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The Winnipeg Jets survived a late Colorado comeback to claim a 3-2 victory at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday night, with Kyle Connor delivering the decisive goal with exactly 60 seconds remaining. The win extended Winnipeg’s unbeaten run to four games to open the 2026-27 NHL season, giving them a 3-0-1 record.
Connor’s winner came off a sharp pass from Mark Scheifele, who drove along the boards before finding his linemate in the slot. Connor then fired the puck past Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood for his second goal of the night and his fifth of the young season.
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“Not a lot of guys can make those kind of plays,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “Then also how K.C. got it off his stick too. Your best players need to step up in those type of moments. And those two have done that a lot for us.”
Connor Climbs the Jets Record Books
The two goals pushed Connor’s career total as a Jet to 328, drawing him level with Ilya Kovalchuk for third place in franchise history. Only Dale Hawerchuk and Scheifele have scored more goals in a Winnipeg Jets uniform.
Connor acknowledged the significance of the start but kept his focus on the bigger picture. “There’s definitely a lot of guys in here proving that we’re still a top team in this league,” he said. “You got to prove it every single night. It’s a tough league. You can’t take nights off.”
Cole Perfetti also scored for the Jets, finding the net for the third straight game. He now has six points across the first four games of the season, extending his point streak to four games. Meanwhile, Scheifele picked up two assists on the night to record his first points of the season.
Skinner Stands Tall Against Heavy Pressure
Goaltender Stuart Skinner was outstanding throughout the game. He stopped 32 of 34 shots to earn his second straight victory and his first win at Canada Life Centre.
Colorado outshot Winnipeg 34-19 overall, including a dominant stretch in the first period where the Avalanche fired 13 shots in the final 13 minutes of the frame. Skinner turned aside all five shots on a dangerous Colorado power play during that stretch, including a critical cross-crease save on Martin Necas.
Early in the second period, Skinner made another key stop on Necas after giving up a large rebound. “It was nice to get a lot of shots early,” Skinner said. “That’s normally a good feeling for a goalie. They definitely had their push, and it gave us a little bit of time.”
Colorado opened the scoring at the 2:51 mark of the second period. A puck along the boards deflected off Viggo Bjorck and into the high slot, where Dylan DeMelo overskated it. That gave Jaden Schwartz the time and space to rip a shot top shelf. However, Connor responded just over a minute later, tipping a Neal Pionk point shot through Blackwood to level the score.
Winnipeg then took the lead late in the second. Scheifele retrieved the puck behind Colorado’s net and slid it back to Dylan Samberg at the point. Samberg’s shot deflected off Brock Nelson’s stick and then banked in off Perfetti’s shin pad for his third goal of the season.
Colorado Ties It Before Connor Wins It
The Jets carried their one-goal lead into the third period, but Colorado tied the game with 7:25 remaining. A Brett Kulak shot missed the net and bounced off the end boards directly to Schwartz, who passed it in front for Fedor Svechkov to tap home.
For a moment, overtime looked inevitable. However, Winnipeg’s top line had other ideas. With one minute left, Scheifele carried the puck across the blue line and fed Connor in the slot for the game-winner. It was one of only two Jets shots in the entire third period.
Colorado pulled Blackwood in the final seconds but could not generate a shot before the final horn. Blackwood finished with 16 saves in the loss, which ended the Avalanche’s own unbeaten start to the season.
Morrissey Leaves with Upper-Body Injury
The victory came at a cost for Winnipeg. Defenseman Josh Morrissey left the game after appearing to injure his hand along the boards late in the first period. He played only one shift in the second period before leaving for good.
Arniel described it as “just an upper-body injury” and said the team would assess Morrissey further on Thursday. In his absence, Dylan Samberg led all skaters with 25 minutes and 25 seconds of ice time.
Next, the Jets host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, looking to extend their season-opening point streak to five games.
