Skinner shines as Winnipeg Jets dump Colorado 3-1 in preseason tilt

A Colorado Avalanche team dressing very few NHLers may not be the best test for the Winnipeg Jets without their former MVP.

But Stuart Skinner held up his end of the bargain, stopping 31 shots in a 3-1 preseason win Jets Monday night.

Not much happened until Winnipeg earned the game’s first power play just over nine minutes in. The Jets’ top unit had a lot of zone time and shot attempts but was unable to break through.

But with just over a minute to go in the first, Winnipeg broke the deadlock.

Vlad Namestnikov won a puck battle in the corner in Colorado’s end, freeing it up for Isak Rosen. He slid a pass along the ice to Gabriel Vilardi for a one-timer that eluded Scott Wedgewood to make it 1-0.

The Jets outshot Colorado 9-4 in the opening period.

The Avalanche got a power play try early in the second but mustered minimal pressure thanks to a lack of NHL firepower.

The best chance on the man advantage came from Winnipeg’s Cole Koepke, who undressed Sam Malinski before firing a fairly weak shot that was stopped by Wedgewood.

The Avalanche nearly got on the board around the nine minute mark of the second when Logan O’Connor snuck in on a partial breakaway but he was denied by the glove of Skinner, then missed the net on his follow-up attempt.

Skinner, who received a huge cheer when introduced before the game, was serenaded with chants of “Stuuuuu” every time he made a save.

The Avalanche found themselves on a 4-on-3 power play with just under eight minutes left in the second, but the Jets killed it again with some help from Skinner, who had to make a handful of saves over the two minutes.

Much like the first, the Jets were able to strike with just over a minute left in the middle frame.

Koepke sent the puck back to the point to Josh Morrissey, who quickly located Mark Scheifele streaking down the middle of the ice. He took a pass and made a nice move before sliding it across to a wide-open Cole Perfetti for a nice tap-in, making it 2-0 with 69 seconds left in the period.

Colorado outshot the Jets 11-6 in the period but trailed 2-0 going to the third.

The Avs finally got one past Skinner with 13:51 to go when a point shot from Gustav Stjernberg eluded the Jets’ netminder, who immediately complained to an official that his glove hand was disrupted by an Avalanche player in the crease.

Winnipeg challenged the goal, arguing that there was goalie interference and they won the challenge, taking the goal off the board.

Not even 30 seconds later, the Jets made it 3-0 when Dylan DeMelo beat Nabokov with a point shot through traffic.

The Avalanche broke through for real with 5:26 to go when Skinner couldn’t quite corral a loose puck in the crease before Georgii Merkulov poked it home.

Colorado got a power play with 2:39 to go and pulled the goalie to make it a 6-on-4 but the Jets killed it off and run out the clock.

Skinner finished with 29 saves to earn the win, standing tall in the third as the Avalanche outshot the Jets 17-4 in the final period.

The Jets continue their preseason schedule with their second of two home games Tuesday night against Edmonton. Pregame coverage on 680 CJOB begins just after 5 p.m. with the puck dropping a little after 7 p.m.