The Avalanche ground the Jets, Round 2 bound with flurry of goals

The Colorado Avalanche are moving ahead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, thanks to a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

The Avs won the series 4-1, dispatching Winnipeg with four straight victories after a shaky start in Game 1.

Mikko Rantanen scored his first two goals of a frustrating series to give Colorado the lead in the third period, finding a tip-in off a Devon Toews pass then converting an assist from Nathan MacKinnon fewer than four minutes later.

Josh Manson scored an empty-net goal with two seconds left to ice it.

Valeri Nichushkin continues to dominate, scoring his seventh goal of the postseason and leading all NHL players in that category. He got the party started after Colorado trailed 1-0 early, burying the puck into a mostly wide-open net on a beautiful pass from Toews.

The score was tied 1-1 after one frame, and the second period got wild. Yakov Trenin scored a hard-working fourth-line goal to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead, before Winnipeg made it 2-2. Artturi Lehkonen got credited with a the tally to give Colorado the lead at 13:45 of the second period, thanks to an unfortunate own-goal from the Jets.

Artturi Lehkonen's shot deflects into the net off of Pionk, putting the Avalanche up 3-2!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/BD9FJ2eMh3

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) May 1, 2024

But you never apologize in the playoffs for gritty goals, and that’s exactly what the Avalanche earned. In fact, Winnipeg’s first tally of the game appeared to be an own-goal off a fluky play from Manson and Lehkonen, so it was sweet revenge.

Rantanen took over in the third period, and that was all she wrote. One team was clearly better in this series, and that ultimately resulted in an easy five-game gentleman’s sweep.

Now, the Avs will await the winner of the Dallas and Las Vegas series on the other side of the bracket. That showdown is tied 2-2, so it could be a bit. Game 5 is on Wednesday night, with Game 6 on Friday. A possible Game 7 awaits on Sunday, so there’s a real chance Colorado gets nearly a week off.

If the Golden Knights pull it out, the Avalanche will have home-ice advantage in the series. If it’s the Stars, a trip to Texas looms for Games 1 and 2 and possibly 5 and 7.

But no matter who the next opponent is, this is what Colorado needed. Fans were upset after a 7-6 loss in the opener, then they pulled off four straight wins.

Guys like Rantanen and Nichushkin showed up, as well as the team’s other best players. That could absolutely be a recipe for a second parade in three years.