Avs dismantle Jets in a 6-2 Game 3 thumping to take 2-1 series lead

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Published Apr 27, 2024  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  2 minute read

Winnipeg Jets center Mason Appleton, right, puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev as defenseman Cale Makar helps Georgiev during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Denver. Photo by David Zalubowski /AP

The stunned look on the faces of the Winnipeg Jets said it all.

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Arguably, the biggest fight they showed came with 30 seconds left in regulation, then immediately after the final whistle blew.

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By then, the game was over. The Colorado Avalanche had earned themselves a 2-1 lead in the best-of-series series on the back of a 6-2 win in Game 3 on Friday night at Ball Arena.

What Winnipeg couldn’t do with the puck on their stick, they tried to do with the knuckles on their hand, anything to score a moral victory in a game they were dismantled.

The Jets held a 2-1 lead for the second straight game, with second-period goals by Tyler Toffoli and a power-play marker by Josh Morrissey wiping out Zach Parise’s second of the series in the first.

And for the second straight game, they blew it.

A string of three goals in a six-minute span in the third period ended any hopes of the Jets coming out on top on Friday.

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A penalty parade started when Gabriel Vilardi cut Avs blue-liner Devon Toews badly with a high stick.

Nathan MacKinnon tied the game 2-2 on the ensuing four-minute double minor. Then David Gustafsson took a tripping call, and Valeri Nichushkin potted the game-winner.

When it was all tallied up, the Jets took 10 minutes worth of penalties in the first 10:35 of the third, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot.

Connor Hellebuyck played brilliantly through the first 40 minutes, making 27 saves. But as the Jets crumbled before him, his ability to bear the brunt did so, too.

Artturi Lehkonen finished off an odd-man rush after Dylan DeMelo tripped himself up to make it 4-2. Before that, Mark Scheifele was far too casual with the puck, resulting in the giveaway that started it all, and his backcheck was just as pedestrian.

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Ross Colton would add insult to injury on a backdoor tap-in just as Neal Pionk’s delay of game call for putting the puck over the glass expired.

That was that, with Toews getting some revenge for the teeth he was missing, scoring shorthanded into the empty net just after Hellebuyck vacated it with 3:35 to go.

To make matters worse for Winnipeg, Brenden Dillon was cut badly in the scrum after the game ended. Replays seemed to show an ugly cut to his left hand as he was tussling on the ice with Avs forward Brandon Duhaime.

The linesman trying to break up the wrestling match could clearly be seen telling Duhaime to let go of Dillon, who raced to the dressing room.

Blood was all over the ice and on the back of Duhaime’s jersey.

After the game, head coach Rick Bowness said he had no update on Dillon, only saying he was still being checked out.

Game 4 of the series goes Sunday afternoon in Denver, with a 1:30 p.m. CT puck drop.

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