The Colorado Avalanche are set to compete in Game Two of the First Round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they will meet the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre, aiming to bounce back after their narrow defeat in Sunday night's opener. In Game Two of the playoffs, Colorado/Quebec owns an all-time record of 30-21. Game Two’s puck drop between the Avalanche and Jets is scheduled for 7:50 PM MT / 8:50 PM CT and will be broadcast locally on Altitude TV and nationally on ESPN.
ROUND ONE SCHEDULE AND RESULTS VS. WPG
- April 21 at Winnipeg - Game One; Result: WPG: 7 COL: 6
- April 23 at Winnipeg - Game Two, 7:30 PM MT / 8:30 PM CT (ALT, CBC, TVAS, ESPN)
- April 26 vs. Winnipeg - Game Three, 8 PM MT / 9 PM CT (ALT, TNT, TruTV, Max)
- April 28 vs. Winnipeg - Game Four, 12:30 PM MT / 1:30 PM CT (ALT, TNT, TruTV, Max)
- April 30 at Winnipeg - Game Five, TBD May 2 vs. Winnipeg - Game Six, TBD May 4 at Winnipeg - Game Seven*, TBD
*If necessary
REGULAR SEASON RESULTS VS. WPG
- December 7 vs. Winnipeg (L, 4-2)
- December 16 at Winnipeg (L, 6-2)
- April 13 vs. Winnipeg (L, 7-0)
GAME ONE GLORY
Cale Makar notched 1g/2a in Game One versus Winnipeg, achieving his 15th multi-point playoff game, a new record for defensemen in the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise. The last instance of a Colorado defenseman starting a playoff series with a three-point game occurred when Makar achieved this in Game One of the First Round against Nashville during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs (1g/2a).
Makar was recognized as the Third Star of the Game, behind Adam Lowry (1st Star; 2g/0a) and Mark Scheifele (2nd Star; 1g/2a).
Valeri Nichushkin potted the first goal of the postseason for the Avalanche. He’s scored in each of his last two Stanley Cup Playoff games dating back to 2023 as well as three of his last five postseason appearances dating back to 2022.
Casey Mittelstadt found the back of the net in his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game and Miles Wood recorded his first goal of the 2024 postseason. It was Wood’s third career playoff goal.
TALE OF THE TAPE
The Avalanche/Nordiques have registered 178 victories in the playoffs, 160 more than the Jets/Thrashers who have earned 18 wins.
Colorado has 13 active Stanley Cup winners, whereas Winnipeg has only two.
The Avs have lifted the Stanley Cup three times (1996, 2001, 2022) and the Jets are among the 11 active NHL teams that have never won a Stanley Cup. 12 of the 13 Avalanche winners were on the 2022 club, with Ross Colton winning his in 2021 with Tampa Bay.
When entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Winnipeg has been a first-round exit in half of their eight postseason appearances, and the Avalanche have been ousted in the first round eight times across their 20 playoff campaigns.
NOTHING BUT NET: GAME 1 RECAP
The Avalanche faced off against the Jets in the first game of round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a tightly contested match that ended with a 7-6 win for Winnipeg. A combined 20 players made the scoresheet in this high-scoring game and the teams produced the second playoff game in NHL history where two teams had six-plus goals in multiple periods (Game 1 of the 1982 Division Semifinals; LAK vs. EDM). Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring for the Avalanche, but the Jets quickly took the lead with goals from Josh Morrissey and Vladislav Namestnikov. Colorado responded with Miles Wood and Nathan MacKinnon scoring within 18 seconds of each other, marking the eighth-fastest sequence of goals in franchise history, to take a 3-2 lead. Mark Scheifele equalized for the Jets by the end of the first period. Adam Lowry was the lone scorer in the second frame, pushing Winnipeg ahead 4-3. Lowry opened the third period with his second goal of the night and Kyle Connor tallied a power-play goal, widening the gap. Artturi Lehkonen found the back of the net for the Avalanche on the power play. Connor notched his second goal of the night shortly afterward. The Avalanche made a late surge with goals from Cale Makar and Casey Mittelstadt, narrowing the score to 7-6, but the Jets held on to secure the victory in the playoff opener.
GRAND ENTRANCE
1,001
Nathan MacKinnon has registered 1,001 career points (regular and postseason), becoming the fourth player in franchise history to reach over 1,000 combined points with the club, alongside Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny, and Michel Goulet.
1,000
The Avalanche's second goal of Game One was the franchise's 1,000th all-time playoff goal.
1,107
Active Colorado players have collectively secured 1,107 playoff victories, compared to Winnipeg's skaters, who have achieved 801 wins.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“This is what playoff hockey is. Both teams have to push each other, both teams get pushed to the brink and make teams play different ways. For us, that is obviously a part of our game plan. There were times tonight where we were able to do that and unfortunately, all of the mistakes we made ended up in the back of our net.”
- Colorado D Cale Makar on Game 1 Against Winnipeg
