Avalanche 5, Jets 3
DENVER -- Center Matt Duchene and left winger Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and an assist each, and the Colorado Avalanche held on to beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Saturday night.
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov rebounded from a tough game Wednesday to stop 25 shots as the Avalanche won for just the third time in 10 home games.
Center Carl Soderberg, left winger Blake Comeau and right winger Chris Wagner also had goals.
Wagner's goal at 2:48 of the third period gave the Avalanche a 4-2 lead but defenseman Jacob Trouba scored on at 10:54 to get the Jets within one again.
Goalie Michael Hutchinson, who had 20 saves, came off for an extra skater with 1:10 left but Trouba drew a tripping minor.
Hutchinson again went off for an extra skater and Duchene scored into the empty net with 17 seconds left.
Trouba finished with a goal and an assist, while left winger Andrew Ladd and right winger Blake Wheeler also scored for the Jets.
Comeau gave Colorado a 1-0 lead when he stole the puck from defenseman Adam Pardy at center ice and beat Hutchinson on a breakaway at 6:35 of the first period. It was his third goal of the season.
Landeskog made it 2-0 with his seventh goal, at 11:01 of the first. Defenseman Francois Beauchemin's shot went off the backboard and came out to the slot, and Landeskog backhanded past a screened Hutchinson.
Winnipeg came out flying to start the second, but the Avalanche struck first.
Soderberg got behind the Jets' defensemen, took a pass from Duchene and slid a backhander between Hutchinson's skate and the post at 5:55. It was his fourth score of the season.
Winnipeg got two back before the end of the period. The Jets made it 3-1 when defenseman Jacob Trouba's shot from the point went off an Avalanche stick and then Ladd's body into the net at 9:05. Ladd got credit for his sixth goal.
Wheeler cut the deficit to 3-2 when he scored a short-handed goal at 13:37. It was his ninth goal of the season.
NOTES: Avalanche C John Mitchell missed his sixth straight game with an oblique injury. He missed four games early in November with the same injury. ... Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice would not reveal his starting goaltender at the morning skate before picking Michael Hutchinson over rookie Connor Hellebuyck. Maurice did say he wants to keep both sharp for action. "I'm going to put both these goaltenders in a position to succeed for an extended period of time," he said. "We want both of these guys to seize the opportunity to be in a position to do that." ... Avalanche D Brad Stuart (back) missed his eighth straight game. ... Jets G Ondrej Pavelec missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury.