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Colorado Avalanche beat Winnipeg Jets 6-2, take 2-1 lead in NHL playoffs series
The Colorado Avalanche are up 2-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Winnipeg Jets after a convincing 6-2 win on Friday night at Ball Arena.
After earning a split in Winnipeg in Games 1 and 2, Colorado found the next level of its game, scoring a series-high five goals in the third period to run away with a victory in a feisty affair.
In the second-highest matchup of the series so far, with the teams combining for 13 goals in Game 1 and seven in Game 2, goaltending continues to be the focal point for each team.
How did the Avalanche gain the upper hand in the series after three games?
Ahead of the series, there were whispers about Avalanche starting goalie Alexandar Georgiev and his regular season workload.
Unfortunately for Colorado, out of the gate, he did nothing to quiet those conversations, losing 7-6 and finishing the night with a .696 save percentage.
As the only starting netminder in the NHL playoffs with a sub .900 save percentage, there were questions about whether or not he could be the difference in the series, if it was good or bad.
Since that opening loss, Georgiev has given up just four goals and improved his save percentage to .926 in the past 120 minutes.
Interestingly, he's not the only netminder in the series with questions, as Vezina Trophy favorite Connor Hellebuyck has yet to give up less than five goals in a single game.
In 40 career playoff contests before the series, Hellebuyck was 17-23-0 with a .916 save percentage.
Thus far, in three games this postseason, he's 1-2 with a 5.00 goals-against average and a .871 save percentage.
Considering that the Jets led the NHL with the fewest goals against (199), they are playing the league's top offensive team, the Avalanche, which scored the most (304).
That offense was on full display on Friday night as Colorado erupted for five goals in the final 20 minutes to take their first series lead.
In nine periods, the Avalanche have gotten points from 14 players, which is a testament to their balanced lineup.
Thus far, 12 players have more than one point, with only Samuel Girard and Joel Kiviranta being the only skaters with one point.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg has points from 16 players, but less than half (seven) have more than a point, with Mark Scheifele leading the way with five.
However, this series is far from over, and the bad blood is just starting to flow. As the game slipped away, the teams engaged in scrum after scrum, with a brawl breaking out after the final horn.
There were no infractions in the first period before each team took a penalty in the middle frame. Then, things unraveled quickly for the Jets, who took the first four penalties of the final period to give Colorado two powerplay goals.
In the final minute, the teams combined for 22 penalty minutes, mostly roughing calls, with two fighting majors.
The scraps at the end set the tone for an exciting Game 4 on Sunday afternoon, where the Avalanche will look for a stranglehold on the series with another victory on home ice.
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