Mikko Rantanen said out loud what everyone else was thinking:

Wow.

You could read his lips in a 6-3 Avalanche road win Tuesday night over the Capitals after Artturi Lehkonen dished his assist-of-the-year candidate on the team’s fourth goal. Call it the double nutmeg.

On a power-play chance, Lehkonen received the puck near the crease with his back turned to Rantanen in the opposite circle. That’s when Lehkonen made a blind backward pass through his legs — and the legs of Capitals defenseman John Carlson — for a perfect setup to Rantanen’s wicked wrister.

“I knew he always hangs out there,” Lehkonen told Altitude TV during the second intermission report. “It was basically a two-on-one in front of the net. … I was trying to suck the (defense) in and pass it to Mikko.”

It was a breakout Lehkonen performance, now 96 days removed from a scary November neck injury in Seattle. He missed the next 35 games. Lehkonen scored his first goal Tuesday since returning to the lineup. He added two assists and an empty netter — totaling four points — to help the Avs snap a four-game losing streak.

Lehkonen’s contributions are more significant given his presence on the second line with Ross Colton and Miles Wood. The Avalanche lacked depth scoring over their skid, but on Tuesday night, the team logged points by nine different players.

“We needed to spread it around a little bit,” coach Jared Bednar told reporters at Capital One Arena. “If guys weren’t feeling it, someone else needed to step up and create some offense. We got that tonight. It wasn’t the perfect game. … You’ve got to work and grind.”

Lehkonen led the way.

“He showed up tonight,” Rantanen said of Lehkonen on the Altitude TV broadcast. “He was the best player on the ice.”

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (40) and Avalanche left wing Miles Wood (28) celebrate their team’s victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday in Washington.

the associated press

Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen, left, skates against theFlorida Panthers on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.

the associated press