The Winnipeg Jets had a game they wanted to remember for all the good things that happened. On the other hand, Colorado wants to remember it for all its mistakes.
Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry scored goals just 10 seconds apart in the first period, where the Jets dominated with four goals. This led to Colorado’s goaltender, Alexandar Georgiev, being pulled from the game. The Jets now have a strong position in the Central Division’s second seed after their 7-0 victory against the Avalanche.
With Dallas already securing the division title earlier, it sets up a matchup between Colorado and Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs. The only thing left to determine is which team will have a home-ice advantage.
The Jets are currently two points ahead of the Avalanche for the No. 2 spot in the division, with just two games left to play. Additionally, they hold the tiebreaker.
This game might have given the Jets a strategy for handling the fast-paced Colorado team. “That’s not their usual style of play,” cautioned Jets coach Rick Bowness. “We know they’re a strong team, and we expect a tough series. … we planned to come out strong and aggressive against them, and we executed it well.”
The Avalanche don’t want to forget about this game. The result was not what they hoped for. “You can’t ignore why it turned out like that, especially when you’re facing them at such an important time,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose team has lost three of their last four games.
“We need to remember it. We need to analyze it, learn from it, and understand it. We have to be much better than that.” Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 shots for his fifth shutout of the season.
Sean Monahan and Lowry each scored two goals, while Gabriel Vilardi and Tyler Toffoli also scored to extend the Jets’ winning streak to six games. Winnipeg led 7-0 after two periods, with 10 players contributing points.
According to NHL Stats, it’s the first time in franchise history that the team has scored seven consecutive goals in a game. Winnipeg swept Colorado in their three meetings this season, outscoring them 17-4.
“It’s satisfying to play so well here, but when the playoffs come around, we expect them to step up their game,” said Lowry.
Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche, who entered the game as the league’s highest-scoring team (3.72 goals per game), were unable to get past Hellebuyck. It’s the fifth time this season the Avalanche have been shut out, and the first time at home.
“Everything went bad,” MacKinnon said. Georgiev let in four goals on 15 shots before being replaced by Justus Annunen with 4:43 left in the first period. Annunen allowed three goals on 11 shots, adding to the questions about Colorado’s goaltending as they head into the playoffs.
Monahan scored first just under six minutes into the game, with Winnipeg almost scoring as many goals in the period (four) as Colorado had shots on goal (five).
Morrissey and Lowry scored 10 seconds apart tied for the second-fastest pair of goals in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. The fastest pair was scored 7 seconds apart on Dec. 2, 2008.
Mikko Rantanen returned to play for Colorado after missing two games due to a concussion. However, defenseman Samuel Girard had to enter the concussion protocol after colliding with teammate Ross Colton in the first period.
“In terms of competitiveness, we weren’t where we needed to be,” said Colorado’s Andrew Cogliano. “I think we got a glimpse of what playoff hockey will be like.”
