Connor secures eighth 30-goal season as Jets take down Avalanche 3-1
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WINNIPEG – Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Canada Life Centre Saturday.
The goal gave Connor his eighth 30-goal campaign, passing Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in Jets/Thrashers franchise history.
Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Jets (27-28-10), who rebounded from back-to-back regulation losses to salvage a critical two points in their pursuit of a playoff spot. Mark Scheifele picked up two assists, including his 51st to set a new personal single-season record for helpers.
Connor Hellebuyck lost his shutout bid late in the third but put forth a solid 28-save performance for the win.
Martin Necas broke the shutout at 18:44 of the third period with his 31st goal for the Avalanche (44-12-9), who saw their season-high six-game road winning streak snapped. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar assisted on the play.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves in the loss for the Avalanche.
Avalanche defenceman Brent Burns played in his 990th consecutive NHL game, surpassing Keith Yandle for the second-longest Iron Man streak in league history. Phil Kessel has the longest streak, at 1,064 consecutive games.
Takeaways
Jets: Winnipeg moved back into the win column to salvage a shot at a playoff spot, backed by a strong defensive effort against an Avalanche attack that entered the day leading the NHL with 3.80 goals per game.
Avalanche: Necas extended his goal streak to three games. He has now found the back of the net in each of Colorado’s last six road games.
Key moment
Connor broke a scoreless deadlock at 2:05 of the second period, firing home his 30th goal of the year to ignite the Winnipeg offence and set a new franchise benchmark.
Key stat
Connor has reached the 30-goal mark in every season of his nine-year NHL career except for the 56-game COVID-19 shortened campaign.
Up next
Jets: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
Avalanche: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2026.
Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer
Jeff Hamilton joined the Free Press newsroom in 2015, reporting on the sports and investigative beats until he left the Free Press in July 2026.
Every piece of reporting Jeff produced was reviewed by an editing team before it was posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer
Jeff Hamilton joined the Free Press newsroom in 2015, reporting on the sports and investigative beats until he left the Free Press in July 2026.
Every piece of reporting Jeff produced was reviewed by an editing team before it was posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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