After a strong 20 minutes to start the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Colorado Avalanche saw a 3-1 lead turn into a 6-3 loss on Tuesday night. The Penguins scored four goals in the third period to come back from a one-goal deficit.

It didn't take long for the game to be tied in the third period, as Brooks Orpik recorded his first goal of the season when he deflected a shot into the net. Over three minutes later, Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins in the lead, 4-3, and then around three minutes later (again) James Neal scored a power play goal, the only one in six tries by the team. And to complete the triple three, Kris Letang added the sixth goal midway through the period on a backhander.

Semyon Varlamov wasn't pulled from the game, allowing all six goals on 33 shots. Marc-Andre FLeury stopped 24 of 27 shots, all three goals allowed in the first period.

The Avalanche (8-9-1, 17 points) visit the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

For updates on the game, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey or our Penguins blog Pensburgh. For news and notes from around the NHL, visit SB Nation's NHL news hub.