WINNIPEG (Interstat) — Kyle Connor scored his second goal of the game with about a minute left, Stuart Skinner made 32 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre. The Jets won their third straight game and improved to 3-1-0. Colorado fell to 2-1-0. An announced attendance of 14,006 saw Winnipeg overcome a late Colorado comeback and deny the Avalanche a second straight victory. Connor, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound forward, finished with two goals and four shots on goal. Skinner, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound goaltender, stopped 32 of 34 shots for the win. Mark Scheifele assisted on the winning goal and finished with two assists. The game was a National Hockey League contest that turned on Winnipeg’s ability to convert late chances and Skinner’s steady play in net.

Colorado opened the scoring when Jaden Schwartz took a feed from Fedor Svechkov and Brent Burns and beat Skinner with a wrist shot. Schwartz, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound forward, had a goal and an assist. The lead did not last. Winnipeg answered when Connor deflected a shot from Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg past Mackenzie Blackwood. Pionk, a 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman, had an assist, one shot and two hits. Samberg, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound defenseman, recorded two assists, two shots, two penalty minutes and one hit. Later in the second, Cole Perfetti put Winnipeg ahead when he deflected a shot from Samberg and Scheifele. Perfetti, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward, had a goal and two shots. The Jets carried momentum from that sequence, winning faceoffs and forcing Colorado into several giveaways. Adam Lowry won key draws and finished with two shots. Neal Pionk added two hits and helped Winnipeg’s defense hold its structure.

Colorado tied it in the third when Fedor Svechkov tipped in a shot from Schwartz and Brett Kulak. Svechkov, a 6-foot, 187-pound forward, had a goal and an assist, two shots, two penalty minutes and one hit. The Avalanche pressed for the go-ahead goal, but Skinner held firm. Winnipeg then delivered the decisive blow in the final minute. Scheifele sent a pass from near the boards across to Connor, who was charging the net. Connor fired a shot that beat Blackwood and sent the home crowd into celebration. Connor’s late goal capped a two-goal night and gave him five goals in four games, tying him for the NHL lead. Scheifele, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound forward, had two assists and one shot. Lowry, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound forward, had two shots for Winnipeg. T.J. Hughes had one shot for Colorado. The Avalanche pulled Blackwood for an extra attacker after Connor’s goal, but Winnipeg kept Colorado from finding an equalizer.

Skinner’s 32 saves were the backbone of Winnipeg’s win. Colorado’s Blackwood made several important stops, but the Avalanche could not solve Skinner in the final minutes. Winnipeg’s defense limited Colorado’s chances late, and the Jets improved to 3-1-0 with their third consecutive victory. Colorado dropped to 2-1-0. The Avalanche had scored six goals in a win over St. Louis in their previous game, but they were held to two goals by the Jets. Winnipeg has now won three straight after an overtime loss to Boston. The Jets’ recent run includes wins at Pittsburgh and Detroit. Colorado’s early season has included a high-scoring win over Los Angeles.

Winnipeg controlled stretches of play with a strong forecheck. Dylan DeMelo, Josh Morrissey and Mario Ferraro delivered hits and blocked shots. Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke also provided physical play. Colorado’s Cale Makar and Devon Toews generated shots from the blue line, and Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri created scoring chances. Skinner stopped Kadri multiple times, including a wrist shot and a backhand. Blackwood answered with saves on Morrissey, Pionk and Lowry. The game featured several faceoff wins by Scheifele, Lowry and Brock Nelson. Colorado’s Martin Necas and Gabriel Landeskog put shots on net, but Skinner was sharp. Winnipeg’s puck pursuit forced Colorado to spend long shifts in its own zone, and the Jets generated several extended cycles.

Connor came into the game after recording six shots on goal at Pittsburgh, two goals and an assist at Detroit, and a goal and an assist with nine shots against Boston. His latest performance continued a hot start and made him Winnipeg’s most dangerous forward. Skinner, meanwhile, delivered the kind of goaltending Winnipeg needed after the Jets had won tight games at Pittsburgh and Detroit and lost an overtime decision to Boston. Colorado had opened the season with wins over Los Angeles and St. Louis, scoring eight and six goals in those games, but the Avalanche could not match that offensive output against Winnipeg. The loss left Colorado at 2-1-0 and Winnipeg at 3-1-0.

Penalties also shaped the pace. Fedor Svechkov of Colorado received a delaying game penalty for putting the puck over the glass. Dylan Samberg of Winnipeg was called for hooking against Artturi Lehkonen. Brock Nelson of Colorado received a cross-checking penalty against Jack St. Ivany. The teams traded momentum during special-teams play, but the game remained tight. Winnipeg’s ability to win battles along the boards, especially on the final goal, proved decisive. Scheifele’s composure with the puck allowed Connor to attack the net with speed, and Connor’s finish was precise. The Jets celebrated at center ice after the final horn, while Colorado left Winnipeg with a narrow loss.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Colorado 4, Winnipeg 2. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Colorado with a 65.3 percent probability to win. Colorado had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 6.5.