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Mar 26, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Colorado Avalanche center Jack Drury (18) scores on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in the first period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
The No. 1 power play unit needed 4:06 of ice time to break through on Thursday, and it helped kickstart a third period that was almost entirely in the Avalanche’s favor.
Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal just 11 seconds into the third period to lead the Avs to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. The tally came just four seconds after the conclusion of a two-man advantage. The Avs had three power plays to that point, and each member of the top unit played every second of PP time. They were 1-for-4.
MacKinnon finished with two goals, adding another insurance marker (the eventual game winner) three minutes later. Jack Drury had the other goal for Colorado, which improved to 48-13-10 on the season and opened a nine-point lead on the Dallas Stars for the top seed in the Central Division with a game in hand. The Stars fell 2-1 in regulation to the New York Islanders.
The Avalanche will return home to face these same Winnipeg Jets at Ball Arena on Saturday. They gave up just seven goals in four road games and won each one. Mackenzie Blackwood started for the third time on the trip and made 22 saves as the Avs outshot Winnipeg 35-24.
Connor Hellebuyck, who has been nearly unbeatable in regular-season play against the Avalanche, stopped 32 shots.
The Jets opened the scoring off a nice shot from Mark Scheifele at 9:55. At the time, the shots were just 3-3, and it felt like another game where the Jets were doing an excellent job of suffocating the Avs’ offense. This has been a common theme for games played at Canada Life Centre between these two clubs in recent years.
But before the break, the fourth line gave Colorado life. Drury scored on a netmouth scramble, notching his career-high ninth of the season to end a 20-game goalless drought.
Neither team found the back of the net in the second period. The Jets had several good looks that were stopped by Blackwood. And Hellebuyck matched him at the other end.
Late in the period, Winnipeg found itself in penalty trouble. Jonathan Toews was called for hooking at 18:07. During the kill, Elias Salomonsson shot the puck into the crowd with 32 seconds remaining and was nabbed for delay of game. The Avs couldn’t score in the final moments despite Nazem Kadri getting a chance at the buzzer.
Following MacKinnon’s two early third-period tallies, the Jets got one back from Scheifele, who scored his second of the game. That was all the goal scoring left in this one. Colorado finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in a full eight minutes of PP time for the opposition.
Good: Broke Through In Winnipeg
I wrote about this in my pregame, but the Avs have struggled in Winnipeg in the regular season over the last handful of years. They entered the game 1-6 in their last seven road games, with just four goals combined in those six losses.
This was a great breakthrough. And a nice way to respond after losing in Winnipeg just a handful of games ago.
Bad: Too Many Penalties
It was great to see the PK put up a perfect performance. And part of that was the recent returns of Logan O’Connor and Artturi Lehkonen. The duo played 2:43 and 1:11, respectively, to help keep the Jets off the board.
But the Avs took far too many penalties in the third period. Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin were both called for tripping, while Manson took an interference penalty, and Devon Toews received a slashing minor. All of this came in the third period.
You could argue that Manson’s was a bit of a ticky-tacky call. Still, they had three others.
The post Postgame: Avalanche Break Through In Winnipeg To Complete Perfect Road Trip appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.
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