Lehkonen has hat trick, Blackwood stops 34 shots as Avalanche beat Utah 4-1

SALT LAKE CTIY (AP) — Artturi Lehkonen scored three goals, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 34 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Utah Hockey Club 4-1 on Friday night.

Mikko Rantanen also scored and Nathan MacKinnon had three assists for Colorado, which has won four straight.

Blackwood has four wins in five starts since being acquired from San Jose on December 9th. He signed a five-year, $26.5 million contract extension with the Avalanche earlier Friday.

Nick Schmaltz scored for Utah, which has lost eight of its last nine at home. Karel Vejmelka finished with 33 saves.

Following a scoreless first period, Colorado struck first when a wide-open Lehkonen tapped in the puck off a feed from MacKinnon with 8:08 left in the second.

Utah finally got on the board when Schmaltz tapped in a power play equalizer with at 3:42 ofthe third off Mikhail Sergachev’s blast down the middle.

Lehkonen answered with 5:16 left when he tapped in the puck around Vejmelka’s outstretched skate. Mikko Rantanen and Lehkonen capped the scoring with a pair of empty-netters in the final two minutes.

Avalanche: Aggressive attacking from Colorado kept Utah’s defense on its heels for the bulk of the game.

Utah: An inability to generate early scoring chances offset Utah’s strong defensive play early in the game. In the second period alone, Utah totaled only seven shots on goal.

Schmaltz gave Utah a chance to take its first lead after scoring on a power play but Lehkonen helped Colorado pull away with his second tap-in goal from close range.

Colorado improved to 16-0 this season when leading at the start of the third period.

Avalanche host Winnipeg on Tuesday while Utah visits Seattle on Monday.

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

Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) and Utah Hockey Club center Kevin Stenlund (82) go after the puck, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) watches as Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) goes after the puck, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz (8) collides with Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews (7) grabs the puck as Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton (27) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) get into a scuffle during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton (27) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) get into a scuffle during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Utah Hockey Club defenseman Olli Maatta (2) defends as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) looks for a shot during the Second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor (25) gets tangled up with Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad (17) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz (8) and Colorado Avalanche center Ivan Ivan (82) battle for position during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) gets the puck past Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) to score a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen reacts after scoring a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar jumped to nearly 700 on Saturday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of the scores of buildings that collapsed when it struck near the country's second-largest city.

State-run television MRTV reported that 694 people have now been found dead and another 1,670 injured, with 68 others missing, according to a statement from the military-led government. The same figures were also reported by the independent news site The Irrawaddy.

Myanmar is in the throes of a prolonged and bloody civil war, which is already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis. It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could still rise precipitously.

The earthquake struck midday Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks including one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude. It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam.

The head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, said in a rare television broadcast Friday that the death toll was expected to rise as he reported an initial 144 people found dead.

In neighboring Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to some 17 million people — many of whom live in high-rise buildings — and other parts of the country.

Bangkok city authorities said so far six people have been found dead, 26 injured and 47 are still missing, most from a construction site near the capital's popular Chatuchak market.

When the quake hit, the 33-story high-rise being built by a Chinese firm for the Thai government wobbled, then came crashing to the ground in a massive plume of dust that sent people screaming and fleeing from the scene.

On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move the tons of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive.

“I was praying that that they had survived but when I got here and saw the ruin — where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive,” said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site.

“I cannot accept this. When I see this I can’t accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too,” she said.

Waenphet Panta said she hadn't heard from her daughter Kanlayanee since a phone call about an hour before the quake. A friend told her Kanlayanee had been working high on the building on Friday.

“I am praying my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she’s at the hospital,” she said, Kanlayanee’s father sitting beside her.

Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance.

A 37-member team from the Chinese province of Yunnan reached the city of Yangon early Saturday with earthquake detectors, drones and other supplies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia’s emergencies ministry dispatched two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report from the Russian state news agency Tass.

India sent a search and rescue team and a medical team as well as provisions, while Malaysia’s foreign ministry said the country will send 50 people on Sunday to help identify and provide aid to the worst-hit areas.

The United Nations allocated $5 million to start relief efforts. President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.

The Trump administration's cuts to the United States Agency for International Development have already forced the United Nations and non-governmental organization to cut many programs in Myanmar.

AP writers Jerry Harmer and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

A rescuer walks past debris of a construction site for a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, during a search mission at the collapsed building after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Relatives of workers at a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake wait as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Vehicles make their way near a road damaged by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A building is damaged after earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Volunteers look for survivors near a damaged building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, volunteers rescue near damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects victims caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)