NHL

Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche

· National Hockey League
Final
3 - 2

Pionk scores in OT to lift Jets to 3-2 win over Avalanche

Neal Pionk scores OT winner for the Jets

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck started the winning play when he sent the puck to Vladislav Namestnikov, who fed Pionk skating down the right side. Pionk’s slap shot beat Mackenzie Blackwood to end Winnipeg’s two-game skid.

Morgan Barron and Gabriel Vilardi also scored for Winnipeg, and Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots.

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar scored for Colorado, and Blackwood had 22 saves.

Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the second on MacKinnon’s 19th goal of the season, but Barron and Vilardi scored before the second intermission to give the Jets the lead.

Makar tied it at 7:05 of the third when he got behind the Winnipeg defense and sent a shot over Hellebuycky’s left shoulder as he was falling to the ice.

Linesman Jonny Murray left the game in the second period after a collision with Colorado defenseman Devon Toews. He returned to start the third but left again and didn’t return.

Takeaways Jets: Winnipeg rebounded from a loss at Utah that coach Scott Arniel called “embarrassing.” The Jets limited Colorado’s chances and killed off both power plays, including one late in the third period.

Avalanche: Colorado finished a five-game homestand 2-2-1 and dropped two division games. The Avalanche lost three of four games against Winnipeg and are 7-8-1 against Central Division opponents.

Key moment With the score tied late in the third period, Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele got behind Colorado defenders and had a close-in chance that Blackwood saved. Scheifele tried to tap in the rebound but Blackwood stopped it with his left pad as he was sprawled in his crease.

Key stat Hellebuyck had a shutout streak of 140 minutes against Colorado broken by MacKinnon’s goal. Two of his six shutouts this season have come against the Avalanche.

Up next Jets host Utah on Friday to begin a two-game homestand, and Avalanche visit Boston on Saturday to open a three-game trip.

Regular Season Series

WPG wins series 3-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 2nd Period 6:09 Nathan MacKinnon Goal (19) Snap Shot, assists: Devon Toews (17), Jonathan Drouin (11)
Goal 2nd Period 10:56 Morgan Barron Goal (5) Tip-In, assists: David Gustafsson (1), Josh Morrissey (36)
Goal 2nd Period 18:44 Gabriel Vilardi Goal (20) Deflected, assists: Josh Morrissey (37), Vladislav Namestnikov (12)
Goal 3rd Period 7:05 Cale Makar Goal (16) Snap Shot, assists: Mikko Rantanen (39), Jonathan Drouin (12)
Goal 4th Period 0:17 Neal Pionk Goal (7) Slap Shot, assists: Vladislav Namestnikov (13), Connor Hellebuyck (1)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/wpg.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWPG https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/col.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCOL
20 Blocked Shots 11
15 Hits 29
4 Takeaways 4
25 Shots 27
0 Power Play Goals 0
1 Power Play Opportunities 2
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
26 Faceoffs Won 25
51.0 Faceoff Win Percent 49.0
10 Giveaways 16
3 Total Penalties 2
6 Penalty Minutes 4

Game Information

Ball Arena

Location: Denver, CO
Attendance: 18,125 | Capacity:

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 38 14 79 3
Dallas 34 18 69 1
Minnesota 31 19 66 4
Colorado 31 22 64 2
Utah 22 22 53 9
St. Louis 24 25 53 5
Nashville 18 27 43 7
Chicago 16 31 37 5
Full Standings