WINNIPEG, Manitoba — While playing a good road game on a day that quickly turned dismal Sunday, the Avalanche’s troublesome power play was given a chance to double the visitors’ lead and quiet a crowd that had seen its team, the Winnipeg Jets, lose their previous six games.
The Avs, who went on to lose 5-3 after falling behind 4-1, failed to convert on the man advantage at the MTS Centre. Again, for the 25th consecutive time over a nine-game span. And just 29 seconds after the Jets tied it 1-1 2:04 into the second period by taking advantage of two defensive miscues, Colorado went back on the power play. Make it 26 straight failed power plays, at 5-on-4, 4-on-3 or 5-on-3, that is.
The Avs are money at 6-on-5 with goalie Semyon Varlamov pulled, having taken their 1-0 lead on Tyson Barrie’s wrist shot during a delayed penalty 10:57 into the game, and late in the third period while in desperation mode. Those were their fifth and sixth 6-on-5 goals of the season. At the rarest and most desperate of times, they are money.
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But the Avs’ power play is bankrupt, not constructive and costly. After going 0-of-2 with the advantage with Varlamov in net, the Jets struck for two power-play goals in their dominating four-goal period that blew the game open.
“I actually thought we were playing a pretty good hockey game up to that point,” said Barrie, who returned after missing the last two games with a hip injury. “But 0-for-26 is pitiful. The power play can be the difference in a game. You look at theirs, it was good. They got two on the power play. It’s frustrating.”
The Avs previously lost 6-2 at Winnipeg in a similar situation, completing a back-to-back trip against the Jets. But weary travel legs aside, Colorado was simply not playoff material in Saturday’s 18-shot, 1-0 loss at Minnesota and against the struggling Jets.
“I can’t remember the last time we actually got a goal on the power play,”said the Avs’ Ryan O’Reilly, who had three shots in 20:51, tops among forwards. “It’s definitely something that has been addressed, and we have to find a solution to it soon to get into the playoffs.”
Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay scored goals at 7:07 and 17:40 of the third period, the latter with Varlamov on the bench for a sixth attacker. Mathiew Perreault, Dustin Byfuglien (power play), Ben Chiarot and Bryan Little (power play) scored to give Winnipeg a 4-1 lead, and Jacob Trouba struck between the Duchene and Tanguay goals.
“It was our second game in less than 22 hours, and I was very pleased with our first period, the way we came out,” Avs coach Patrick Roy said. “We could have had a 2-0 lead. … I would say the rest of the game, in the second and third, we had too many turnovers and giveaways, and they scored on their power play.”
The Avs (22-21-11), who fell six points behind the final wild-card playoff berth and third to last in the 14-team Western Conference, begin a four-game homestand Thursday against the New York Rangers.
“Now we have a lot of games at home coming up,” Roy said. “We’re going to have to be sharp, and we’re going to have to play some solid hockey.”
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or
