A third-period collapse dooms the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-2 loss in Game 3 at Colorado-Winnipeg

If the Winnipeg Jets want to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they have a lot of work to do.

Winnipeg allowed five goals in the third period in a 6-2 loss at Colorado on Friday night to fall behind 2-1 to the Avalanche in the best-of-seven series.

For the second straight game, the Jets gave up the lead and spent much of the third period in the box. The Avs scored five unanswered goals after ending Game 2 with four straight scores.

“I think we can still do a better job of running the ball in their zone,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “As soon as we shoot the ball, they get a loose ball and they leave. So, I think we can tighten that up. That’s an area we’ll look at. Obviously the discipline in the third period and the penalty took us out of the game.”

The Jets took 10 penalty minutes in the first 11 minutes of the third period and the Avalanche made them pay by notching a pair of power play markers. The Avs scored three goals in just six minutes for the second straight game.

Colorado had a one-goal lead after the first, and the Jets scored back-to-back goals to take the lead, but the wheels came completely off in the final frame in Winnipeg’s favor.

“We can play better than that,” Bowness said. “There are good parts of the game. Discipline and staying outside the box will be a big factor for us.

The Jets were outscored 12-5 in the third period and 40-24 overall, but made a strong push in the middle stanza to get the lead.

“We can take some real positives out of that game, especially the first two periods and it’s a seven-game series for a reason,” outfielder Josh Morrissey said. “We got dropped tonight unfortunately, but Game 4 is pivotal, and we have to come out here with our best game.”

Brenden Dillon’s status is now in question as well. He appeared to have been cut on his hand or forearm by a skate during the postgame scrimmage and left blood all over the ice.

“I can’t give you an update,” Bowness said. “I don’t have an update. It’s still being checked.

“I’ll give you an update when I know more information.”

The Jets have never won a best-of-seven series when trailing two games to one.

Colorado got the crowd going at 11:18 of the opening period when Zach Parise nailed a rebound off Josh Manson’s net.

The Avalanche continued to play for most of the opening period, although the Jets pushed hard in the final minute to tie the game. It remained 1-0 after 20 minutes with Colorado leading 12-9 going into the shot clock.

Airplanes equate to just over five minutes per second. After one of Winnipeg’s toughest turnovers in the offensive zone, Alexandar Georgiev tackled Tyler Toffoli and as the rebound drifted into the corner, Toffoli fired a second attempt from along the goal line and made it 1-1.

Winnipeg got its first power play of the game at the 9:15 mark when Casey Mittlestadt hooked Mark Scheifele, and the Jets made them pay. A blast from Morrissey’s stick beat Georgiev off a screen set by Gabriel Vilardi to put the Jets up 2-1 with 9:10 left in the second period.

Colorado would have a power play of its own a few minutes later but Connor Hellebuyck made several strong saves to keep the score at 2-1, which would still be the score after 40 minutes with the Avalanche outscoring Winnipeg 16-10 in the second.

But the collapse began early in the third period for the Jets. Mason Appleton committed a fumbling penalty with 1:14 in the final frame, leading to the tying goal scored by Nathan MacKinnon. He let a wrist go from the point and found a way through the maze of corpses and through Hellebuyck’s five holes.

23 seconds later, Vilardi cut off Devon Toews with a high stick, putting the Avalanche on a four-minute power play, but unlike Game 2, the Jets couldn’t kill this one.

Moments after the end of the first half, Mikko Rantanen passed the ball to Valeri Nichushkin with a cross. The tired penalty takers couldn’t catch him, and Hellebuyck’s fumbled shot couldn’t get in the way as Nikushkin buried it to put the Avs ahead at the 4:39 mark.

Colorado doubled its lead at the 8:11 mark after forcing the Avs into a turnover at their blue line. Mittelstadt picked up the ball in the neutral zone and raced forward while Dylan DeMelo stumbled trying to move back. Mittelstadt carried the ball into the Jets zone and a tired Mark Scheifele couldn’t keep up with Artturi Lehkonen who took a pass from Mittelstadt and headed it home to make it 4-2.

Two more Jets penalties to David Gustafsson and Neil Pionk put the Avalanche in a short 5-on-3 game and while the Jets ended up killing both, just one second after Pionk’s little kick expired, Russ Colton redirected a pass home to make it 5-2 with 7:25 remaining. .

Winnipeg pulled their goaltender to try to mount a long-range comeback but Toews scored into an empty net with 3:35 left to put a bow on the win for an Avalanche who had scored five goals in a stretch in which the Jets only managed five shots.

Frustration for the Jets boiled over in the final minute when Adam Lowry got into a scuffle with Miles Wood and after the final horn sounded, a skirmish broke out but led to a frightening moment when Dillon was badly injured, rushing to the bench covered in blood. Assembled on ice.

Hellebuyck suffered the loss despite blocking 34 shots, while Georgiev won after blocking 22 shots.

The two teams will meet again Sunday afternoon in Denver. Game 4 begins at 1:30 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB starting at 11 a.m.

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