Mikko Rantanen scored his first two goals of the playoffs in the third period, helping the Colorado Avalanche win 6-3 against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. This victory secured their spot in the second round of the playoffs after five games.
Rantanen scored twice within four minutes early in the third period when the game was tied 3-3.
“That’s the best hockey we’ve played for five games in a row all season long,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar. “And that’s what it takes this time of year, and that’s partly our experience, I think.”
Valeri Nichushkin, Yakov Trenin, Artturi Lehkonen, and Josh Manson also scored for the Avalanche, who will face the winner of the series between the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights.
Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews each had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 33 saves for Colorado.
“I thought the first couple of periods we were maybe a little bit too cautious,” said Georgiev. “But in the third, we knew they would try to open it up (and) we scored a big goal, the fourth one, and kept playing smart. Very, very solid effort.”
Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey, and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 shots.
“In the (last) two years, that’s by far the best playoff game we’ve played,” said Jets coach Rick Bowness. “It didn’t go our way tonight. A couple of goals went in off of us. We had some chances that we didn’t score.
“Where was that in the first four games? That’s a question we’re going to have to answer ourselves for the summer.”
The game was tied at 1 after a fast-paced first period, and Colorado led 3-2 heading into the third.
Toffoli tied it at 3 for the Jets, who won all three meetings during the regular season. But Rantanen scored his first goal of the game two minutes later at 4:11 to put the Avalanche up 4-3. He added his second goal at 8:01.
