WINNIPEG — Gabriel Landeskog scored his team-leading 30th goal of the season as the Colorado Avalanche ended their season-high eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
Dominic Toninato recorded his first NHL goal while J.T. Compher and Sven Andrighetto also scored for the Avalanche. Matt Nieto had a pair of assists.
Brandon Tanev scored his career-high 12th goal of the season for Winnipeg, which lost for the first time in regulation in their last 10 home games (8-1-1).
Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots for Colorado (23-23-11).
Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for the Jets (36-19-3).
Colorado outshot Winnipeg 13-8 in the first period and led 2-1 at the intermission.
Toninato started it off by swooping in and sending a rebound into the net at 5:21 in his 38th career game.
Landeskog made it 2-0 with a high backhand shot past Hellebuyck at 10:29, but Tanev responded 24 seconds later by firing a sharp-angled shot by Varlamov.
Compher’s short-handed breakaway goal at 6:12 of the second gave the Avalanche a 3-1 lead that held through the period. Colorado stretched its shots-on-goal advantage to 25-17.
Winnipeg had its second power play of the game early in the third period but Varlamov stopped two shots, including a backhand by Patrik Laine, who was back on the Jets’ first power-play unit.
The teams traded some power-play time late in the third, but it was Andrighetto with an even-strength goal at 16:21 that sealed Colorado’s victory.
Jets defenceman Joe Morrow and Avs forward Matt Calvert started swinging fists at each other with 10 seconds left to cap off the upset.
Winnipeg ends a three-game homestand Saturday against Ottawa. Colorado returns home to host St. Louis on Saturday.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
