Artturi Lehkonen is the definition of a clutch playoff performer. For the second year in a row, the forward has scored the overtime winner to send his team to the Stanley Cup Final.
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On Monday night, the 26-year-old Lehkonen —who was traded from Montreal to Colorado this past March in exchange for a second-round pick in 2024 Draft — scored in overtime as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in overtime to sweep their Western Conference Finals matchup.
Artturi Lehkonen sends the @Avalanche to the #StanleyCup Final! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/2KT4CWO855
— NHL (@NHL) June 7, 2022
Less than one year ago, on Quebec’s national holiday, Lehkonen scored the game 6 overtime winner in Montreal that sent the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993.
The Finnish forward is only the second player in NHL history to score the goal that sends his team to the Finals multiple times. He joins Toronto’s Gordie Drillon who achieved the feat in 1938 and 1939.
Lehkonen is known as a hard-working player, but not much of an offensive dynamo in the regular season. While he has 11 points in his last 14 playoff games, he’s coming off a career-high season of 38 points.
We may or may not see those numbers go up in future years, but one thing is certain.
He can score when it counts.
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