Jousting with the Jets | Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche (26-16-1) @ Winnipeg Jets (28-12-3)

5 p.m. MT | Canada Life Centre | Watch: My20, Altitude, NHL Network, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

Winners of eight of their last 10 games, the Avalanche are in Winnipeg to take on the Central Division-leading Jets. This is the third matchup between the teams this season, as the Jets won 1-0 in Winnipeg on November 7 and the Avs won 5-2 in Denver on December 31. The final meeting between the teams is on January 22 in Denver.

Winning Against the Wild

The Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 6-1 at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. The Avalanche had six different goal scorers, and five different players posted two-point nights. Logan O’Connor, Ross Colton, Mikko Rantanen, Parker Kelly, Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon all scored goals for Colorado. Additionally, Josh Manson, Jonathan Drouin, Rantanen, MacKinnon and O’Connor each posted two points. In net, Mackenzie Blackwood was fantastic, making 24 saves on 25 shots faced. O’Connor opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season at 3:46 of the first via a wrist shot from the high slot after getting behind the defense and using his speed to enter the offensive zone. On a play that would be described as puck luck, Colton scored his 13th goal of the season to double Colorado’s lead at 16:52 of the first with a shot from the doorstep after intercepting a breakout pass that was misplayed by Minnesota. At 18:27 of the first, Zach Bogosian scored to cut Minnesota’s deficit in half with a wrist shot from the slot.

Just seconds after Blackwood made a huge save on Joel Eriksson Ek from the right doorstep, Rantanen scored his 25th goal of the season to give the Avs a 3-1 lead at 13:00 of the second period with a long wrist shot after receiving MacKinnon’s drop pass. Early in the third period, Kelly scored his fourth tally of the year with a left-circle one-timer off Joel Kiviranta’s feed at 4:23. Leading 4-1, Lehkonen scored his 15th goal of the season to put the Avs up 5-1 with a short-handed tally at 7:42 via a right-circle one-timer. Lehkonen received the pass from Manson, who skated down the ice with speed before assisting on the goal. The avalanche of goals scored last night ended with a right-circle wrist shot from MacKinnon, who scored his 15th of the season and 350th of his career, at 8:48 of the final frame.

Among the NHL’s Best

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (68) and assists (53).

All Hail Cale

Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is first in points (49), tied for first in goals (13) and second in assists (36). His 36 assists are seventh among all NHL skaters.

Moose Crossing

Rantanen is tied for second in the league in goals (25), third in points (60) and tied for eighth in assists (35).

History

In 61 previous regular-season meetings between the clubs, the Avalanche are 29-25-7. They’ve met once in the playoffs, the First Round in 2024, and the Avalanche won that series in five games.

Conquered by the Kings

The Jets lost 2-1 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings on Friday at the Canada Life Centre. The Kings opened the scoring with an Alex Turcotte redirection at 4:39 of the first period. After a scoreless middle frame, Mark Scheifele tied the game for the Jets with a power-play goal at 10:22 of the third period. In overtime, Adrian Kempe scored the winner for the Kings at 1:14 of the frame to secure the victory.

Making Their Mark Against Manitoba’s Team

MacKinnon has posted 39 points (15g/24a) in 41 regular-season games against the Jets in addition to nine points (2g/7a) in five playoff games against Winnipeg.

In 26 regular-season games, Rantanen has registered 27 points (10g/17a) against the Jets as well as nine points (2g/7a) against them in five playoff games.

Makar has recorded seven points (2g/5a) in 12 regular-season contests against Winnipeg and posted nine points (2g/7a) in five playoff games against them.

Jets Leading the Way

Kyle Connor leads the Jets in points (54) while ranking second in goals (23) and assists (31).

Scheifele leads Winnipeg in goals (24) and is second in points (49).

Josh Morrissey leads the team in assists (33) and is tied for third in points (38).

A Numbers Game

7

On Thursday, Rantanen clinched the seventh 25-goal season of his career, which is tied with Milan Hejduk for the fifth most in Avalanche/Nordiques history and the fourth most among all NHL Finnish-born players.

350

MacKinnon became the fifth player in Avalanche/Nordiques franchise history to score 350 goals. He is 25 goals from tying Hejduk for the fourth most in franchise history.

.920

Blackwood’s .920 save percentage is the fourth best among NHL goalies with at least 10 games played this season.

Quote That Left a Mark

“Depth scoring for us is going to be huge. And I think that’s what we’re going to need carrying us through the stretch here.”

— Josh Manson on one of the keys to the team’s success

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