Jets drop regular season finale, shift focus to Stanley Cup Playoffs

Even with six regular skaters out of the line-up, the Winnipeg Jets gave the Colorado Avalanche a tough test on Thursday night.
In the end, the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche used two third period goals to break open a 2-2 game, and hand the Jets a 4-2 loss.
"That's a credit to the guys in the lineup tonight. Everybody really battled," said Brenden Dillon. "We want to be a workmanlike mentality here going into the playoffs. We've got a lot of skill in our lineup but we know when we work hard, we're usually rewarded for it."
The night was an opportunity for those who hadn't seen game action to get back in the line-up, with Winnipeg sitting out Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Morrissey, and Nate Schmidt.
That meant opportunity for Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, David Gustafsson, Karson Kuhlman, Logan Stanley, Kyle Capobianco, and Dominic Toninato - recalled from the Manitoba Moose earlier in the day.

"Give them credit, they've worked very hard in practice and the coaches have worked them very hard, so the conditioning is there," said head coach Rick Bowness. "Our guys played very hard tonight. We did a lot of good things. That's an excellent hockey team over there, obviously playing for first place (in the Central Division), so they had a lot at stake. We battled them every minute of the game."
Colorado got the game's first goal with 6:27 to go in the first, as Denis Malgin got to a loose puck just outside the crease after a Lars Eller shot from the slot. David Rittich, making his first start between the pipes since March 14, made the initial save on the Eller wrister, but Malgin was in the right place to knock in the rebound for his 13th of the campaign.

Just 2:15 into the second, the Jets got back on level terms. Neal Pionk's point shot went into the body of Jonsson-Fjallby just outside of the Colorado crease. Jonsson-Fjallby found it quickly and slid it home, giving him six goals on the season. Pionk and Dillon - two of the four Jets playing their 82nd game of the season on Thursday - picked up assists on the play. For Dillon, it was his 23rd point of the season, setting a new career-high for the defenceman.
Dillon was happy to get the chance to play to conclude a full 82-game schedule.
"It's a tough league. I think especially through the grind of it, to be able to stay healthy during it," he said. "For guys like Lows that play so hard every night, for him to get that, too, kudos to him. (Neal Pionk), (Kyle Connor). We obviously wanted to play hard tonight and get the win."
The Jets took their first lead with just over five minutes to go in the middle frame. Morgan Barron led a shorthanded rush up the left wing side and spotted Kevin Stenlund driving to the net up the middle. Barron's pass went off a back checking Nathan MacKinnon, and then Stenlund's stick, and past Alexandar Georgiev. It was Stenlund's first goal in 21 games, and his sixth of the season.

Stenlund was in some discomfort after the goal, and left the game shortly after.
"I mean, he outskated MacKinnon that one," Dillon joked. "So maybe check the groins or hamstrings."
In all seriousness, Bowness did say he expects Stenlund to "be fine" despite the lower-body injury on the play.
The lead didn't last long, as on that same power play, Mikko Rantanen teed off on a one-timer from the right circle that beat Rittich. It was Rantanen's 55th goal of the season, with Evan Rodrigues and Devon Toews picking up assists.
Rodrigues then gave Colorado a 3-2 edge in the third, as his wrist shot from high in the zone went through the legs of Brenden Dillon and evaded the Jets goaltender with just under 17 minutes left in regulation.

Then, the Jets also dodged another injury scare, as Vladislav Namestnikov slid into the post - and then the end boards - trying to break up a Lars Eller breakaway chance. He was slow to his feet afterward, but did return to the game.
Then Rittich stopped Eller on the ensuing penalty shot.
"Rittich did a great job there. He hasn't played in a while," said Kyle Connor of Rittich's 21 saves on 24 shots. "I'm sure that's tough for him to step into a game like that but I thought he was awesome."
Colorado added an empty netter from Artturi Lehkonen with 1:29 left in regulation to round out the scoring.
The Jets finished the regular season schedule with a record of 46-33-3, with the 46 victories being the third most in a season in franchise history.
Now the focus shifts to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Winnipeg goes in as the eighth seed, but that doesn't necessarily mean they consider themselves underdogs.
"We've got to focus on Game 1 and getting ready here," said Dillon. "It's going to be a tough environment wherever it is. Do our best to just get the momentum rolling. It's the best time of the year."