Just over a week ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins came to Ball Arena and handed the Avalanche their worst loss of the season. The Avalanche returned the favor on Tuesday.

Colorado went into PPG Paints Arena and used a four-goal first period to win 6-2 and get revenge on Sidney Crosby’s Penguins.

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Martin Necas scored two goals, while Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Malinski, Parker Kelly, and Ross Colton each added one, extending Colorado’s winning streak to three games. The Avs also got an assist from Logan O’Connor, who made his season debut after missing the first 69 games of the regular season. Malinski had a helper too, finishing with two points.

Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves in goal, earning his 26th victory of the season to allow the Avs to remain perfect on their road trip. The Avalanche will play in Winnipeg on Thursday before heading back to Ball Arena for three straight.

This was the closest they’ve been to full health since the trade deadline. With Colton and O’Connor returning, head coach Jared Bednar was finally able to slot Nazem Kadri in as the 3C. He played with wingers Parker Kelly and O’Connor, while Jack Drury centered the fourth line with Joel Kiviranta and Zakhar Bardakov. Nic Roy missed the game with an upper-body injury, joining Artturi Lehkonen on the injured list.

With three strong lines, Bednar distributed the ice time a lot more than he was able to just a few days ago. It allowed the Avs to flex their depth both up front and on the blueline. The points were coming from all over the lineup while the top line still did its part.

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The scoring started with a nice break for MacKinnon. He battled to beat the defenseman and put it past goalie Arturs Silovs to give the Avs a 1-0 lead at 4:57. Just over three minutes later, Egor Chinakhov responded, scoring on a one-timer set up by former Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard.

The score remained knotted up at 1-1 for several minutes. But then the floodgates open. First, Malinski’s tally put the Avs ahead. After that, a power play one-timer goal from Necas that took just five seconds to score doubled the lead. And moments later, O’Connor set up Kelly from behind the net, and his teammate fired a laser into the top corner to make it 4-1.

All three of those goals came in a 1:55 span, and it gave the Avs the same 4-1 lead Pittsburgh had in the first period of their visit to Denver.

Silovs remained in the game for Pittsburgh and gave up one more goal in the second period. It was Necas again, this time scoring on a rebound following a point shot from Devon Toews. Necas’ 34th of the season gives him 12 goals in 15 games since the Olympic break.

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Colton added an empty-netter after Rickard Rakell scored for Pittsburgh. The Avs finished 1-for-2 on the PP and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, which included a lengthy 5-on-4 for the Pens.

Good: Quick Work On The PP

As the power play continues to take steps in the right direction, it’s nice to see the Avs get a goal so quickly off the draw. It came on the first power play chance they had.

Brock Nelson won the faceoff back to Cale Makar and the superstar defenseman skated right down the center with a clear shot on Silovs. At the last moment he sent a pass to the circle for Necas to blast a one-timer home. All of this took just five seconds, and it was a far cry from past PP goals, which often required ample work to get one in.

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The Avs have the fifth best power play in March.

Bad: Nic Roy Injury

Without knowing much about what kept Roy out of the lineup other than it being listed as upper body, it’s a shame that he couldn’t go just as Colton and O’Connor came back. Now the Avs are back to two players out with injuries.

On the bright side, it does sound like Lehkonen is getting close. Bednar has said in the past that he could be back before the end of the road trip.

The post Postgame: Avalanche Get Payback In Pittsburgh, Cruise to 6-2 Victory appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers still do not have a starting quarterback for the 2026 season.

As the Steelers make their preparations for the 2026 NFL Draft, they are waiting on the decision of Aaron Rodgers. The 42-year-old is still debating whether or not to return for a 22nd NFL campaign, and the Steelers are caught in the middle.

Rodgers and the organization have to make progress in order to get him to return for 2026, but that isn’t stopping his former teammates from encouraging him to come back. That includes one of his Green Bay Packers teammates and member of The Pat McAfee Show, A.J. Hawk. The former Packers linebacker said on a recent episode that he’s been encouraging Rodgers, unsuccessfully, to return to Pittsburgh for one more year under new head coach Mike McCarthy.

“No joke, I’ve been sending him texts,” he said. “Telling him, ‘Hey, Aaron you gotta go back, you need to go play for Pittsburgh, you need to play for Big Mike.’ He’ll either say ‘shut up,’ or nothing.”

Steelers Keep Waiting

While the answer is not quite what the Steelers wanted to hear, they continue to wait for Rodgers to make a call. At this point, it’s clear that it’s Pittsburgh or retirement for him, but he’s taking his time deciding.

If he can replicate 2025, it’s hard to envision why he wouldn’t want to return. Even in a much less mobile version of himself, Rodgers managed to collect 3,337 passing yards, throwing for 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. With McCarthy’s focus on offensive now in charge, the idea is that life would be easier for the veteran QB in this new-look Steelers offense.

In the meantime, the Steelers have made no backup plans as they have just Will Howard and Mason Rudolph under contract for 2026. It’s Rodgers or nothing for Pittsburgh, just as it’s Pittsburgh or nothing for Rodgers.

Hawk and Rodgers’ Bond Goes Way Back

The relationship between Hawk and Rodgers goes back 20 years. The two played together for nine seasons in Green Bay from 2006 to 2014, highlighted by their Super Bowl championship in 2011.

In the decade since being teammates, the two have remainded close friends. Rodgers has been a frequent guest on The Pat McAfee Show as well since the program’s debut, giving the duo even more time to rehash the glory days.

Still, it hasn’t been enough for Hawk to persuade Rodgers’ decision making. There’s no one who can impress upon the future Hall of Fame quarterback, who marches to the beat of his own drum own his own time.

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The first week of NFL free agency has passed, and Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan did not hesitate to get to work.

Big Acquisitions for Pittsburgh

Within an hour of the “legal tampering window” opening on March 9, Khan struck a deal with the Indianapolis Colts to bring wide receiver Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh. The two teams also swapped late-round picks. As part of the deal, Pittman reworked his deal to a three-year, $59 million contract. This is a move that lowers his cap hit for the upcoming season.

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Hours after bringing in Pittman, the first signing was agreed to. Jamel Dean, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, agreed to a three-year, $36.75 million contract. Later the same day, Pittsburgh finalized a two-year, $12.25 million deal with Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle.

The following day, former Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker inked a one-year, $5.5 million deal to join the Steelers. Defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day, previously with the Titans, later signed a two-year deal worth $11 million.

How Do These Additions Help the Steelers?

Bringing in a player like Pittman gives the Steelers the second receiving option that they have needed for the last two seasons.

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Pittsburgh has been searching for a second great receiver since trading Diontae Johnson in 2023. It seemed like they had found that number two last offseason after acquiring DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks. However, the Steelers later traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, leaving them in the same situation.

Pittman provides another weapon for Mike McCarthy’s offense that the defense will need to scheme around. Rather than having to worry about guys like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, defenses will now have to adjust for Metcalf and Pittman. This proves a stark upgrade from statistically one of the worst receivers at getting open last season.