(2C) Jets at (3C) Avalanche
Western Conference First Round, Game 3
10 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, TVAS, CBC
Best-of-7 series tied 1-1
DENVER -- It's home ice for the Colorado Avalanche as their series with the Winnipeg Jets shifts to Ball Arena for Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round.
The Avalanche had 31 wins at home this season, most in the NHL. They took advantage of Jets miscues and took time and space away from them in a 5-2 win at Canada Life Centre in Game 2 on Tuesday and know they'll need more of that going forward.
"Our forecheck has been really good," Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. "We need to keep that going. And I think simple is good in the playoffs. You don't want to make mistakes and overthink things. It's been good so far."
For the Jets, it's going to be adjusting to what the Avalanche throw at them after getting last change at home the first two games.
"This road game is going to be a matchup test for our guys. Things that we played in Games 1 (7-6 win) and 2 that are available to us in Games 3 and 4 are going to be put to the test as well," Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "Yeah, it's exciting to be part of a series that has so much explosiveness, so much excitement that's been around the game. It should be a good one."
When a best-of-7 series is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the series 65.9 percent of the time (234-120).
Here are 3 keys for Game 3:
1. Jets need second-line contributions
The second line of left wing Nikolaj Ehlers, center Sean Monahan and right wing Tyler Toffoli has been quiet through the first two games of the series, with none having a point after combining for 84 goals and 175 points during the regular season. The Jets have forward depth, and they need to tap into it to get an advantage in this series.
The three would love to have the production they did in their final regular-season game against the Avalanche, when they combined for six points (three goals, three assists) in a 7-0 win at Ball Arena on April 13.
"I thought we were really crisp, we executed on every play and we did a really good job creating space for each other and capitalizing on our opportunities," Toffoli said of that game.
2. Building block for Georgiev?
Alexandar Georgiev had the necessary bounce back game when he made 28 saves in the Game 2 win. He led the NHL with 38 wins this season, one more than Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, but Georgiev struggled late in the regular season and in Game 1, when he allowed seven goals on 23 shots.
Georgiev has to keep growing off Game 2's performance, and returning home should help.
"He should be feeling pretty good about his game because I thought he was outstanding," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "I thought our team was a little bit better in Game 2, but he was much better in Game 2, which is a big reason why we won. Hopefully he gained some confidence out of that. I'm sure the crowd support's certainly not going to hurt."
3. Will the scoring continue?
There have been 20 goals scored in the first two games of this series. That's probably not surprising with the Avalanche, the highest scoring team in the NHL this season (3.68 goals per game), but it's not typical for the Jets, who were tied for allowing the fewest goals per game this season (2.41).
The Jets would certainly prefer a lower-scoring game, but that's not easy against Colorado.
"The players are dictating what's going on out there, they're all engaged, they're all playing hard. They're taking advantage of their [opportunities]," Jets coach Rick Bowness said.
"We would've liked to have scored more than two the last game. We had some really good looks that we didn't capitalize on, but that's the most explosive team in the League. They're going to create their chances. We have to make sure that we do our best to minimize them but take care of the puck when we get it and create a little bit more."
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Gabriel Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Sean Monahan -- Tyler Toffoli
Nino Niederreiter -- Adam Lowry -- Mason Appleton
David Gustafsson -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk
Nate Schmidt -- Dylan Samberg
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Rasmus Kupari, Cole Perfetti, Colin Miller, Collin Delia, Logan Stanley
Injured: Morgan Barron (lower body)
Avalanche projected lineup
Valeri Nichushkin -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Artturi Lehkonen -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Zach Parise
Miles Wood -- Ross Colton -- Joel Kiviranta
Andrew Cogliano -- Yakov Trenin -- Brandon Duhaime
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Sean Walker -- Josh Manson
Caleb Jones -- Jack Johnson
Alexandar Georgiev
Justus Annunen
Scratched: Arvid Holm
Injured: Jonathan Drouin (lower body), Samuel Girard (concussion)
Status report
Schmidt, a defenseman, will make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, replacing Stanley in the lineup. … Girard, a defenseman, participated in morning skate and could be a game-time decision. He has missed the first two games of the series while in concussion protocol. … Annunen, who has missed the past two games due to illness, will backup Georgiev. … Holm, a goalie, was recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League on Friday.
