The Winnipeg Jets have won their opening playoff game of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Sunday at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Jets defeated the Colorado Avalanche 7-6 to take a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series in the first round.
Captain Adam Lowry of Calgary, Alberta and Kyle Connor each scored two goals. Connor had a three-point game, as he added an assist. Another Jets player with a three-point game was centre Mark Scheifele of Kitchener, Ontario, who had one goal and two assists. Other Jets with multi-point games were defenseman Josh Morrissey of Calgary (one goal and one assist), Gabe Vilardi of Kingston, Ontario (two assists), defenseman Brenden Dillon of Surrey, British Columbia (two assists), and Nino Niederreiter (two assists). Meanwhile, the other Jets goal scorer was Vladislav Namestnikov.
The first period on Sunday night was wild. Both teams played rather sloppy defense and had poor goaltending as six goals were scored (three goals by each team) on 22 shots. The Jets actually had leads of 6-3 and 7-4 in the third period, only to see the Avalanche score two goals in the last eight minutes to make things rather interesting. Game two is Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
