Adam Lowry scored two goals, one of which barely squeaked past the goal line, while Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists as the Winnipeg Jets outlasted the Colorado Avalanche 7-6 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup Sunday evening at the Canada Life Centre.
Colorado's Valeri Nichuskin scored the opener at 6:10 of the 1st period, but it wouldn't be long for the first eruption of the famous Winnipeg Whiteout, as just a couple minutes later, Josh Morrissey at 8:02 tied the game at 1. Winnipeg would hop in front 2-1 3 minutes after that, thanks to Vladislav Namestnikov at 11:57. However, Colorado continued the fast past scoring first, using goals from Miles Wood at 14:47 and the always dangerous Nathan MacKinnon at 15:05 to take a sudden 3-2 lead, silencing the Whiteout crowd. But as you might expect, that didn't last either, when Scheifele tied the game back at 3 apiece at 15:53 for the final goal in just the opening 20 minutes.
Winnipeg retook the leader 9 minutes in the second, by way of Lowry at 8:57 for the only goal scored in a much quieter middle frame. He'd be the first goal scorer in the 3rd as well, notching the Jets' 5th at the 3:31 mark for a 5-3 Winnipeg advantage. Exactly 2 minutes after that, the Jets made it 6-3 with a PPG from Kyle Connor at 5:31. Colorado wasn't quite done though, pulling one back to make it 6-4 after their own PPG from Artturi Lehkonen at 6:29. However, Connor's 2nd of the game at 8:54 put the Jets back up by 3. And even after that, Colorado still wouldn't go away, after back-to-back tallies by Cale Makar at 12:24 on another Colorado PP and Casey Mittelstadt salvaging what was left for the Avs at 19:50 by scoring on an empty Jets net. But Winnipeg held on for the nailbiting 7-6 victory in the end. And remember, that was only Game 1! How much crazier is this series gonna get?
The Jets lead the best-of-7 series 1-0, with Game 2 scheduled for Tuesday night at 9:30 pm.
Team Stats:
Shots: COL 46, WPG 23
Hits: COL 55, WPG 46
Faceoff Wins: COL 26, WPG 32
PIM: COL 6, WPG 6
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