Nichushkin records 1st career hat trick, Avalanche beat Jets 5-1 in Game 4 to take 3-1 series lead

29/04/2024

DENVER (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin recorded his first career hat trick, Alexandar Georgiev turned in another strong showing and the Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 in Game 4 on Sunday to move a win away from advancing.

Artturi Lehkonen and Cale Makar also scored for the Avalanche, who grabbed a 3-1 lead in the first-round series. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Winnipeg.

Nichushkin added an empty-netter with 13 seconds left to give him his third goal and his first hat trick in game No. 580 of his NHL career, including regular season and postseason.

Georgiev was on the hot seat after a shaky Game 1, but his confidence keeps surging with every big save. He stopped 26 shots in the matinee game.

Vezina Trophy-favorite Connor Hellebuyck continues to struggle in net. He allowed four goals on 30 shots before being replaced by Laurent Brossoit for the third period. Hellebuyck has surrendered 19 goals in the series.

Lehkonen and Nichushkin have both scored in all four games of the series. Makar had a goal and an assist Sunday to give him 73 points (18 goals, 55 assists) in 65 career playoff games. It’s the second-highest points per game average (1.12) by a defenseman in postseason history, behind only Bobby Orr (1.24).

Makar’s goal was a masterpiece as he took the puck deep in his zone, weaved through several Winnipeg defenders, found some open space and lined a shot past Hellebuyck.

Nathan MacKinnon added two assists.

Nate Schmidt scored for Winnipeg.

There was a scary moment in the third period when Winnipeg forward Vladislav Namestnikov was hit in the left side of his face by a puck. Namestnikov was trying to jump out of the way of a shot from teammate Nate Schmidt when the puck hit a stick and struck him. Namestnikov stayed down on the ice as trainers rushed out. He skated off with help and exited through the Avalanche bench. Namestnikov had a towel pressed to his face.

On Friday, Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon suffered a laceration on his hand after appearing to be cut by a skate blade during a scrum following the final horn in Colorado’s 6-2 win Friday.

The Jets committed four penalties in the second, helping the Avalanche break open the game with a three-goal period. Nichushkin cashed in by scoring a pair of power-play goals to give Colorado a 4-1 lead.

Avalanche forward Nikolai Kovalenko made his NHL debut after being recalled from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Kovalenko became the sixth Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques player to make his league debut in the postseason.

Kovalenko’s father, Andrei, was a member of the Avalanche when the team moved to Denver for the 1995-96 season. Andrei Kovalenko was part of the trade that helped the Avalanche acquire Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy from Montreal in December 1995.

This was a rare home playoff matinee game for the Avalanche. The last time they hosted an afternoon contest was on April 17, 2004, against Dallas in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. Colorado won 5-1.

“Puck hits the ice you’ve got to be ready to go, regardless of where, when,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.ap)news.com/hub/NHL

Pat Graham, The Associated Press

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