Victor Olofsson was part of a Colorado Avalanche group that flipped Friday night’s preseason finale in a hurry, scoring four unanswered goals in the second period to pull away for a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
It was Winnipeg’s final preseason game before the regular season, and the result offered one last look at chemistry, conditioning and execution. The Jets finished the exhibition slate 1-2-1, while Colorado showed the kind of quick-strike response that can change a game in a matter of minutes.
How Colorado turned the game around
Winnipeg opened the scoring on the power play at 6:15, but Colorado answered just 8 seconds later when it tied the game at 6:07 after a Jets turnover. Winnipeg briefly regained the lead through Vlad Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter, but that advantage did not last long.
Colorado scored two goals 1:21 apart in the second period and never gave the lead back. From there, the Avalanche kept pressing and turned a 2-1 deficit into a decisive preseason win.
What Scott Arniel saw
Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said the preseason is about building chemistry, conditioning, attention to detail, compete and execution. He pointed to the first 30 minutes as a better stretch for his team, but said the second half of the second period was sloppy.
“We were sloppy in that second half of the second period, just kind of turning pucks over and pretty quick team Colorado, they transition well,” Arniel said. He also said there were still “read” issues the Jets need to keep working on, along with the rust and timing that come with getting back into game mode.
One last test before the regular season
The final minutes still had some urgency. With just over six minutes left, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped Josh Morrissey on a clear breakaway, preserving Colorado’s margin and closing the door on any late Winnipeg push.
Nino Niederreiter said there were things the Jets liked, but he also stressed that preseason results should be taken in context. “You know you have to work on your game; regular season is a whole different animal,” he said. For Winnipeg, that is the main takeaway from Friday night: the preseason is over, and the real test is next.
