MacKinnon inches closer to 50-goal mark as Avalanche defeat Jets 3-2

Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi (13) and Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon (29) collide during second period NHL action in Winnipeg, Thursday, March 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG, — Nathan MacKinnon scored his 47th and 48th goals of the season to propel the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

Jack Drury scored his career-high ninth goal of the season for the NHL-leading Avalanche, who ended a four-game road trip with a 4-0-0 record. Artturi Lehkonen added an assist in his return after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury.

Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 shots for Colorado.

Mark Scheifele scored twice and leads the Jets with 34 goals.

Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.

Scheifele set a career-high in points when his pair of goals gave him 88 points.

Colorado entered the game ranked 27th on the power play, but made good on a big opportunity. Six seconds after a 38-second two-man advantage expired, MacKinnon scored 13 seconds into the third to break the 1-1 tie with the power-play tally. He added his second goal at 3:55.

The Jets challenged MacKinnon’s second goal for goaltender interference, but it stood and gave Colorado a 3-1 lead early in the third.

Up next

The Jets begin a four-game road trip with a rematch in Colorado on Saturday.

The Associated Press