The Colorado Avalanche stole home-ice advantage from the Winnipeg Jets after winning Game 2 in Manitoba, but they needed to capture Game 3 at Ball Arena on Friday night to keep it. And led by Nathan MacKinnon, that’s exactly what the Avs did, scoring five unanswered goals to beat the Jets and open up a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.
MacKinnon was excellent for the Avalanche in the triumph, scoring a goal and adding an assist in the critical 6-2 victory. The tally came on the powerplay, giving the superstar 14 postseason PP goals in his career. That’s now good for third place in franchise history.
“MacKinnon’s tying tally was his 14th career power-play goal in the postseason, moving him into a tie with Michel Goulet and Milan Hejduk for third place on the Avalanche/Nordiques all-time list,” wrote NHL Public Relations after the game. “Behind only Joe Sakic (27) and Peter Forsberg (15).”
It’s certainly elite company for No. 29, who won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022 and is looking to make it two in three seasons this time around. And he shared a great response to the win afterwards.
“Honestly, the struggle and the fight is the best part,” said the superstar, per NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding. “That’s why it makes the wins so sweet, and they’re so hard to get. You only need 16 [to win the Stanley Cup], but it’s hard to get 16. Overall, solid effort. The intentions are all in the right place and guys are working hard, and it’s just the beginning. We need to reset and come even harder on Sunday.”
With a chance to take back home-ice advantage at Ball Arena, Colorado peppered Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with 40 shots — and got six goals out of it.
One of them was MacKinnon’s powerplay tally, which knotted the score at two just over two minutes into the final frame.
“I’m just looking to see where that F1 is and if I can get it through him, and then pray from there,” MacKinnon said of the key goal, per Boudling. “It’s tough to see all four guys, but I figured I was in the middle of the ice. So, there’s probably no one else in the middle, and [I was] lucky. Great screen.”
Avalanche get the job done on home ice
After an abysmal Game 1 showing, Alexandar Georgiev was excellent for the second straight game, making 22 saves and allowing just two goals. And despite trailing 2-1 heading into the third period, the floodgates opened in the third for the league’s best regular-season offense.
MacKinnon led the way with a goal and an assist, while Casey Mittelstadt and Mikko Rantanen combined for five assists in the triumph. Valeri Nichushkin scored the eventual game-winning goal on a powerplay less than five minutes into the third.
And just like that, the Avalanche have a chance to take a commanding lead in the series before the weekend is through. Colorado has proved that scoring the most goals in the regular-season was no fluke, and it looks like the Avalanche have flipped this series on its head ahead of a crucial Game 4 at Ball Arena on Sunday afternoon.
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