Avalanche score 4 in 2nd, defeat Jets in Game 2 to even West 1st Round series

Lehkonen has goal, assist for Colorado; Hellebuyck makes 27 saves for Winnipeg

R1, Gm2: Avalanche @ Jets Recap

NHL.com Independent Correspondent

April 24, 2024

WINNIPEG -- Artturi Lehkonenhad a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche evened their Western Conference First Round series against the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-2 win in Game 2 at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it’s an important win,” Colorado forward Andrew Cogliano said. “We thought we played well in the first game (a 7-6 loss) and didn’t get the result. I thought tonight we dug in. Went down early but it seemed like all four lines contributed, our [defense] played great and [Georgiev] had a bounce-back game, so tied the series. When you play in a building like this against a team like that, 1-1 going home into our building is a pretty good spot to be.”

Cale Makar had two assists for the Avalanche, the No. 3 seed from the Central Division. Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves after allowing seven goals in 23 shots in Game 1.

“They showed so much support to me over the last couple of days. A very rough first game, obviously,” Georgiev said of his teammates. “I just felt so much trust in the room from everybody and I appreciate it so much. It helped me reset, to know that they have got my back. I know I’ll help them out as well during this playoff. It was huge from them. I appreciate it.”

COL@WPG R1, Gm2: Lehkonen tips in Makar's shot to tie game in 2nd period

David Gustafsson and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who are the No. 2 seed from the Central. Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves.

“It was a tough fought game, and [we] probably gave them a little bit too much zone time and a little bit too much space at times in that game,” Scheifele said. “But also we had some good shifts in there too. We have two days of rest here now. We need to ramp it up as it’s the playoffs. You’re not going to win every game, but you’ve just got to be ready for the punches that are thrown.”

Game 3 of the best-of-7 series will be in Colorado on Friday (10 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, TVAS, CBC).

Gustafsson gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 3:15 of the first period, scoring on the rebound from Brenden Dillon's point shot.

“We were a lot better in certain areas,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “We had some lapses, certainly at the end of the second and it kind of caught up to us a little bit. We had the start we really wanted and then they got their power play and finished up strong in the first. But for the most part it was a lot better in areas, and there’s still improvement to be made."

Miles Wood tied it 1-1 at 1:59 of the second period, shooting five-hole on Hellebuyck after Ross Colton won an offensive zone face-off.

“Through the playoffs, you need lines to score, especially the third and fourth lines,” Cogliano said. “I thought Miles had a great goal from their line and we were able to chip in. Big two goals and sometimes that’s the difference in games like tonight.”

Scheifele scored one-handed to put the Jets back in front 2-1 at 8:37, just 32 seconds after Winnipeg killed off a double minor to Kyle Connor for high-sticking. Connor began the rush with a cross-ice outlet pass to Gabriel Vilardi, who then set Scheifele up for a deflection. Scheifele got his stick on the puck at the edge of the crease while tied up by Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson.

“Fantastic pass by Gabe,” Scheifele said. “I knew the guy was kind of there and he didn’t really know where the puck was, so if I had to go two-handed there, he probably reacts in the same fashion. I just made a judgment call.”

COL@WPG R1, Gm2: Scheifele redirects Vilardi's shot in to give Jets lead in 2nd period

Lehkonen tied it 2-2 with a tip in close off Makar's point shot at 14:16.

“[Lehkonen] is a competitive, competitive guy,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “When you talk about all-around, good players that play the game the right way, and it's not always showing up on the stat sheet for a guy like [Lehkonen]. I can pick guys around the league that I’m a big fan of the way they play for multiple reasons. He's one of them. When you do the right things all the time, day after day, practice, games, and you're an intense competitor, it's going to pay off for you at some point. I feel like we've seen that out of [Lehkonen]. Big moments, just doing the right thing.”

Zach Parise put the Avalanche in front 3-2 at 17:20. He scored on his own rebound after Hellebuyck was checked by Avalanche forward Yakov Trenin while playing the puck behind his net, allowing Cogliano to find Parise in front.

“I think we did a good job of realizing that’s a fluky one, right,” Connor said. “How many times does Connor [Hellebuyck] go back and play the puck and it’s bang-up, no problem. Our forwards can do a bit better job picking the forwards coming in, too. Maybe a little skate screen can help him out. It’s a team effort there, but at the same time I think that’s one of those you just brush off.”

COL@WPG R1, Gm2: Parise nets rebound to put Avalanche up in 2nd period

With seven seconds remaining in the second, Josh Manson came out of the penalty box and scored on a breakaway to make it 4-2. Nathan MacKinnon’s stretch pass sprung Manson, who deked Hellebuyck and scored five-hole.

“Just to be able to put it away, that was nice,” Manson said. “It was obviously not my best effort in Game 1, so I wanted to focus on that. Those things happen like that sometimes, so it was nice.”

Valeri Nichushkin scored with a backhand into an empty net at 19:03 of the third period for the 5-2 final.

“It’s a playoff series. We’re good at home, they’re good at home,” Cogliano said. “We get a 1-1 split in a tough building, so I think we take the positives from that and now we go home to a place we’re pretty comfortable playing.”

NOTES: Avalanche defenseman Sean Walker left the game after colliding in the corner with Jets center Vladislav Namestnikov in the third period. “Yeah, he’s fine, completely fine,” Bednar said. … MacKinnon’s assist on Manson’s goal was his 58th in the playoffs, surpassing Peter Stastny for fourth place on the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques all-time list.

Jets 'not satisfied' heading into Game 3 against Avalanche

Winnipeg has allowed 11 goals in series after allowing fewest in NHL during regular season

© Terrence Lee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets haven't truly played their game yet in the Western Conference First Round, and that could be bad news for the Colorado Avalanche.

Winnipeg hasn't been that stifling, defense-first team that entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a head of steam after winning its final eight games of the regular season.

"The type of group we are, I think we're never really satisfied," Jets forward Kyle Connor said after a 5-2 loss to the Avalanche in Game 2 at Canada Life Centre evened the best-of-7 series.

"If you talk to 'Bones' (Jets coach Rick Bowness), it's always something to improve on. Yeah, we took some strides compared to last game defensively, but at the same time, I thought we had more zone time last game and created a lot more offense. So, at the same time, you're never going to be satisfied completely with your game, you want to strive. That's what makes this group so successful. We look at the hard things. It starts with Bones. He's on us. Even after that first win, he was going over stuff that we can improve on."

The Jets allowed an average of 2.41 goals per game in the regular season, tied for first in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, although Winnipeg allowed a League-low 199 goals (including shootout-deciding goals). The Avalanche, who led the League in scoring 3.68 goals per game, have scored 11 goals in the first two games of this series. The Jets' 5.50 goals against per game average is 15th among 16 playoff teams, ahead of only the Los Angeles Kings, who allowed seven goals in their only game thus far.

Connor Hellebuyck was 37-19-4 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and five shutouts in 60 regular-season games, ranking in the top five in wins, GAA, save percentage and shutouts among qualified goalies (minimum 25 games). However, in the first two games against the Avalanche, he has allowed 10 goals on 77 shots (5.04 GAA, .870 save percentage).

But as Bowness pointed out, the Jets had chances in the second period, right before Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen tied it 2-2, and have to capitalize on those opportunities moving forward.

"We had them hemmed in their zone a little bit at times last night, we didn't take full advantage of it," Bowness said Wednesday. "But you want to go back and nitpick, like it's 2-1 (Jets), we go down, (Connor) hits the post, Gabe (Vilardi) hits a rebound. We need those to go in. And then that last couple minutes, we kind of self-inflicted the problem. So, we correct those and get some more chances and go from there."

R1, Gm2: Avalanche @ Jets Recap

The first two games, including a 7-6 win by the Jets in Game 1, were played inside the raucous Canada Life Centre. The Jets will enter an equally crazed atmosphere in Game 3 at Ball Arena in Denver on Friday (10 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, TVAS, CBC).

The Avalanche went 31-9-1 at home during the regular season, had the most home victories of any NHL team, and will get last change.

"Nothing we can do. We're going to win some faceoffs, then we can control it," Bowness said.

The Jets are ready for it all.

"Every team tries to make their home arena a tough place to play and certainly, they've been able to do that this year. With the players they have, maybe their matching (lines). I haven't watched all 41 of their home games to tell you what they did well in those ones. But in the games we've played, we changed our focus when we're on the road to maybe not being so worried about the match and just understanding who you're on the ice with," Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said Wednesday.

"But as players, you're going out there and just trying to do your job as best you can. We know they feel good playing at home, and we've had some success playing there this year (4-2 win on Dec. 7, 7-0 win on April 13). So, we need to be a confident group going in there on Friday night."

The Jets came away from Winnipeg with a split in the series. They made some mistakes on which the Avalanche capitalized in Game 2, much like the Jets did on Colorado miscues in Game 1. They have some areas they want to clean up, but are confident they can do it.

"We know it's going to be a good crowd in Colorado. We just have to continue to work on our game and continue to find what makes us us," Jets forward Mark Scheifele said Tuesday. "They are a fantastic team over there, so you've got to give them a lot of credit. They did a lot of good things. They blocked a lot of shots, and they made it tough to get anything going (in Game 2).

"That's the fun part of the playoffs. We weren't expecting this to be an easy series. They're a great team over there. We've just got to continue to roll with the punches."

Nylander out again for Maple Leafs in Game 3 with undisclosed injury

Forward has not yet played against Bruins in Eastern 1st Round series

© Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images

TORONTO -- William Nylander did not play for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday because of an undisclosed injury.

The forward, who also missed Games 1 and 2, participated in the morning skate and worked on a line with left wing Calle Jarnkrok and center Pontus Holmberg, though he remained out long after the skate had concluded with the projected scratches.

Coach Sheldon Keefe said after the morning skate that “there is a chance” Nylander would play but added the decision would come down to how he responded to the workout.

Toronto tied the best-of-7 series with a 3-2 win in Game 2 on Monday.

Nylander, who played in all 82 regular-season games, set an NHL career high with 98 points (40 goals, 58 assists), which was second on Toronto, behind Auston Matthews (107 points; 69 goals, 38 assists), and 10th in the League.

“I’ve been asked the question a couple times about how we adjust without 'Willy,' you really don’t,” Keefe said. “You just keep pressing on. We have a game plan, and when Willy comes back in the lineup, it doesn’t change. How you need to play and what’s required to compete and win at this time of the year is the same no matter who is in or out.”

The Maple Leafs used the same lineup as they did in Game 2. Keefe said the fourth line of Connor Dewar-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves and the third line of Jarnkrok-Holmberg-Nicholas Robertson have provided reliable minutes in the absence of Nylander.

Jarnkrok returned to the lineup in Game 1 after missing the final 17 games of the regular season with a hand injury.

“It’s not surprising,” Keefe said. “The Kampf line has been good for us for quite some time here now, and Robertson and Holmberg have been doing a really good job for us down the stretch, and Jarnkrok, next to Reaves, is our most experienced playoff player (88 career postseason games). So, even though he missed a bunch of time -- it’s tough to come back at this time of year -- you feel better about it given that he has the level of experience that he does and the type of player he is. He gives you everything he has.”