MacKinnon scores twice in 3rd, Avalanche hold off Jets to extend Central lead

WINNIPEG -- Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche held on for a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Thursday.

“It was a good effort from our guys,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “We gave up a couple of goals on turnovers on the D-zone walls and there's a couple of things that we want to improve on, but for the most part, I think, end of the road trip, we played hard. We were competitive. Special teams did a really nice job tonight. And from the goaltender out I think we had everybody involved and we're able to carve out a win against a really good team, a desperate hockey team.”

Jack Drury also scored, and Artturi Lehkonen had an assist in his return from an upper-body injury for the Avalanche (48-13-10), who went undefeated on a four-game road trip. Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves.

“Really mature (game),” Blackwood said. “They played a really hard game, didn't get frustrated. We haven't had a lot of success here scoring goals, but stuck with it and didn't get down and capitalized.”

Lehkonen missed 11 games after sustaining the injury in the first period of a 4-2 win at the Los Angeles Kings on March 2.

“Good defensive hockey overall,” MacKinnon said. “Obviously, four in a row on the road is a great road trip. So, we're happy with our home game against Dallas (a 2-1 shootout win on March 18) before the roadie, then we had a great road trip.”

Colorado extended its first-place lead in the Central Division to nine points over the Dallas Stars.

“We're still fighting for first place, so every win's important until they put the mark beside our standings,” Bednar said. “So, we have something to play for down the stretch run here. And we've had a good year, but we're not comfortable -- we’re still just kind of fine-tuning our game for going into the playoffs. The Jets have their business to take care of. But you're playing hungry teams every night that are jockeying for position, trying to fight into the playoffs, trying to move up the standings.”

Mark Scheifele scored twice, and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets (30-30-12), who had won two in a row, but have lost four of six (2-2-2).

“(Hellebuyck) made some big saves when we needed him to,” Scheifele said. “And, you know, we battled ‘til the end. I think we showed a lot of resilience against a really good hockey team.”

Winnipeg remained five points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

“Every game is huge for us, no matter the opponent,” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “At this stage of the year for us, we need two points every single night, so it doesn't matter who we're playing.”

Scheifele gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 9:55 of the first period. After Josh Morrissey stopped a clearing attempt at the Colorado blue line, he quickly gave it to Kyle Connor, who then fed Scheifele a backhand from the slot for a one-timer from below the left dot.

“They're a good team,” Scheifele said. “They make a lot of plays. They got some pretty dynamic players on the other side. … We had our chances, especially early. We had a couple chances to get a few more, and Blackwood made some big saves.”

Drury tied it 1-1 at 17:40, grabbing the rebound from Sam Malinski’s point shot and out-muscling Winnipeg defenseman Elias Salomonsson so he could jam it in under Hellebuyck.

“We've got a (heck) of a team in here,” Blackwood said. “It helps when all the guys are clicking. ... Everybody's a big piece of it, right down to the guy that plays the least or the most. Everybody has a role to play, so that's how we think in here.”

MacKinnon’s power-play goal 13 seconds into the third period put Colorado ahead 2-1, knocking in a rebound that sat behind Hellebuyck.

MacKinnon scored again to push it to 3-1 at 3:55 off a redirect of Lehkonen’s saucer pass on a 2-on-1. Winnipeg challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld following video review.

“You need different players at different times to step up and make a play and make an impact,” Bednar said. “First game back after injury, we got him (Lehkonen) involved quite a bit in a few different areas of the game, and he's only getting better. There’s no question, there was some rust there, a little bit of trouble finding his legs, but he made a great play at a key time, which is kind of what we're used to (him) doing. So, good all-around first game from him.”

MacKinnon leads the NHL with 48 goals this season.

“He goes to the net hard twice,” Bednar said. “I like the fact that he got rewarded for going to the net, for going to that inside ice. But obviously, both of them are big difference-making plays for us.”

Scheifele said of MacKinnon: "He's absolutely fantastic. He's an absolute horse out there. He's a guy that works on his game so tirelessly. On the other side, he's a fun guy to watch. Makes a lot of plays, a lot of little plays, even that a lot of people don't notice. So, he's one of, if not the, one of the best, if not the best player in the League. And he shows it every single night. And it's, it's impressive to watch."

Scheifele cut it to 3-2 at 9:39 with his 34th goal this season, finishing a quick passing play from Gabriel Vilardi and Perfetti with a redirect at the edge of the crease.

Scheifele set a new career high with 88 points (34 goals, 54 assists) this season, surpassing his previous mark of 87 (39 goals, 48 assists) in 2024-25.

“Tonight, Colorado was extremely aggressive,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “They pressured us hard and they got to pucks quicker than we did. That’s just something that’s one of our strengths. So usually when teams get real aggressive, we have our numbers and we have bodies around and we move it quick and get it away from there. Tonight, we weren’t able to do that, so we’ve got to turn around and play them on Saturday. We know what’s coming, so we’ve got to be better at it.”

NOTES: The Avalanche have held first place in the League for 123 straight game days, which passed the 2018-19 Lightning for the eighth-longest run in NHL history. The only other team in the previous 40 years with a longer run is the Detroit Red Wings (140 in 2001-02 and 124 in 2007-08). … Colorado earned its League-leading 25th road win of the season, the third most in a campaign in franchise history, behind 2022-23 (29) and 2013-14 (26). … MacKinnon’s 14th multigoal game of 2025-26 tied Michel Goulet (14 in 1983-84) for the second most by an Avalanche/Nordiques player in a single season. Goulet (16 in 1982-83) tops the list. … Connor became the fourth player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history to record consecutive 50-assist seasons, joining Josh Morrissey, Blake Wheeler and Marian Hossa (each with two). … Jets forward Morgan Barron did not return after receiving a hit from Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson at 13:37 of the third period. Manson received a penalty for interference, and both players were levied fighting majors. Barron has entered concussion protocol, according to Arniel, but he had no further update.