DENVER (AP) — Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist, and the reeling Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Saturday.
Matt Nieto scored twice and Matt Duchene added three assists, helping Colorado stop a nine-game losing streak. Nathan MacKinnon and Carl Soderberg also scored, and Calvin Pickard had 23 saves.
Colorado improved to 5-24-2 in its last 31 games. It also snapped a five-game skid at Pepsi Center, where it is 6-18-1 overall.
Adam Lowry scored each of Winnipeg's goals, stopping a 21-game drought. The Jets had won three in a row.
Nieto broke a 2-2 tie midway through the second period, and Soderberg made it 4-2 2:04 into the third with his fifth of the season.
The game got heated midway through the third when Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov delivered an open-ice check on Mark Scheifele. It was the second hard check Zadorov had on the Winnipeg center, and Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba went after Zadorov. Both received fighting majors and Trouba a game misconduct.
The Jets pulled Ondrej Pavelec for an extra skater with 2:20 left and Nieto scored into the empty net in the final minute.
Pavelec finished with 23 saves.
Iginla, who has talked openly about wanting to finish the season with a contender, assisted on Soderberg's goal and scored on the power play 5:27 into the game. He has seven goals and seven assists in 49 games this season.
Notes: Jets C Bryan Little was helped off the ice off midway through the third period after taking a shot off his left skate. ... D Mark Barberio made his Avalanche debut. He was picked up off waivers from Montreal on Thursday. ... Jets RW Drew Stafford missed his sixth straight game with a lower-body injury. He practiced Friday and could return when the Jets start a four-game homestand on Tuesday.
Up next
Jets: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Avalanche: Host Montreal on Tuesday night.
