Avs Game Analysis: Victory In Winny

Four goals in the first 11 minutes and the Avs had the Jets grounded early.

Game 56
Avalanche 5, Jets 1
Friday, February 24, 2023 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Canada Life Centre

If you missed the first 11 minutes, you basically missed the entire game. That’s because five-of-the-game’s six goals were scored in that opening stretch and it was all but over.

In the end, they did play the entire 60 minutes and only one more goal was tallied as the Avalanche went into a frigid Winnipeg — a team they are chasing in the Central — and left with a dominant 5-1 win.

Imagine being a Jets fan, paying all that money to go to the game, trudging through minus-30 degree temperatures to get to the arena only to have Nathan MacKinnon score 19 seconds in? You’re probably not even sitting down with your Molson yet! Brutal.

Your team gets one back and you feel good. Okay, the home team is right back in this thing!

Wrong. Mikko Rantanen, J.T. Compher and Bo Byram use the seven minutes following the equalizer to end whatever happiness you had left with three quick markers. 

Bing, bang, boom. Two points for the Avs.

This was a huge game for both teams. Colorado is chasing Winnipeg — even saying this week that they use them as a measuring stick as of late — while the Jets have faltered a bit and can feel the defending champs climbing closer. With tonight’s results, the gap is now down to two (71-69) with the Wild (70) between them. The first-place Stars (72) are within reach, too, as Colorado’s schedule has been insanely beneficial with the fewest games played of any team in the NHL and giving them the most runway to land this late-season push.