Avalanche score 5 in 3rd, rally past Jets in Game 3 to take series lead 

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche scored five unanswered goals in the third period of a 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets to take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference First Round series in Game 3 at Ball Arena on Friday.

“Honestly, the struggle and the fight is the best part,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. “That's why it makes the wins so sweet, and they're so hard to get. You only need 16 [to win the Stanley Cup], but it's hard to get 16. Overall, solid effort. The intentions are all in the right place and guys are working hard, and it's just the beginning. We need to reset and come even harder on Sunday.”

MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, Casey Mittelstadt had three assists, and Mikko Rantanen had two assists for the Avalanche, the No. 3 seed from the Central Division. Alexandar Georgiev made 22 saves.

“I thought [Georgiev] was awesome again tonight,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “So, he gives us time to like just keep chipping away and chipping away, and eventually we earn some power plays and capitalize on ‘em. The power play's what gave us the life, right? You got to earn your penalties, too. Like I thought it was a hard fought, hard checking game.

“Offense was tough to come by, skilled players are making some plays and you get some opportunities if you get the right bounce, rebound, et cetera. But there wasn't a whole lot of room to move.”

Tyler Toffoli and Josh Morrissey scored for the Jets, who are the No. 2 seed from the Central. Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves.

“Clearly the discipline in the third period and the penalty kill just took us out of the game,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “Listen, there's three series out East that are 3-zip. We're 2-1. They won a game in our rink. We have to come in here and win a game in their rink. It's as simple as that. 3-2, 6-2, we lost the game. Our focus now is getting ready for Sunday afternoon.”

Game 4 of the best-of-7 series will be in Colorado on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, SN360, SN, TVAS).

Zach Parise scored to give Colorado a 1-0 lead at 11:18 of the first period when he tucked in the rebound of Josh Manson’s shot from the slot.

“I think everyone in the room looks up to Zach, me especially, being a Minnesota kid,” Mittelstadt said. “It's an honor play with him and he did a heck of a job. I mean, he's flying around out there hitting guys, making plays. So, made my job easy tonight.”

Toffoli tied it 1-1 at 5:03 of the second period with a backhand from below the left circle after gathering the rebound of his initial shot.

Morrissey made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 10:50 of the second, beating Georgiev with a one-timer through traffic from the blue line.

“We're doing a lot of good things to put ourselves in a position to try and win a game in a tough building on the road in the playoffs, and I think the easiest story is we got into penalty trouble,” Morrissey said. “You can take some real positives from that game, especially in the first two periods. It’s a seven-game series for a reason. Unfortunately, we dropped this one tonight and Game 4 is pivotal. We need to come out with our game and [play] a full 60-minute game on Sunday."

MacKinnon tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 2:11 of the third period. His one-timer from just inside the blue line went through traffic and between Hellebuyck’s pads.

“I'm just looking to see where that F1 is and if I can get it through him, and then pray from there,” MacKinnon said. “It’s tough to see all four guys, but I figured I was in the middle of the ice. So, there's probably no one else in the middle, and [I was] lucky. Great screen.”

Valeri Nichushkin made it 3-2 at 4:39, taking a cross-crease pass from Rantanen and lifting a snap shot over an outstretched Hellebuyck.

Artturi Lehkonen pushed it to 4-2 at 8:11, finishing off a 2-on-1 with Mittelstadt.

“Being down one in the third there, we didn't sit back on our heels and I think we kind of just took it to them,” Ross Colton said. “When we play with that speed, we play with that energy, we're good team. Obviously, we got some power plays there, but we drew them with hard work and getting in on the forecheck and kind of putting them under pressure. So, it all starts with that.”

Colton scored a power-play goal to make it 5-2 at 12:35 when he redirected Mittelstadt’s centering pass in the slot.

“[Mittelstadt’s] been unreal. I just love his competitive level,” MacKinnon said. “it’s great to see him rise his game on the biggest stage, the brightest lights, and he looked awesome tonight. Not many guys would sauce that over in a third period playoff game, and it just shows you the confidence and poise he has.”

Devon Toews scored into the empty net from his own zone while short-handed at 16:25 for the 6-2 final.

NOTES: Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard made his series debut after missing the previous two games while in concussion protocol. He finished plus-3 with one assist in 21:05 of ice time. … The Avalanche improved to 145-104 in playoff games since relocating to Denver in 1995-96, tying the Detroit Red Wings for the most wins in that span. … Parise became the first player aged 39 or older to score in consecutive playoff games since Daniel Alfredsson did it for the Ottawa Senators in Games 3 and 4 of the 2013 Conference Semifinals. Parise also tied Chris Drury (21) for the third-most playoff goals by a U.S.-born player in NHL history.