Avalanche's Artturi Lehkonen: Nets first career hat trick

Lehkonen scored three goals, including one empty-netter, and added three hits in Friday's 4-1 win over Utah.

Lehkonen opened the scoring midway through the second period and added two more tallies late in the third to propel the Avalanche to the win. The 29-year-old winger has nine goals and one assist over 12 outings in December. He's up to 13 tallies, 19 points, 55 shots on net, 18 blocked shots, 12 hits and a plus-11 rating through 25 contests overall. Lehkonen will remain a strong scorer as long as he's on the Avalanche's top line.