It was frustrating, nerve-wracking and in the end, disappointing. The Winnipeg Jets played well for 40 minutes but a bad second period and a brilliant goaltending performance by Semyon Varlamov was enough to bury the Jets as they fell 2-1 to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Jets have lost all three meetings this season to Colorado while the Avs leapfrog Nashville into the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

An entertaining first period ended scoreless as both teams failed to capitalize on scoring chances.

The second was dominated by Colorado as they outshot the Jets 16-9 in the middle frame. Goals from Carl Sodeberg early and Jarome Iginla late in the period gave the Avs a two-goal cushion.

The Jets have a very difficult time getting the puck out of their own end, especially when the defensive pairing of Mark Stuart and Ben Chiarot were on the ice. To say that these two were a dumpster fire in their own end would be an insult to dumpster fires.

The Jets did come out strong in the third period although score effects very likely played a part. The Jets doubled the Avs in shots (16-8) as well as recorded 35 shot attempts in the final frame. However, only Joel Armia was able to beat Varlamov and he scored with only 41.6 seconds remaining.

The Jets did have one last gasp but Tyler Myers point shot was just tipped wide by Bryan Little as time expired.

Three Keys:

No Fun Allowed: Varlamov made sure the Jets didn’t have any fun tonight. His 36 save performance was vital for the Avalanche. Yes, he did get help from his teammates who seemed to get in the way of every shot attempt the Jets had. But Varlamov was the first star tonight and for good reason. Varlamov likes playing at the MTS Centre. Back on November 23, Varlamov stopped 20 out of 21 shots as the Avs scored a 4-1 victory that night.

The Heat Is On: The Jets are now four points out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with four teams ahead of them. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will be under heavy scrutiny leading up to the trade deadline. Will he hang on to pending UFAs Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd for one last playoff push? Does he acquire a veteran in order to give the Jets some depth? Or does he trade away some assets and build for the future? We’re all looking at you Chevy.

New Kid In Town: JC Lipon made his NHL debut tonight and saw limited ice time on the fourth line with Andrew Copp and Anthony Peluso. While Lipon won’t be the saviour of the franchise, (here’s looking at you, Auston Matthews) he did show some energy and spunk. Let’s hope the Jets coaching staff gives the former Kamloops Blazer a longer look.

(Writers note. Yes the keys were all songs Glenn Frey wrote either solo or with the Eagles. Not a huge fan but respect is given tonight. RIP)