Mar 26, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson (11) and Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg (54) fight for the puck in front of Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in the second period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals 3:42 apart early in the third period, Jack Drury also had a goal and the visiting Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Thursday night.
Artturi Lehkonen had an assist in his return from an 11-game absence with an upper-body injury and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 22 shots for Colorado (48-13-10, 106 points). The NHL-leading Avalanche have won four in a row and increased their Central Division lead to nine points over slumping Dallas with a game in hand.
The Stars lost their fourth in a row Thursday night.
Mark Scheifele scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for Winnipeg (30-30-12, 72 points). The Jets trail Nashville by five points for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
The two teams play again Saturday night in Denver.
The game was tied 1-all after two periods, and Colorado started the third with seven seconds of a two-man advantage. Winnipeg killed off the first penalty but the Avalanche cashed in 13 seconds into the period.
Nazem Kadri’s pass through the slot went off MacKinnon and dropped in the crease, and MacKinnon knocked it in before Hellebuyck could cover it.
MacKinnon made it 3-1 at 3:55 when he redirected Lehkonen’s pass to the front of the net before Hellebuyck could glove it. It was MacKinnon’s NHL-leading 48th goal of the season.
Scheifele cut the Jets’ deficit in half with his second of the game at 9:39, his 34th. Scheifele has a career-high 88 points.
Winnipeg couldn’t gain control of the puck in the final minutes to pull Hellebuyck for an extra skater.
The Jets struck midway through the first period when Colorado turned it over in its own end. Josh Morrisey gathered the loose puck, sent it to Kyle Connor, who skated into the slot. Connor fed it to Scheifele below the left dot, and his one-timer beat Blackwood high at 9:55.
The Avalanche got even later in the first period when Hellebuyck made the initial save on Sam Malinski’s shot from the point, but Drury cleaned up the rebound and scored at 17:40.
–Field Level Media
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![Sanjay Manjrekar slams Dhoni fandom, CSK approach: “Sycophancy has seeped into cricket” Chennai Super Kings has endured a poor start to IPL 2026, winning just two of its first six matches to sit seventh on the points table.Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has come under scrutiny for the team’s struggles, with his own batting form also a concern. In six innings, he has managed only 82 runs.Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, however, believes the CSK management must also shoulder the blame.“This blame, I’m going to put at the doorstep of the owners and people who make the big decisions. Because Gaikwad, before he was captain, was phenomenal at the top of the order,” said Manjrekar on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.Manjrekar added that the overwhelming fandom surrounding CSK legend M.S. Dhoni has not helped Gaikwad’s situation.“And then that thing with M.S Dhoni, whether he’s going to be playing, whether he’s going to be captain, they handled that very badly. And this is where you see the sycophancy of Indian culture that has seeped into cricket as well. I mean, there isn’t just a fan following of Dhoni, there is sycophancy around it,” he added.He also recalled an incident that highlighted the intensity of Dhoni’s fandom.“There was [this] one instance of Dhoni trying to put his bat into the crease, and it was a very close call. And I said, well, he is clearly short of the crease, and it should be run out. They [fans] got angry with me for saying that because it was anti-Dhoni. So somewhere they lost sight of the whole picture.”Dhoni has not featured for CSK in IPL 2026 after suffering a calf strain in the lead-up to the season.When asked if Dhoni’s return could ease Gaikwad’s burden, Manjrekar expressed doubts about how CSK would accommodate him in the XI.“Maybe, but then you have to play Dhoni on the field. And how do you do that? I mean, increasingly, he’s finding it tough to deliver. So it was a bit of a joke when he used to come down the order and just play three or four balls. The coverage would hype that up as well – ‘What an innings.’ And it lasted four balls.“So that’s not feasible anymore, and it was never going to be a long-term thing. So I can’t pretend to know how Ruturaj felt when M.S. was on the field, but not captaining, as opposed to M.S. not being there and he being solely in charge,” said Manjrekar.Manjrekar also drew parallels between CSK and Mumbai Indians, pointing to an overreliance on big-name players.“CSK and Mumbai Indians are slightly guilty of being emotionally connected and invested in the big-name, big-brand players a bit too much. CSK even more so with Dhoni. This means that you’re not getting people who are in their prime. It’s like living in the past a little bit. It’s just about getting guys who are in their prime in T20 cricket. It’s such a modern-day format, so it’s best to be current with everything that you do with your team,” he added.Published on Apr 20, 2026 #Sanjay #Manjrekar #slams #Dhoni #fandom #CSK #approach #Sycophancy #seeped #cricket](https://i2.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/bgffx8/article70883769.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/IMG_IPL_2024__2__2_1_JECQPB3Q.jpg?ssl=1 "Sanjay Manjrekar slams Dhoni fandom, CSK approach: “Sycophancy has seeped into cricket” Chennai Super Kings has endured a poor start to IPL 2026, winning just two of its first six matches to sit seventh on the points table.Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has come under scrutiny for the team’s struggles, with his own batting form also a concern. In six innings, he has managed only 82 runs.Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, however, believes the CSK management must also shoulder the blame.“This blame, I’m going to put at the doorstep of the owners and people who make the big decisions. Because Gaikwad, before he was captain, was phenomenal at the top of the order,” said Manjrekar on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.Manjrekar added that the overwhelming fandom surrounding CSK legend M.S. Dhoni has not helped Gaikwad’s situation.“And then that thing with M.S Dhoni, whether he’s going to be playing, whether he’s going to be captain, they handled that very badly. And this is where you see the sycophancy of Indian culture that has seeped into cricket as well. I mean, there isn’t just a fan following of Dhoni, there is sycophancy around it,” he added.He also recalled an incident that highlighted the intensity of Dhoni’s fandom.“There was [this] one instance of Dhoni trying to put his bat into the crease, and it was a very close call. And I said, well, he is clearly short of the crease, and it should be run out. They [fans] got angry with me for saying that because it was anti-Dhoni. So somewhere they lost sight of the whole picture.”Dhoni has not featured for CSK in IPL 2026 after suffering a calf strain in the lead-up to the season.When asked if Dhoni’s return could ease Gaikwad’s burden, Manjrekar expressed doubts about how CSK would accommodate him in the XI.“Maybe, but then you have to play Dhoni on the field. And how do you do that? I mean, increasingly, he’s finding it tough to deliver. So it was a bit of a joke when he used to come down the order and just play three or four balls. The coverage would hype that up as well – ‘What an innings.’ And it lasted four balls.“So that’s not feasible anymore, and it was never going to be a long-term thing. So I can’t pretend to know how Ruturaj felt when M.S. was on the field, but not captaining, as opposed to M.S. not being there and he being solely in charge,” said Manjrekar.Manjrekar also drew parallels between CSK and Mumbai Indians, pointing to an overreliance on big-name players.“CSK and Mumbai Indians are slightly guilty of being emotionally connected and invested in the big-name, big-brand players a bit too much. CSK even more so with Dhoni. This means that you’re not getting people who are in their prime. It’s like living in the past a little bit. It’s just about getting guys who are in their prime in T20 cricket. It’s such a modern-day format, so it’s best to be current with everything that you do with your team,” he added.Published on Apr 20, 2026 #Sanjay #Manjrekar #slams #Dhoni #fandom #CSK #approach #Sycophancy #seeped #cricket")
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