Jets hammer defenseless Avs – Winnipeg Free Press

DENVER – Don't mind the statement game. It was real dominance.

Threatened with second place in the Central Division, the Winnipeg Jets rolled over the Colorado Avalanche 7-0 on Saturday afternoon in front of a stunned crowd at Ball Arena.

Nothing much counts when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin this week, but it couldn't be more clear-cut what the Jets can do when the commitment to playing team defense is the top priority.

“We love how most of this trip is outside of Nashville. So we're going to try to keep that going when we get home,” said Jets captain Adam Lawrie, who had two goals along with Sean Monahan, who scored two goals to pace the offensive attack.

“If we don't play with this solid defensive structure, we won't be successful in the playoffs. We have a world-class keeper and we can count on that, but we have to play well in front of him and do the little things to be successful and run. (Nikolai Ehlers) turns it over and makes two big tackle blocks. It's 7-0, but when you're playing for your goalie, little things like that go a long way.”

Gabriel Vilardi, Tyler Toffoli, Josh Morrissey also scored for the Jets, who won their sixth straight game and improved to 50-24-6 on the season.

The Jets head home to face the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

Koshin will face the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday and the Golden Knights in Vegas on Sunday.

As for the tournament race, the Jets are two points ahead of the Avalanche, but also have the first tiebreaker with 44 straight wins, so they're in the driver's seat for home-ice advantage in the first round.

“Give credit to our guys, they fought all year to get us home-ice advantage,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness, whose team finished with a franchise-record 25 points on the road. “We know. they are much better than that. Great hockey team here. They. They have elite players, the coaches forced them to play hockey. It's not their hockey team today.”

The Jets also swept the season series with the Avalanche 3-0, going 17-4, though that won't mean much when the real games start next week.

“Out the window, a new slate,” Jets quarterback Neil Pionk said. “But at the same time, (we have) confidence that we can do it.”

Here's a closer look at what happened on the ice in the Mile High City on Saturday:

START: After delivering one of their most complete efforts of the season against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, it didn't take long to figure out what the Jets would do for the game.

The Jets showed commitment to the formation outside the goal and won many contests and puck battles and were eventually able to score four times in the first period, chasing goaltender Alexander Georgiev, who was under siege during 15 shots.

“Definitely one of the best of the year. It happened,” Bowness said. “We came out and wanted to play aggressive against them, and we did. We won a couple of faceoffs, the power play was great. This also pushed us forward. This isn't their best game, we know we'll see better. I know their goalkeeper had a tough night. We're happy with what we've done, knowing that won't happen when the playoffs start.”

Finding consistency was a battle at times for the Jets in the second half, but they certainly seemed to be peaking at the right time.

ADVANTAGE: Speaking of goaltenders, the Jets are believed to have a significant advantage among the pipes in the playoff series.

And while Georgiev or backup Juustus Annunen are far from the cause of the Avalanche's demise, Connor Hellebuyck had another impressive outing in a Vezina-worthy season.

Making his 59th start of the campaign, Hellebuyck recorded 31 shutouts, his fifth of the season and 37th of his NHL career.

“(Hellebuyck) gives us a lot of confidence,” Pionk said. “(It) allows him to play freely, make some plays. Like I said, when we play these good teams, no matter what we do, they play a little bit. We can play a great game and still give up some chances and the goalie will help us.”

With back-to-back goals from Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit (with three goose eggs in 22 appearances, including 21 starts), the Jets could have an advantage over most teams in goal.

EXTRACT BUSTER: Lowry did a great job at even strength, limiting the offense and penalty kill, but he went 17 games without a goal. So when he picked up the loose puck and put it past Georgiev to make it 4-0, he had an element of relief attached to it.

“I don't know, it's spring time. I was ice cold so it was nice to warm up a little bit,” said Lowry, who has 12 goals and 35 points in 80 games. “It was good to see the first one go in and the second one was a bonus.”

On the second goal, Lowry opted to shoot two-on-one from the five-hole when the D-man tricked another Jets player.

“Guys joke that I'm addicted to it,” Lowry said. “It was one of those things that I saw and tried to use.”

Bowness enjoyed seeing Lowry rewarded for his efforts.

“He's very consistent every night,” Bowness said. “He just puts it on the line,” Bowness said. “From a coaching standpoint, you can't ask for more than what Adam has given us, both on and off the ice. He was a great captain, a great leader in the room, a great leader on the ice. When you play as hard as he does every night, sometimes you want that gift and he got it.”

HIT: Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon doesn't often take big hits, and it looked like he was taken aback when Jets quarterback Neil Pionk came up against him in the second period. It was a tough, clean check, and the Avalanche spent the rest of the shift chasing Pionk.

After the whistle, Avalanche forward Ross Colton picked up a roughing minor that put his team out of reach.

“I just took his point of view. “I think he lost his balance more than anything,” Pionk said. “Yes, that's how I saw it.”

What did Colton say to you on the way?

“(He's) 'Is it snowing in Winnipeg?' – said. I said, 'No,' and then I said, 'Yes,'” Pionk teased.

Pionk has had some tough outings recently, but he's at his best when he's playing aggressively and taking on the body. This is the type of play the Jets will need from Pionk when the playoffs begin.

“He hit a big shot,” Bowness said. “Discipline batting was as important as it was important. He did not retaliate.”

MacKinnon was shut out at home for the second time in 40 games this season.

Pionk upset Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, and he looks to do the same for McKinnon, who is having a Hart Trophy-caliber season.

“Best in the world, right? They're like 1A, 1B, so that's always going to be a challenge,” Pionk said. “I think any athlete is looking for that toughest challenge, and that's exactly what happens when you play those two.”

ADDITIONALLY, ADDITIONALLY: The Jets didn't make any changes to their lineup Saturday, leaving defensemen Nate Schmidt and Colin Miller and forwards Cole Perfetti and Rasmus Kupari as healthy scratches.

With a few health question marks, Schmidt and Perfetti took the pregame skate. Nino Niederreiter missed his fifth straight game with a torn leg. Niederreiter is expected to return to the lineup for the Jets against the Kraken on Tuesday.

Jets forward Vladislav Namenstnikov didn't convert in the final 11:22 of the contest and Monahan didn't convert in the final 9:08, but Bowness said there was nothing to worry about. The players were a little shell-shocked, but the score allowed the Jets extra time to recover.

Toffoli had five shots on goal and eight shot attempts in the contest. With Monahan, Toffoli and Ehlers, the lineup has combined for four goals and seven points since resuming Thursday.

[email protected]

X: @WiebesWorld