Artturi Lehkonen's late goal caps Avalanche's 5-goal rally in 5-4 win over the Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Artturi Lehkonen scored with 4:22 left, and the Colorado Avalanche overcame a four-goal deficit in a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and added an assist as the Avalanche scored four third-period goals. Joel Kiviranta and Logan O’Connor also scored. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood stopped all 22 shots he faced taking over after starter Alexander Georgiev allowed four goals on eight shots in the first 11:49.

It was Wedgewood’s debut for Colorado after being acquired in a trade of backup goalies with Nashville last weekend.

The Avalanche overcame a four-or-more goal deficit for the fourth time in team history, and first since rallying from four goals in a 5-4 OT win over Pittsburgh in March.

Tage Thompson scored twice for Buffalo, which is 0-3-1 in its last four. JJ Peterka and Beck Malenstyn also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed five goals on 43 shots.

Lehkonen’s winner came after Luukkonen stopped Calvin de Haan’s shot from the left point. Parked in front, Lehkonen scored the rebound through the goalie’s legs.

Avalanche: Yet another comeback for the Avalanche, who began the day allowing a league-high 37 first-period goals. The Avalanche improved their league-leading record to 7-10 when trailing after the first.

Sabres: A frustrating ending for team that took its foot off the gas after the opening period. This marked the second time the Sabres have blown a four-or-more goal lead in team history. The other time was a 10-4 loss to Calgary on March 12, 1988.

Aside from Lekhonen’s goal, MacKinnon tying the game by deflecting in Mikko Rantanen’s point shot with 12:21 remaining.

Kiviranta, O’Connor and MacKinnon scored in a span of 6:20.

The Avalanche continue their five-game trip at Carolina on Thursday, while the Sabes continue their five-game homestand, facing Winnipeg on Thursday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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)

The Buffalo Sabres bench reacts after a goal by left wing Beck Malenstyn during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka, left, celebrates with left wing Zach Benson (9) and center Dylan Cozens (24) after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) makes a save against Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson, right, shoots while defended by Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Colorado Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, bottom, reaches for a loose puck with defenseman Calvin de Haan, left, and right wing Nikolai Kovalenko, back, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Joel Kiviranta, second from right, celebrates with right wingers Nikolai Kovalenko, right, and Logan O'Connor (25) after scoring during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are rising toward more records Wednesday after tech companies talked up how much artificial intelligence is boosting their results.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in morning trading to add to what looks to be one of its best years of the millennium. It’s on track to set an all-time high for the 56th time this year after coming off 10 gains in the last 11 days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 143 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.8% to its own record.

Salesforce helped pull the market higher after delivering stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell just short.

CEO Mark Benioff highlighted the company’s artificial-intelligence offering for customers, saying “the rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing global labor, reshaping how industries operate and scale.” The stock of the company, which helps businesses manage their customers, rose 8.8%.

Marvell Technology jumped even more after delivering better results than expected, up 22.2%. CEO Matt Murphy said the semiconductor supplier is seeing strong demand from AI and gave a forecast for profit in the upcoming quarter that topped analysts’ expectations.

They helped offset a drop of 10% for Foot Locker, which reported profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations.

CEO Mary Dillon said the company is taking a more cautious view, and it cut its forecasts for sales and profit this quarter. Dillon pointed to how keen customers are for discounts and how soft demand has been outside of Thanksgiving week and other key selling periods.

Retailers overall have offered mixed signals about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain. Their spending has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has avoided a recession that earlier seemed inevitable because of high interest rates brought by the Federal Reserve to crush inflation. But shoppers are now contending with still-high prices and a slowing job market.

This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month. A report on Wednesday morning may have offered a preview of it.

The report from ADP suggested employers in the private sector increased their hiring last month, but not by as much as economists expected.

The report helped solidify traders’ expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks.

The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market. It had appeared set to continue cutting interest rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has scrambled Wall Street’s expectations somewhat.

Trump's preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher economic growth and inflation, which could alter the Fed’s plans.

Another report on Wednesday morning said health care, finance and other businesses in the U.S. services sector are continuing to grow, but not by as much as before and not by as much as economists expected.

One respondent from the construction industry told the survey from the Institute for Supply Management that the Fed's rate cuts have not pulled down mortgage rates as much as hoped yet. Plus “the unknown effect of tariffs clouds the future.”

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.22% from 4.23% late Tuesday.

On Wall Street, Campbell's fell 5% for one of the S&P 500's sharper losses despite increasing its dividend and reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of Wall Street's expectations, and the National Football League's Washington Commanders hired Campbell's CEO Mark Clouse as its team president.

Campbell's said Mick Beekhuizen, its president of meals and beverages, will become its 15th CEO following Clouse's departure.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.4% following a night full of drama in Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the parliament. Yoon accused pro-North Korean forces of plotting to overthrow one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. The martial law declaration was revoked about six hours later.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.9% in Seoul. The country’s financial regulator said it was prepared to deploy 10 trillion won ($7.07 billion) into a stock market stabilization fund at any time, the Yonhap news agency reported.

In France, political turmoil has also been rising as the government faces a no-confidence vote Wednesday in parliament following a divisive budget debate. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.5%.

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

A person walks on Wall St. near the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Holiday decorations are shown in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - Pedestrians cross Wall Street in New York's Financial District on Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person rides a bicycle in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)