In desperate need of an upset win in Denver Friday night, the Winnipeg Jets gave themselves an early three-goal cushion.
It wasn’t close to enough as the Avalanche roared back, scoring six unanswered goals in a 6-3 win to send the Jets to a fourth straight defeat.
It was almost a tale of two different games. The Jets had the bulk of the good scoring chances in the first, but the momentum completely changed as the Avs flipped the script to start the middle frame.
The league-leading Avalanche recorded the first 10 shots of the period, notching three goals in the second, and then they added three more in the third as the Jets completely collapsed.
“They just kept pushing the pace,” said Adam Lowry. “We got away from what we were doing in the first period, and that was being real direct, that was being smart with the puck, that was staying above their three guys. We weren’t giving up very many odd-man rushes and as the game wore on, we got away from that, and you saw the end result.”
“They’re a fast team,” said Pierre-Luc Dubois. “Especially in the ‘D’ zone you know. They’re just turning in circles for 30 seconds. You’re not giving them anything, but you’re not getting anything either.
“You get the puck, you don’t have any energy to get up the ice.”
Gabriel Landeskog led the way for Colorado, recording his fifth career hat trick, while Nathan MacKinnon chipped in with a pair of markers.
“Their top players took it to another level,” said head coach Dave Lowry. “They started putting pucks in. They started using their speed. They started creating pressure, creating turnovers. It’s a pretty simple offence. Get it to the top, get it to the net, get bodies to the net.
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“Disappointing I think would be the biggest takeaway for us. I liked the way we played the first. I liked the way that we stayed with our game. And then the game got away from us.”
The Jets have just one win in their last nine trips to the Mile High City and they’ve been outscored by the Avs 13-4 in their two meetings this season.
The Avalanche have just three home losses all season.
“It’s tough to swallow,” said Adam Lowry. “It’s frustrating. You come in against the Avs, the best team in the league, and you blow a three-nothing lead after the first period.
“You kinda get back on our heels in the second period and then just kinda let the game really slip away. That’s where we got to find a way to stop the bleeding.”
Kyle Connor, Evgeny Svechnikov, and Lowry scored for the Jets in the loss. It was Connor’s 30th goal of the season, giving him his fourth 30-goal campaign in the last five seasons.
“It’s a pretty quiet room right now,” Adam Lowry said. “Guys are frustrated for sure I think, but being a professional athlete, as cliche as it is, you have to have a short-term memory.”
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Despite the Avalanche boasting a 21-3-2 home record coming in, it was Winnipeg who came out of the gates flying.
Dubois drove hard to the Colorado net early in the first, getting two shots on goal. The second rebound bounced right to the stick of Connor who buried it past Pavel Francouz to open the scoring at the 2:13 mark.
Just over five minutes later, Dubois was key to another Jets goal. The centre made a great play at the blue line to draw two defenders to him before he found an open Josh Morrissey in the slot. His point shot was redirected by Svechnikov to make it 2-0.
Late in the first, Morrissey took the first penalty of the game but the incredible opening frame from the visitors continued when Adam Lowry created a great shorthanded chance and buried a wrister past Francouz.
Against most teams, a three-goal lead would feel insurmountable. Not so much against the league-leading Avalanche, who showed in the second period why they’re so potent.
Seconds after a Jets penalty expired, Landeskog stuffed a puck through the pads of Connor Hellebuyck to get the home side on the board 3:10 into the frame.
The Jets held on for dear life as the Avalanche pelted Hellebuyck but the dam cracked at the 12:20 mark. MacKinnon got the puck in the neutral zone, gathered steam and ripped a wrist shot off the post and in to cut Winnipeg’s lead to one.
And at the 17:17 mark, Winnipeg’s great start was nullified when Landeskog scored his second of the game, tipping a point shot past Hellebuyck.
Colorado outshot the Jets 17-7 in the second period, and less than a minute into the third the Avs took the lead for good. Taking advantage of a bad Jets line change, Andre Burakovsky found space in the Winnipeg end and beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot that should have been stopped.
MacKinnon scored his second of the game to put this one on ice at the 12:13 mark thanks to a deft redirection of a point shot. 58 seconds later, it was Landeskog completing his second hat-trick of the season against Winnipeg.
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The Avs outshot the Jets 42-28 on the game, with a 31-16 margin after the opening frame. Hellebuyck stopped 35 shots in the loss.
With their playoff hopes all but gone, Winnipeg will look to salvage the four-game road trip in Sunday’s finale in Arizona.
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