BUFFALO, N.Y. — Maybe the worst 12 minutes of the season will be a turning point for the Colorado Avalanche. Even if it isn’t, it did set up one of the wildest comebacks in recent franchise history. The Avs spotted the Buffalo Sabres a four-goal lead, still trailed by three after 40 minutes and then roared back for a 5-4 win Tuesday night at KeyBank Center. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, Artturi Lehkonen added the game-winner and Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves in 48 minutes of shutout relief to help the Avs avoid what looked like an ugly start to this season-long five-game road trip. “After the first 12, it was pretty good,” MacKinnon said. “It just felt like there was a lot of time left. (Jared Bednar) didn’t rip us too bad. He was pretty calm. I find sometimes when the coach comes in and is negative on top of how negative we feel, it’s just tough to come back. “We felt like there was a lot of time, and we played well in the second and third.” MacKinnon began the comeback early in the second period with his first goal in 11 games. The visitors continued to push, but Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen protected the three-goal lead despite 34 shot attempts and 20 scoring chances in the middle period. Then, the Avs really got rolling. Beyond the goaltending, another issue that has become more prominent of late is a lack of depth scoring. That returned in the third period Tuesday night. Joel Kiviranta and Logan O’Connor both put home rebounds of shots by defensemen in the opening 4:30 of the final period to cut Buffalo’s lead to 4-3 and give the Avs a real chance at the comeback. “I thought that really turned it around for us was (Ivan) Ivan, (Kiviranta) and (O’Connor),” Bednar said. “They got it started. They followed it up with another goal. And it was their work and relentlessness on the puck that really kind of started to spark our bench.” MacKinnon made sure that he was out of his mini-funk as well. He tipped a Mikko Rantanen shot in the slot past Luukkonen, and suddenly the Avs had come all the way back to tie the game with 12:21 remaining in the third period. Lehkonen put the Avs in front with 4:22 remaining, slotting home the rebound of a Calvin de Haan shot. MacKinnon collected the secondary assist for a three-point night. “I mean, I’ve been an issue,” MacKinnon said when asked about secondary scoring. “It’s been tough, but especially (O’Connor) and (Kiviranta) — they’ve been really solid all year. For them to chip in a couple is huge.” The first period, particularly the opening 12 minutes, were an abject disaster for the Avs. Colorado had to kill off a pair of penalties, and those four minutes were the best of the bunch. Buffalo scored four times on eight shots during 5-on-5 play, chasing Alexandar Georgiev at 11:49 of the period. If the 4-0 score didn’t show how poorly the Avs were playing, there was plenty of other data to do the job. At one point during the first period, the scoring chances were 9-0 in favor of the Sabres, per Natural Stat Trick. Buffalo had six high-danger scoring chances, while Colorado had just six shot attempts of any kind. “We brought it on ourselves, not being ready to start on time,” Bednar said. “Nobody was ready to start on time, and it showed. They filled the net early.” Tage Thompson scored Buffalo’s first two goals. The first came at 3:22, when he put home the rebound of a Connor Clifton point shot that hit the crossbar. Colorado challenged for goalie interference, but it was ruled a legal goal. Thompson scored again at 6:39. He carried the puck toward the Avalanche zone, sent a pass to Jason Zucker and then got it back after getting behind the Colorado defense. J.J. Peterka made it a 3-0 lead just 11 seconds later. Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power, right, collides with Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O’Connor during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) Related Articles Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt looking to break out of mini-funk with “bittersweet” Buffalo return up next Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche offense can’t solve Stuart Skinner, Oilers in second straight loss Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche swaps potential for experience, hopes for more consistency from Scott Wedgewood Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche Journal: Final roster projections for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche swaps backup goaltenders, trades for veteran Scott Wedgewood Zach Benson won a puck battle along the left wall after the Sabres dumped it in. Benson skated toward the net and hit Peterka for a one-timer near the right post. Fourth-line forward Beck Malenstyn ended Georgiev’s night at 11:49. The Avs turned the puck over at the Buffalo blue line, and former Colorado forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel won a battle in the neutral zone before springing Malenstyn behind the defense. Colorado’s top line and top defense pairing were on the ice for the first and fourth goals against. The third pairing of de Haan and John Ludvig, along with center Casey Mittelstadt, were on the ice for the two middle goals in one shift. The Avs played a little better in the final few minutes of the opening period, and a lot better in the second. MacKinnon ending his goal-scoring drought was one positive. Wedgewood’s play in his first action for the Avs in relief of Georgiev was another. And that helped set up a comeback that changed everything about the recent fortunes for the team. “I said it when I got traded here — the amount of skill this team, they’re never out of it,” Wedgewood said. “It was the message when we came in (for the first intermission). “It was kind of nice being on the other side of these guys just hunting it down for 40 minutes. There was a lot of game left, and they proved it.” Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.