DENVER -- The Pittsburgh Penguins shook off a frustrating second period, dominated the third and left Colorado with big victory to end their road trip.

Right winger Beau Bennett scored twice during a three-goal flurry in the third period, and Pittsburgh beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Defenseman Olli Maatta got the game winner when the Penguins scored three times in a span of 3:24 in the final period.

It was a near carbon copy of their win in Pittsburgh three weeks ago. The Penguins scored three times in 2:08 of the second period to beat Colorado 4-3 on Nov. 19.

"I thought we played pretty good all night long and luckily we were rewarded in the end," Bennett said. "We just have to continue and go on a little bit of a streak here."

Center Matt Cullen also scored and right winger Patric Hornqvist had two assists for the Penguins, who finished 2-2 on the Western Conference trip.

"That's a good way to head home," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said.

Pittsburgh trailed 2-1 entering the third and killed off three penalties -- including a 5-on-3 for 36 seconds -- before Bennett tied it at 7:19.

Pittsburgh did not win a game last season when trailing heading into the third period, but they have now done it twice in 13 games.

"It was one of those games where you knew if you stuck with it you were going to get some opportunities," Johnston said.

Maatta gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead when his shot from the side of the net went off goaltender Reto Berra and popped up in the air. The puck then hit the crossbar and went off Colorado center John Mitchell and into the net.

"I just got the puck off the boards and I think our forwards did a good job clearing out some space and driving to the net," Maatta said. "I had a lot of room to work with."

After the goal was upheld upon review, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy challenged the call but it was not overturned.

"My opinion this is a call that should go to Toronto, not the referees on the ice," Roy said. "Why? Because you're watching some games and you see the same call and they disallow the goal. There's not enough consistency and I think we need consistency in those calls and know exactly what it is, what should be goalie interference and not."

Bennett gave Pittsburgh breathing room with his second of the night and fifth of the season just 1:19 after Maatta's goal.

The loss denied Colorado its first winning streak at home. The Avalanche are 4-7-1 at Pepsi Center.

"They skated and they kept the puck in our zone for a little bit but we made a couple mistakes and it's in the back of our net," right winger Alex Tanguay said. "I mean, we've got to find a streak here, find ways to win more consistently. It's really very frustrating."

Center Matt Duchene and defenseman Erik Johnson scored for Colorado and Berra finished with 29 saves.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves for the Penguins.

At 5:34 of the first period, Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon's shot deflected off the leg of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang to Duchene, whose snap shot beat Fleury on the far side. It was his 15th goal of the season and 14th in the past 18 games.

The Penguins tied it 5:22 later with a shot that went off two sticks. Maatta took a shot from the point, Hornqvist tipped it toward the net, and Cullen got the second tip past Berra for his third of the season.

Johnson gave Colorado the lead again when he redirected a centering pass from center Carl Soderberg at 15 minutes of the first. It was his fifth of the season.

NOTES: The Penguins officially put RW Pascal Dupuis on injured reserve after he announced he was retiring due to a medical condition related to blood clots on Tuesday. Dupuis, 36, had played in 34 games -- 18 this season -- since the start of the 2014-15 season because of blood clots. ... Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog was a late scratch from the lineup with a back issue. ... Pittsburgh D Kris Letang returned to the lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. He entered Wednesday leading Penguins defensemen in points with 14. ... Avalanche RW Jarome Iginla played in his 1,421st game Wednesday. He is three games behind Pat Verbeek for 27th all-time.