik Johnson scored first-period goals for the Avalanche. Berra finished with 29 saves.
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The Penguins nearly duplicated their win against Colorado in Pittsburgh last month. The Penguins scored three times in a span of 2:08 of the second period to beat the Avalanche 4-3 on Nov. 19.
Duchene kept up his strong play with his 14th goal in the last 18 games. He gave Colorado a 1-0 lead when he picked up a loose puck in the left circle and beat Fleury with a shot to the far post 5:43 into the game.
It was Duchene's team-leading 15th of the season.
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Cullen tied it at 10:56 when he deflected a shot from the point for his third goal of the season.
The Avalanche got the lead back at the 15-minute mark when Johnson carried the puck into the Pittsburgh end, floated a pass to Carl Soderberg and then redirected the return pass. It was his fifth of the season.
Colorado had a chance to extend the lead with a 5-on-3 power play early in the third, but the Penguins killed off both penalties.
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The Penguins were playing a day after forward Pascal Dupuis announced he was retiring because of a medical condition related to blood clots. Dupuis, 36, played in just 18 games this season and 16 in 2014-15 due to blood clots.
NOTES: Patric Hornqvist had two assists or Pittsburgh. ... Avalanche RW Gabriel Landeskog was a late scratch with a back injury. C Mikhail Grigorenko took his place on the top line. ... Penguins D Kris Letang returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an undisclosed injury.