Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-grind-down-avalanche-3-0- 472555173.html?k=XlKK5r Jets grind down Avalanche 3-0 By: Mike Sawatzky The Winnipeg Jets are among the highest scoring teams in the NHL this season. On Saturday, they showed they are also very capable of a suffocating defensive effort with some timely goals mixed in, beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 before 15,321 fans at Bell MTS Place. Sophomore Patrik Laine scored a superb first-period marker off of a power-play feed from captain Blake Wheeler and rookie forward Jack Roslovic scored his second career goal on a third-period deflection, coming after Wheeler's original shot. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty- netter, his 20th, in the final minute. The Jets, leaders of the Central Division, improved to 31-13-9 and 71 points. Colorado is 11 points back with a 28-19-4 record. "In the Western Conference, it’s a dog fight," said Wheeler. "Every team we play is fighting for something. Being comfortable in those type games, the swing in momentum in those games, is important for a young team that hasn’t been through a lot of that. Learning how to stay with it mentally. "We’ve built leads this year and been comfortable in tight games. Down the stretch, we’re going to be playing teams that are fighting and good teams that are fighting. You can’t expect to come in and blow away every team. That shouldn’t be the expectation. The more we stay with those games, the more success we can look to have down the stretch." The Jets, who started the game without injured centres Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry, lost veteran Matt Hendricks two shifts into the game with an upper-body injury. "There’s a certain amount of confidence building in the style of hockey and knowing we’ve had success," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. "We haven’t had to chase a lot of games. We’ve been in this position a fair amount of times and we’re getting more comfortable." Laine's one-timer goal was his team-leading 24th of the season and his 13th on the power play, which tied him with Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for the NHL lead in that category. After being outshot 10-6 in the first period, Winnipeg pressed to extend its lead in the middle frame. Ehlers, zipping in alone on a breakaway feed from Mathieu Perreault, was denied by a goaltender Semyon Varlamov and a goal post eight minutes in. Two minutes later, Wheeler rattled another prime scoring chance off the iron behind Varlamov. Winnipeg averted disaster later in the second when they allowed Avs forwards Matt Nieto and Gabriel Bourque to break in alone short-handed, only to have Bourque miss the net with his shot. "In that we lost Matt so early and you get to a shorter bench and a kind of a grinding game, we handled it pretty darn well," said Maurice. "At the 12-minute mark of the second period, the Bryan Little’s line really got it going. We were very strong after that and after we got past the 2- on-0, short-handed breakaway… after that we were strong in the game but that’s the way all of these games are going to look." The Avs found the neutral zone traffic difficult to navigate. "They're a tough team," said Nieto. "They have a really tight neutral zone. We had trouble going through the neutral zone and getting into their end. But when we had sustained attack I thought we had chances that tested their goalie a little bit more and get more traffic in front of him for sure." Connor Hellebuyck improved to 27-6-8 after stopping 25 shots for his fifth shutout of the season (all coming in his last 22 starts). Varlomov finished with 29 saves. "It’s very exciting for me personally," said Hellebucyk, after establishing a career high for victories. "I’m going to continue going and strive for more. This is always what I expected, so it’s nothing too big. Kudos to the guys in front of me because they’re making it happen too." The Jets next action comes Tuesday when they host the Arizona Coyotes, the fourth game of their current 10-game homestand. SCHEIFELE CLOSE? Mark Scheifele missed his 15th consecutive game Saturday but the star centre could be less than a week away from a return to the Jets lineup. Scheifele, who sustained an upper-body injury when he crashed into the boards in a game against the Edmonton Oilers Dec. 27, participated in an optional pre-game morning skate Saturday after wearing a non-contact jersey earlier in the week. "He looks good on the ice," said Laine. "And I mean he's one of key players so it's key players so it's nice to get him back soon, probably. I think it's exciting for everybody, especially for him." Maurice said Scheifele would not play Tuesday but could return Friday against the St. Louis Blues. "The next step is for him to get the contact," said Maurice. "It'll happen I think some time this week. It might be Monday — that'll be up to medical. Once he hits that and he has to get through it — probably a couple of days of it. He's not going to have any conditioning curve here because it's upper body and he's been able to skate and he's a real fit guy." NOTEWORTHY: Centre Matt Hendricks, who left with an upper-body injury , did not return. Forward Brandon Tanev also left the game late in the third with an upper-body injury. Maurice did not have an update on their status... Winnipeg was 1-for-2 on the power play. Colorado was 0-for-1... Winnipeg is now 19-3-2 on home ice. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/avs-are-more-than-mackinnon-472575383.html Avs are more than MacKinnon Looking beyond loss of their No. 1 centre By: Mike Sawatzky The Colorado Avalanche have gone from the NHL’s worst team to a playoff-calibre club in less than a year. But how good can they be without their offensive catalyst, No. 1 centre Nathan MacKinnon, who went down with an apparent shoulder injury early in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss in Vancouver? The Avs are aiming to show the hockey world they are a deep and talented team, even without their star, who could be sidelined for up to four weeks. "You can’t replace a guy like that," defenceman Tyson Barrie said prior to the Avs game in Winnipeg Saturday night. "He’s a world-class player and he’d put himself in the Hart (Trophy) conversation. We’re going to miss him a ton, but it’s a chance to show we’re not just one player, and a deep team. "Obviously, we’d like to get him back as soon as we can, but we’ve just got to stick around, try and win some games and stay in (the playoff hunt)." Into the breach stepped rookie centre Alexander Kerfoot, a Harvard-educated Vancouverite who was subbed for MacKinnon on Colorado’s top line with wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen and the unit scarcely skipped a beat. "I don’t know if it was because it was his hometown, but I thought he was the best player on the ice (Tuesday)," Barrie said. "Every time he touched the puck, he was moving his feet and making plays. He’s been great all year for us. For him to get this opportunity, I think he’ll make the most of it." Kerfoot insists he hasn’t had to alter his game to smooth his transition to the top line. "They’re two elite players and I just want to try and complement them as much as I can, because if you’re out there with those guys, you’re going to be playing against top lines, so you can’t turn the puck over in the neutral zone," Kerfoot said. The 23-year-old Kerfoot has been a revelation for the Avs, who finished last overall in 2016-17 and underwent a massive restructuring in the off-season. Although he was chosen by New Jersey in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, he never signed with the Devils. The Avs inked the 5-10, 175-pound college free agent to a two-year deal following Harvard’s Frozen Four appearance and he’s piled up 32 points, including 12 goals, in 47 games thus far. "Just from his body of work this year, he’s been a guy that has provided us with some offence," head coach Jared Bednar said when asked to explain his choice of Kerfoot as MacKinnon’s replacement. "He’s a gifted passer, playmaker. He sees the ice real well and he’s able to play with skilled players." Colorado beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime Thursday night and Kerfoot, Landeskog and Rantanen had combined for two goals and seven points in the two games heading into Saturday’s showdown with the Jets. "Three out of four points without (MacKinnon), I think we’ll take that," Bednar said. "We’ve seen some good things. Kerfoot has stepped in on that top line and done a nice job. Our second line with (Tyson) Jost, (J.T.) Compher and (Colin) Wilson has done a good job and the Soderberg line keeps clicking along.