This one stings, or at least it should.

Yes, the Avalanche picked up another point Sunday night, even gained one on Minnesota (which turned a 3-0 lead against the New York Islanders into a 5-4 regulation loss) and stayed even with Dallas, which lost to St. Louis in overtime. But losing 2-1 to Winnipeg with just over one second left in overtime wasn't exactly how these guys wanted to kick-start a seven-game homestand.

Plus, right wing PA Parenteau sustained an injury to his left knee late in the second period and will undergo more tests Monday to determine how serious it is. Parenteau has been struggling, but the Avalanche already is without Alex Tanguay, though it's possible he'll be able to resume skating within a week.

Parenteau, who has been skating with Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Stastny, was hurt when he and Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba clipped skates at center ice. Parenteau fell awkwardly and needed help getting off the ice.

With Parenteau out, coach Patrick Roy moved Nathan MacKinnon into his spot with Landeskog and Stastny. He shifted Ryan O'Reilly from left wing to the right side with Matt Duchene and put Jamie McGinn on the left. Cody McLeod replaced McGinn on the third line with John Mitchell and Max Talbot.

*****

The Avalanche wouldn't even have gotten to overtime if goalie Semyon Varlamov (35 saves) hadn't played so well. Unfortunately for the Avalanche, Jets goalie Al Montoya, who turned aside 33 shots, also was excellent.

Considering how good the Jets have looked in three games with the Avalanche, I'm trying to figure out why it took them over a month to win two games in a row. They hadn't done it since Nov. 25-27 against New Jersey and the Islanders.

Anyway, Roy was happy to have gotten a point, but he wasn't too pleased with the kind of shots his players were taking. The only goal was credited to MacKinnon when he took a shot that deflected into the net off a Jets skate.

"We tried to tell our guys, don't look for perfect plays," Roy said. "We're looking for perfect plays all the time. Just put it on net. You never know what could happen, and it's exactly how we scored. You don't have to make pretty plays all the time. You just need to put the puck at the net and go to the net. That's the part I thought we were missing in our game tonight.

"Varly was outstanding. They had a lot of good chances. I just feel right now we are relying a little too much on him. We have to be better in our end and we have to move our feet a little more."

Varlamov didn't have much chance on either Jets goal. Andrew Ladd broke the scoreless tie with a one-timer in the slot off a pass from Blake Wheeler at 11:42 of the third period -- MacKinnon scored 29 seconds later -- and Wheeler redirected Mark Scheifele's pass between the goalie's pads just when it looked like the game would go to a shootout.

And check out Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien sticking his glove in Varlamov's face after the goal is scored on this video (close to interference before the pucks goes in), and Varlamov's reaction with his stick. Didn't get a chance to ask about this after the game.



The Avalanche will take a four-game losing streak (0-1-3) into the New Year's Eve game against Columbus. The team also has lost the past four shootout or overtime decisions.

"I’m not happy because we need those two points; it’s all about the points," Varlamov said. "I can’t lose that game, not like that. We got one point, that’s a positive thing. I think we played a good game. We had so many chances to score and we just didn’t score."

The Avalanche had one power play and managed one shot. The Jets had four shots on two power plays.

"It definitely (stinks)," Landeskog said of the loss. "At least if we get it to a shootout it feels like a coin toss. It is what it is. I think we stayed patient throughout the whole game. We were having trouble putting pucks at Montoya, having trouble testing him. We didn’t quit and at least we got one point."

The Avalanche sits third in the Central Division with 50 points in 38 games, five points ahead of Dallas and Minnesota. The Stars have played in 38 games, the Wild in 41. But the Avalanche is just 4-5-4 in December.

"It's a big point," Roy said. "It would have hurt a lot more if we didn't get that point, but at the same time it was a hard-fought game. Both teams played hard, both teams played a tight game. It was a playoff game tonight, that's what it was."

Roy pointed out that the Avalanche completed a 19-game stretch against Western Conference teams in which it went 9-6-4. Eight of the next 13 games will be played against Eastern teams.

"It was a tough stretch and it was an important one, and I thought we did a good job," he said. "We picked up 22 points, close to .600, and in our conference there were tough games. But I certainly would have preferred winning (Sunday)."

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