Colorado Avalanche vs Winnipeg Jets
It’s time, folks. The most magical time of year. Playoff hockey. For the first time in the postseason, the Colorado Avalanche will face the Winnipeg Jets. After taking home a win on Tuesday night, the Jets secured home ice advantage.
On April 13th, Colorado took a devesting 0-7 loss to Winnipeg. Before this, the thought of playing Colorado would have sent any Jets fan into a temporary state of psychosis. That is before Colorado lost 4 of their last 5 of 7. This season, Colorado has come out 0-3 vs Winnipeg by a margin of 4-17. That’s like…really bad.
Winnipeg on Top
Due to their 3-0 stint vs. Colorado this season, the Winnipeg Jets should be fairly confident heading into this. They’re a relatively well-rounded team with experienced players like Tyler Toffoli, Adam Lowry and Connor Hellybuck in net. They have a 2.42 GAA which ranks 2nd in the league.
After winning on Tuesday against Seattle, Winnipeg secured home-ice advantage…which absolutely is an advantage due to Colorado’s inconsistency on the road. Colorado has a .763 points percentage at home but that drops significantly to .537 when visiting. Additionally, Winnipeg is a much better team in close games. The Jets are the NHL’s best team when scoring first, winning 93% of those contests. Meanwhile, the Avs are 20th when they score the opener.
Colorado By a Mile
You can truly never count out a roster like the Colorado Avalanche. With Nathan Mackinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the front lines and Cale Makar on the back end, they’re a force of nature when they play as a unit rather than as individuals. Colorado has the highest goals per game with 3.67. Not for nothing, we can circle back to their 0-3 stint vs. Winnipeg this season. Mackinnon did manage 4 points in those games despite the team being shut out in the last matchup. They are, without a doubt, the superior team at home. How will they cope with 3 games maximum in the mile high city? That will be the deciding factor of this series.
The Result
You know the drill…I can’t actually tell you who I think is going to win due to personal superstitions, but I’ll leave you with this;
If Colorado can leave the glitz and glamour on the back burner and play the nitty gritty elite hockey we all know they can, there’s no question. If Colorado gets caught up trying to make NHL Top Plays, there is still no question.
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