Jets knock of Avalanche with controversial late goal, stop Colorado's winning streak at four games

Corey Masisak, The Denver Post on Mar 28, 2026

Published in Hockey

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DENVER — Jared Bednar and the Colorado Avalanche’s complicated relationship with the NHL rulebook continued Saturday evening.

The Winnipeg Jets came to Ball Arena and kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a 4-2 victory against the league-leading Avalanche. Cole Perfetti’s goal was the game-winner, but whether or not it should have counted is another chapter in the NHL’s ongoing goaltender interference debate.

Perfetti tipped a shot from Josh Morrissey past Mackenzie Blackwood with 5:11 remaining in the third period to give the Jets a 3-2 lead. It was the second deflection goal of the game for Winnipeg, but the guy who didn’t touch the puck — Jonathan Toews — was the center of the game’s defining decision.

Colorado challenged the play for goaltender interference. Toews was in the blue paint and his skate made contact with Blackwood before the puck went in. That has been enough to rule out goals this season, but goalie interference has become a red-hot button issue across the league because coaches and players alike feel like they don’t know what the standards are.

Perfetti’s goal was upheld, and the Avs were assessed a penalty for the failed challenge. Colorado killed off the penalty with relative ease, but it left the Avs with a little more than three minutes to find an equalizer. Kyle Connor added an empty-net goal to ensure the Winnipeg victory.

The Dallas Stars won earlier in the day, so Colorado’s lead in the Central Division and Western Conference is down to seven points with 10 games remaining. The Avs also have a game in hand on the Stars.

Gabriel Vilardi opened the scoring for Winnipeg. Morrissey’s shot from the left point deflected twice, with Vilardi getting his stick on it last at 3:51 of the first period.

Brock Nelson evened the score with a power-play goal at 8:59. Nazem Kadri picked out Nelson in the slot for a hard pass, and the latter redirected it into the top-left corner of the net for his 33rd goal of the season. That’s Nelson’s third goal in five games and also leaves him just four shy of matching his career high set in 2021-22.

Cale Makar collected an assist on the Nelson goal. It was his 500th career point. By reaching the milestone in 467 games, Makar is the fourth-fastest defenseman to 500 in NHL history. Only Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey and Dennis Potvin got there faster.

The Avs had the league’s worst power play at the Olympic break and went just 1 for 10 in the last three games of February, but it has looked like a different unit in March. Nelson’s goal was the 12th with the extra man this month. The Avs have scored at least one in 10 of the 14 games.

Colorado hadn’t scored more than eight in any other month this season, and had just seven in January and February combined.

The home side was slow off the mark to start the second period, and Cole Koepke helped Winnipeg regain the lead. After the Avs turned the puck over in the neutral zone, Koepke cut to the inside of the ice and past Brent Burns and then whiffed on his shot, but the changeup trickled through Blackwood’s legs at 2:14 of the middle period.

Parker Kelly’s dream season continued late in the second. Josh Manson flicked a wrist shot from the top of the offensive zone towards the net, and Kelly got a piece of it for his 17th goal of the season with 1:55 left in the period.

Kelly’s career highs before this season were eight goals and 11 assists, but he’s more than doubled his best goal output and has added 12 assists as well.

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