Brent Burns and Martin Necas scored goals in the first period, Parker Kelly had the eventual game-winner and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in Denver on Friday night.
Scott Wedgewood made 20 saves and Josh Manson had two assists for Colorado, which has won 12 straight home games, the second-longest streak in franchise history.
The Avalanche are 14-0-2 at home, where they haven’t lost since falling in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 23. Colorado has earned at least a point in 24 of its past 25 games (20-1-4).
Morgan Barron and Mark Scheifele produced goals and Connor Hellebuyck turned away 23 shots for Winnipeg. The Jets have lost six of their past seven games (1-5-1) and 12 of the past 15 (3-10-2).
The Avalanche took the lead midway through the first period. They worked the puck around the Winnipeg zone and Manson passed to Burns at the top of the right circle. Burns sent the puck to the front of the net, it deflected off the skate of Jets defenseman Haydn Fleury and by Hellebuyck at 9:45.
Colorado went ahead 2-0 later in the first when Artturi Lehkonen’s stretch pass found Nathan MacKinnon at the Winnipeg blueline. He brought the puck into the zone, saucered a pass to Necas as he skated down the slot and Necas beat Hellebuyck with a wrister at 15:05.
It stayed that way until late in the second period. With the Avalanche on the power play, Jets winger Alex Iafallo ricocheted the puck off the boards and down the ice. Barron picked it up, skated in on Wedgewood and put a backhander by the goalie at 19:22.
It was the third short-handed goal given up by Colorado this season.
The Avalanche answered early in the third when Kelly tipped Manson’s shot past Hellebuyck 1:58 into the period. Winnipeg responded on the power play less than two minutes later when Gustav Nyquist slid a pass to Scheifele at the side of the crease, and he redirected it in at 3:38.
Colorado had a goal disallowed midway through the third period because it was knocked in with a high stick from Kelly.
–Field Level Media
