T.J. Hughes Hat Trick Leads Avalanche to 5-2 Comeback Win Over Jets

 

 

(Denver, CO = Won Jeong) The Colorado Avalanche rallied from behind and defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 in NHL preseason action on Friday night, powered by a hat trick from T.J. Hughes.

The game was played Sept. 25 at Ball Arena in Denver, where Colorado featured several of its marquee players, including star forward Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar.

Gabriel Landeskog, Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen and Nazem Kadri were also among the forwards in Colorado’s lineup.

On defense, Devon Toews and Makar were joined by Brett Kulak, Wyatt Aamodt, Noah Juulsen and Sam Malinski, while Mackenzie Blackwood started in net.

Colorado came out aggressively from the opening faceoff.

MacKinnon and Landeskog generated early shots on goal, while Makar also joined the attack with a shot from distance that went wide.

Despite Colorado’s early pressure, Winnipeg opened the scoring.

At 4:24 of the first period, Kadri was called for hooking, giving the Jets their first power-play opportunity of the game.

Winnipeg capitalized at 6:15 when Nino Niederreiter redirected the puck near the Colorado crease and beat Blackwood to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. Neal Pionk and Vladislav Namestnikov were credited with assists.

Colorado responded by increasing its offensive pressure.

Jaden Schwartz used his speed to penetrate the Winnipeg zone and put pressure on the Jets’ defense, while MacKinnon and Kadri continued to generate scoring opportunities.

At 9:58 of the first period, Niederreiter was called for interference, giving Colorado its first power play of the game.

The Avalanche sent out their top offensive players, including MacKinnon, but Winnipeg’s penalty kill and goaltender Stuart Skinner kept Colorado off the scoreboard.

Late in the first period, the game became increasingly physical.

Colorado forward Gavin Brindley was called for interference at 17:14, and only eight seconds later Niederreiter was assessed a roughing penalty.

Colorado entered the first intermission trailing 1-0 but came out with increased offensive intensity in the second period.

At 6:07, the Avalanche finally broke through.

Schwartz redirected a pass from T.J. Hughes in front of the Winnipeg net, sending the puck past Skinner to tie the game at 1-1. Fedor Svechkov also received an assist on the play.

The Jets answered just 1 minute and 29 seconds later.

At 7:36, Namestnikov took a pass from Niederreiter, carried the puck into the Colorado zone and fired a wrist shot past Blackwood to restore Winnipeg’s lead at 2-1.

Colorado continued to press.

Necas became increasingly active in transition, using his speed to carry the puck from the defensive zone into Winnipeg territory and helping create additional scoring opportunities.

The momentum of the game shifted dramatically in the final minutes of the second period.

With 1:32 remaining, Hughes received a pass from Kadri near the Winnipeg net and fired a wrist shot past Skinner, tying the game 2-2. Schwartz also recorded an assist.

Then, with just 11 seconds remaining in the period, Hughes struck again.

From a difficult angle near the goal line, Hughes slipped a backhand shot through the narrow space between Skinner and the goal post to give Colorado its first lead of the night, 3-2.

Kulak and Lehkonen were credited with assists.

Hughes’ two late second-period goals completely changed the momentum of the game and sent Colorado into the second intermission with the lead.

Winnipeg attempted to respond in the third period, generating pressure through passes from the wings and creating several opportunities near the Colorado net.

Blackwood, however, remained steady and prevented the Jets from finding the equalizer.

At 11:29 of the third period, Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey was called for holding Taylor Makar, giving Colorado another power-play opportunity.

The Avalanche failed to score with the man advantage but continued to control the pace of the game.

Cale Makar then delivered the goal that gave Colorado some breathing room.

At 15:25, Makar received a pass from MacKinnon and fired a snap shot past Skinner, extending the Avalanche lead to 4-2. Toews also recorded an assist.

Winnipeg pulled its goaltender late in the game in an attempt to generate additional offense, but the move opened the door for Hughes to complete his hat trick.

At 19:38, with just 22 seconds remaining, Hughes sent the puck into the empty net for his third goal of the game, sealing Colorado’s 5-2 victory.

Hughes finished the night with three goals and one assist for four points in 15:37 of ice time. He also posted a plus-four rating and emerged as the standout player of the game.

Schwartz added one goal and two assists for three points, while Kadri recorded two assists. Makar contributed one goal.

Blackwood played the full 60 minutes in goal, stopping 24 of Winnipeg’s 26 shots for a .923 save percentage.

Colorado finished with 33 shots on goal compared with Winnipeg’s 26.

On special teams, Winnipeg went 1-for-4 on the power play, while Colorado finished 0-for-3.

After trailing early and falling behind again in the second period, the Avalanche took control of the game behind Hughes’ two late second-period goals.

Makar’s third-period insurance goal and Hughes’ empty-netter completed the comeback and secured a 5-2 preseason victory for Colorado.

For Hughes, the performance was more than simply a productive night on the scoresheet. His back-to-back goals late in the second period changed the direction of the game, and his hat trick provided a strong statement as he continues to compete for a larger role with the Avalanche.