The Avalanche will play the Jets in the 1st round of the Stanley Cup playoffs

The Colorado Avalanche will play the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Home ice advantage for the “Best of 7 Series” is awarded to the team that finishes higher in the Central Division. The Jets (50-24-6) are second, ahead of the Avalanche (49-25-6).

The playoffs will begin on April 20.

Winnipeg has won all three games against Colorado this season, including 7-0 on Saturday.

Guard Josh Morrissey led the Jets with seven points (two goals, five assists), while forward Nikolai Ehlers had five points (one goal, four assists). Connor Hellebuyck was 3-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.

Forward Nathan MacKinnon led the Avalanche with four points (one goal, three assists) and was the only skater to score more than one point in the season series. Alexander Georgiev allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 4-2 loss on Dec. 7 and four goals on 15 shots in a 7-0 loss; backup Justus Annunen scored three goals on 12 shots in his lone game against the Jets in relief of a 7-0 loss. Ivan Prosvetov scored five goals on 24 shots in a 6-2 loss on December 16th.

The teams have never played each other in the playoffs.

The Jets lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round in five games last season; The Avalanche lost to the Seattle Kraken in the first round in seven games.

This season, the Jets are led by forward Mark Scheifele with 70 points (25 goals, 45 assists), Morrissey with 67 points (10 goals, 57 assists) and Kyle Connor (32 goals, 27 assists) and Ehlers (24 goals). 35 passes) of 59 points each. Hellebuyck is 36-19-4 with a 2.38 GAA, .922 save percentage and five shutouts in 59 starts. Backup Laurent Brossoit is 14-5-2 with a 2.00 GAA, .928 save percentage and three shutouts in 22 games (21 starts).

The Avalanche are led by McKinnon, who ranks second in the NHL with 137 points (51 goals, 86 assists), forward Mikko Rantanen with 102 points (40 goals, 62 assists) and defenseman Kyle Makar with 87 points (20 goals, 67 assists). ). Georgiev is 38-18-4 with a 3.00 GAA, .899 save percentage and two shutouts in 62 games (61 starts) this season. Annunen is 7-4-1 with a 2.35 GAA, .925 save percentage and two shutouts in 13 games (11 starts).

Colorado has won the Stanley Cup three times, most recently in 2022. Winnipeg has never won the Cup or been to the Stanley Cup Final.