WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Captain Adam Lowry and Kyle Connor each scored twice as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Colorado Avalanche 7-6 in Game 1 of the first round of their playoff series on Sunday. did.
This was the first time the two teams met in the NHL playoffs.
A sold-out crowd of 15,225 white-clad fans cheered at a “whiteout” party held inside and outside the Canada Life Centre.
Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists, and Josh Morrissey had a goal and an assist. Vladislav Namestnikov also scored. Brenden Dillon, Gabriel Vilardi and Nino Niederreiter each added two assists, and Conner had one helper.
Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves for the Jets, who have won nine straight.
For Colorado, Cale Makar had one goal and two assists. Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen each had one goal and one assist. Valeri Nichushkin, Miles Wood and Casey Mittelstadt also scored. Mikko Rantanen got two helpers.
The Avalanche entered this series having lost all three regular season games against Winnipeg.
Alexander Georgiev stopped 16 of 23 shots for Colorado as they look to repeat their Stanley Cup championship in 2022. He was supported by Arvid Holm in place of Justus Annunen, who did not take part in the morning skate.
The first period ended in a 3-3 tie with both teams scoring three goals within 66 seconds.
Nichushkin, who led 10-1 in shots on goal, fired the puck high past Hellebuyck's blocker at 6:10, giving the visiting team a 1-0 lead.
Morrissey tied it just under two minutes later when his point shot sailed through traffic and past Georgiev.
The team then scored four goals in less than four minutes.
Lowry scored the only goal of the second period.
Lowry's second goal of the game had to be reviewed because the puck hit one post, crossed and hit the other post, then skidded along the goal line and hit the post again before bouncing. It was counted as crossing the line at 3:31.
Conner and Lehkonen exchanged goals on the power play to make it 6-4 at 6:29, but Conner added his second marker just over two minutes later. Makar then scored an unassisted goal on the man advantage to make it 7-5 at 12:24.
Mittelstadt ended the game with a goal with 30 seconds left.
Mark Scheifele's first-period goal was his 20th goal in 38 games of his playoff career.
Only three active players have reached that mark in fewer games. Alex Ovechkin did it in 26 games, Jake Guentzel did it in 32 games and Connor McDavid did it in 36 games.
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Game 2 will be played in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
AP NHL Playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
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