Team effort helps Avalanche win series against Winnipeg

The Colorado Avalanche took care of business Tuesday night in Winnipeg, winning the series in commanding fashion. The Avalanche and Jets exchanged goals early, with Winnipeg tying the game at two just 2:06 into the third period.

Winnipeg suffered their fourth consecutive defeat as Mikko Rantanen ended his goal drought and scored twice in just four minutes.

With a commanding 5-3 lead, the Avalanche shut the door on the Jets with good defense and a set of stellar saves from Alexandar Georgiev. Josh Manson hit the empty net, and the Avalanche look ahead to Round 2 against the winner of the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars series.

Here are the key takeaways from Game 5 on Tuesday:

Crashed Fighter Jets

Looking back to the series preview for the first round, two things became immediately clear: First, the defense for Winnipeg, as we noted, was not quite as good at denying goals as you might think.

I noted in the preview that “the Jets boast a teamwide xGA of 158.75, good for 12th in the NHL,” which is two slots behind Colorado, and despite the narrative of Winnipeg’s defensive excellence, they were exposed in round one as clearly being outside the top-ten for defensive units.

Second, presumed Vezina Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck was given a bit too much credit. Hellebuyck struggled against Colorado, leading the Jets to become the first team in NHL history to allow five or more goals in each of their first five games to begin a postseason.

This series may have cemented Hellebuyck’s reputation as a fantastic goalie who collapses in the big moments, as his playoff woes extend to a second-straight year of losing four consecutive games.

Force of Nature

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are where reputations are made and legends are born. The Colorado Avalanche are a team that entered this post-season with many questioning if their contending window was closing. The Avalanche answered and did so emphatically.

Despite coming in as underdogs, the depth and speed of Colorado could not be contained.

Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen both joined Michel Goulet (1985) as the only players in franchise history to score goals in the first five games of a postseason series. Cale Makar showed why he is the best defenseman in the NHL with seven points.

Nathan MacKinnon solidified his place as the best forward in the NHL with seven of his own. The names of impressive Avalanche players could be listed down to the last man on the roster here. The entire team came to play and their eyes are set on hoisting Lord Stanley for the second time in three years.

Looking Ahead

The Colorado Avalanche now await the results of the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. That series, as of Tuesday night, stands tied at 2-2. If Dallas prevails, the Avalanche will start their series in Dallas. If Vegas is victorious, then the Avalanche will have home-ice advantage for Round 2.

Highlights