The Jets scored 4 goals in the first period and the Avalanche went on a 7-0 run

DENVER –

The Winnipeg Jets want to remember this game for everything that went right. Colorado would like to forget that too, for all its faults.

Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry scored 10 seconds apart in a four-goal first period that forced Colorado goaltender Alexander Georgiev out of the net, and the Jets moved into the driver's seat for their second straight Central Division series, beating the Avalanche 7-0 on the day. Saturday.

With Dallas clinching the division title earlier in the day, Colorado and Winnipeg square off in the first round of the playoffs. It is only necessary to determine which team has the advantage at home. The Jets are two points ahead of the Avalanche for the No. 2 seed in the division. They also hold tiebreakers.

Winnipeg may have found the draft to keep a speedy Colorado team in check.

“This is not their hockey team,” Jets coach Rick Bowness warned. “We know they're a great hockey team and we know it's going to be a tough series. ΓǪ We wanted to come out and play aggressive against them and we did.”

The Avalanche don't want to turn this game around. Not after this result.

“You can't forget why it happened, especially when you have to play them at the most important time of the year,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, who has lost three of his last four games. “We have to remember it. We should learn from it, study it, understand it. We have to be much better than that.''

Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for the fifth time this season.

Sean Monahan and Lowry each had two goals, while Gabriel Vilardi and Tyler Toffoli also scored to help the Jets extend their winning streak to six straight. Winnipeg led 7-0 after two periods as 10 players had points. According to NHL statistics, this is the first time in franchise history that a team has scored seven goals in a row.

Winnipeg finished 3-0 against Colorado this season and outscored the Avalanche 17-4.

“It's great to come out here and play really well, but come playoff time, we're going to expect a good effort from them,” Lowry said.

Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche entered the game as the league's leading scoring team (3.72 goals per game), but Helleback remained bottled up. It was the fifth time the Avalanche have been shut out this season and the first time at home.

“Everything went wrong,” McKinnon said.

Georgiev allowed four goals on 15 shots and scored on Justus Annunen with 4:43 left in the first period. Annunen surrendered three goals on 11 shots as goaltending remains a big question mark for Colorado in the postseason.

Monahan opened the scoring 5:59 into the contest as Winnipeg came close to ending the period with more goals (four) than Colorado's total shots (five).

Morrissey and Lowry's goals 10 seconds apart tied for the second-fastest two-pointers in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. The two fastest were on December 2, 2008, 7 seconds apart.

Mikko Rantanen returned to Colorado after missing two games in concussion protocol. Now, quarterback Samuel Girard will enter the concussion protocol after leaving in the first period after a collision with teammate Ross Colton.

“We weren't where we needed to be competitively,” Colorado's Andrew Cogliano said. “I think we got a good feel for what it's going to be like in the playoffs.”