Kyle Connor scored two goals in the third period to lead the Winnipeg Jets past the Colorado Avalanche 7-6 in Game 1 in the first round of the 2024 NHL Playoffs. In a game featuring 13 goals, there was also a great deal of feistiness between the two teams. The Avalanche were credited with 54 hits, while the Jets had 46.
The two teams came out blazing, combining for six of the game’s goals in the first period and repeated that effort with six in the third. This tied for the highest amount of goals scored for the 2023-24 season.
Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev surrendered seven goals to the Jets for the second game in a row. He saved 16 on 23 shots. Jets’ goaltender Connor Hellebuyek made 39 saves on 45 shots.
The Avalanche came within one goal with 29 seconds left when Casey Mittelstadt scored after Georgiev was pulled for an extra skater.
The most interesting of the Jets’ seven goals came in the third period. An Adam Lowry shot hit the posts three times before a review revealed that it had barely crossed the goal line.
Just the Begining
The series was also billed as a contrast of styles, given the high-flying nature of an Avalanche team that led the league in scoring and the stinginess of the Jets, one of the NHL’s best defenses. Colorado was dealt a blow when Jonathan Drouin was ruled out for the series with a lower-body injury.
Related: 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub
The Jets dominated the season series against Colorado, going 3-0 and outscoring the Avalanche by a 17-4 margin. That included a 7-0 win a week ago that chased Alexandar Georgiev from the game.
The Jets’ securing home-ice advantage was crucial for many reasons, but none bigger than being able to control the matchups against MacKinnon, Makar & Co. The Jets’ third line of Nino Niederreiter, Lowry, and Mason Appleton saw plenty of ice time against Colorado’s best, and the Jets will deploy that matchup consistently as the series continues.
The two teams will square off again in Winnipeg on Tuesday, April 23.