The Jets gave it their all against the league leading Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, but lost 3-2 due to two goals from Nathan MacKinnon. The next big test for the Jets was tonight, where they again played the Avalanche, this time in Colorado. The Jets entered Saturday morning still five points out of a wildcard spot, with just 10 games to go. The 30-30-12 Jets took on the 48-13-10 Avalanche, a division rival who led the season series 2-1 prior to tonight’s game.
The Jets line combinations looked almost the same as last game. With Morgan Barron out with a concussion, Adam Lowry moved up to the 2nd line centre position. The 3rd and 4th had some swaps, with Isak Rosen and Brad Lambert being the wingers for Jonathan Toews on the 3rd line. Josh Morrissey’s defense partner continues to be Neal Pionk (instead of Dylan DeMelo), and Elias Salomonsson remains on the 2nd pairing with Dylan Samberg. Two late changes were made, as Jacob Bryson took over Haydn Fleury’s spot on the 3rd pairing, and Parker Ford was on the 4th line instead of Gustav Nyquist with Cole Koepke and Danny Zhilkin.
After playing well against the Avalanche on Thursday, Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal . The Jets lineup now has four three players out due to injuries: Morgan Barron, Colin Miller, Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov. Hellebuyck entered tonight’s game with a 18-20-11 record, a 2.81 GAA and a .899 SV%. Tonight’s game started with another early Jets lead, and this time it was the Jets who would hold on late for a close win against their Central Division rival.
1st Period
For their 4th straight game, the Jets opened the scoring. Gabriel Vilardi set a new career high in goals (28) and tied his career high in points (61) with a goal just under four minutes into the game. Adam Lowry collected the puck near the point and gave it to Josh Morrissey on the other side of the blue line. Morrissey fired a shot on goal and the puck was deflected past Mackenzie Blackwood by Vilardi, opening tonight’s scoring.
A career HIGH 2️⃣8️⃣ GOALS for Gabe 🚨
The Jets early lead only lasted about five minutes, as the Avalanche tied this game at one on a powerplay. Dylan Samberg went to the box for hooking, and 41 seconds into the powerplay Brock Nelson deflected a pass to him from Nazem Kadri up and over Hellebuyck for his 33rd goal of the season. Cale Makar picked up a secondary assist on the goal for his 500th career point.
Halfway into the 1st, it was looking like it was going to be another close matchup between these two Central Division teams. Teams continued to exchange chances, but both goalies stayed sharp in the final 10 minutes of the opening period. After 20 minutes played, shots on goal were 10-9 for the Jets.
2nd Period
The 2nd started in a similar way to what happened in the 1st, with the Jets re-gaining the lead. Elias Salomonsson and Jonathan Toews set up Cole Koepke on a partial breakaway. The speedy Koepke created some space, and it looked like he was aiming for the top corner, but he fanned on his shot and it instead went five hole past Blackwood for his 7th goal of the season.
No roof daddy, no problem 🤷♂️
After the Jets retook the lead, both teams traded chances as they did towards the end of the 1st. Shots on goal were 16-14 for the Jets halfway into this game, as the Jets continued to put together a good effort on this Saturday night. Both teams were playing a smart game, not taking any penalties in the 2nd. With just under two minutes remaining, Valeri Nichushkin set up Josh Manson at the point, and Manson’s shot was tipped in by Parker Kelly to tie this game at two.
The Manimal drops one in for Kelly in front 🎉
(You need to hear @RadioMoser on this one 🎤)
Hellebuyck made a few saves after this goal before the period ended, and it was all squared at two after two. Shots on goal were now 19-16 for the Avalanche, and it continued to look like anyone’s game.
3rd Period
The 3rd period began with an early 4 on 4 after Arturri Lehkonen tripped Mark Scheifele, who was called for embellishment on the trip. Nothing came from this early two minutes of special teams, and both teams reset as they looked for that next important goal.
Two minutes after Parker Kelly and Cole Perfetti got roughing penalties, Manson high-sticked Toews, giving the Jets a crucial powerplay with 9 minutes to go. The Jets couldn’t get anything going on this man advantage, and with 6 minutes remaining the Jets only had 17 shots on goal.
With five minutes remaining, there was another moment of late “Goal Perfetti” magic. Gabriel Vilardi set up Bryson at the point, and his shot was deflected by Cole Perfetti for his 11th goal of the season. The Avalanche decided to challenge for goalie interference, as Toews was near the goal crease battling with an Avalanche defender. The call on the ice stood, and the Jets took the lead 3-2 and got a powerplay as a result of the incorrect challenge.
Fetts knows a thing or two about this clutch thing 😜
This powerplay looked a bit better than the last Jets powerplay, but it remained 3-2 Jets with just over three minutes to go. The Avalanche pulled the goalie shortly after, and with 2:10 remaining Dylan Samberg and Mark Scheifele set up Kyle Connor for his 33rd goal of the season into the empty net.
Scheifele took a hooking penalty with 33 seconds left and the Avalanche called a timeout. The Jets held on for the 4-2 win, a massive two points to keep the Jets playoff hopes alive. The Nashville Predators lost tonight to the Montreal Canadiens, meaning the Jets are just three points out of a wildcard spot before the late games tonight. Final shots on goal were 23-21 Avalanche.
Up Next
After this second straight game against the Avalanche, the Jets will regroup for two days before continuing their four game road trip. Their regular season schedule continues on Tuesday in Chicago with a game against the Blackhawks. Puck drop for this game will be just after 7:30 pm CDT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news (including any playoff push updates), plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.
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