The Avs have officially gone perfect on this four-game road trip that they embarked on just under a week ago, with a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Turns out, Colorado can, in fact, score and win in Winnipeg during the regular season.
Let’s take a look at the action from tonight!
First Period
After a low event start for both teams Winnipeg would open the scoring as Mark Scheifele was able to beat Mackenzie Blackwood cleanly on a shot that initially looked like it hit the goalpost and went out.
Jack Drury would tie the game at 1-1 before heading into the first intermission, as he was able to locate a puck right in the five-hole of Connor Hellebuyck and poke it into the back of the Winnipeg net.
Second Period
Neither team would score in the second period, and both Blackwood and Hellebuyck would keep the game tied at 1-1 through the second period as Winnipeg edged Colorado in shots 10-9. The Avalanche had a late 5-on-3 in which the power play would carry over until the next period.
Third Persiod
That man advantage still on the clock was important as just 13 seconds into the third frame Nathan MacKinnon would find the go-ahead goal and make it 2-1 in Colorado’s favor with a power-play goal, as Nazem Kadri would put a puck on net, which would take a bounce in front of the Winnipeg net, and MacKinnon was able to find the puck and put it home.
Just over three minutes later MacKinnon would score his second of the night as he was able to deflect the puck past Hellebuyck to give the Avs a two-goal lead. The Jets would challenge this goal for goaltender interference, but the challenge was unsuccessful, so the score remained 3-1, Colorado.
To create some late game drama, Scheifele would score his second of the night later in the period to pull the Jets within one, as he was able to deflect the puck past Blackwood, making the score 3-2.
Without any additional scoring, 3-2 would end up being the final, as Winnipeg tried to pull Hellebuyck for the extra attacker, but their skaters were not able to gain the offensive zone at all, as the Avs put on a bit of a defensive clinic in the final few minutes and just utterly denied the Jets absolutely anything on the offensive side of the puck.
Takeaways
Over a week removed from the shootout loss to the Dallas Stars that made the gap between the two far too close for comfort, the Avs have widened that gap by a sizable amount, earning eight out of eight points on this road trip, and giving themselves a nine-point lead on the top spot in the division. Obviously, the Stars have lost games as of late, too, which certainly helps, but regardless of that, the Avs went out and did exactly what they needed to do on this four-game road trip, winning every single one, and widening their lead on the division with just 11 games left to go in the regular season. The defensive clinic this team put on during the last few minutes of the third period where they just denied the Jets of everything was seriously impressive to watch, and if they’re able to replicate that defensive performance the rest of the way, even a little bit, they’re going to be just fine hanging onto the top spot in the division, as we look forward to the playoffs.
Upcoming
Colorado returns home after this road trip to take on the same opponent in roughly 48 hours: the Winnipeg Jets. Puck drop will be at 5:00 p.m. MT on Saturday, March 28th.
