The Colorado Avalanche couldn’t overcome a sluggish start Monday night, falling 3-1 to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre in their second preseason game.

Gabriel Vilardi led Winnipeg offensively with a goal and two assists, while Josh Morrissey added two assists. Stuart Skinner stopped 31 of Colorado’s 32 shots to help the Jets secure the victory.

Georgii Merkulov scored Colorado’s lone goal, with Fabian Lysell picking up an assist. Scott Wedgewood stopped 13 of 14 shots before giving way to Ilya Nabokov, who allowed two goals on five shots in relief.

The result was the exact opposite of what occurred in Colorado’s first preseason game Sunday, when the Avalanche defeated the Utah Mammoth 4-1. Colorado was outshot in that contest, but Monday brought a different story: The Avalanche held a commanding 32-19 edge in shots against Winnipeg and still came away on the wrong side of the score.

If there was one familiar theme, however, it was the power play. Colorado went 0-for-3 with the man advantage, an all-too-familiar struggle that plagued the Avalanche throughout last season and remains an area in need of improvement.

The Jets earned the game’s first power play when Brett Kulak was whistled for hooking just past the midway point of the opening period.

The ensuing man advantage put Colorado’s penalty kill under pressure as Winnipeg peppered Wedgewood with shots, but the Avalanche held firm. Alex Gagne got in front of one attempt, while Parker Kelly blocked two more, including one that shattered his stick on impact. Both players showed the kind of willingness to sacrifice their bodies typically associated with playoff hockey, helping Colorado weather what was otherwise a dangerous power play from the Jets.

The Avalanche’s play began to unravel, however, as the period wore on. Colorado struggled to win defensive-zone faceoffs, chased the puck around its own end and committed several dangerous turnovers and errant passes in front of Wedgewood. The mistakes forced the goaltender to work far harder than necessary, leaving him to make saves from awkward angles while dealing with a steady barrage of shots.

Noah Juulsen provided another bright spot defensively, using his stick effectively to deflect passes and poke pucks away to disrupt Winnipeg’s offensive possessions. He also had a few questionable passes that created unnecessary danger, but his ability to break up plays helped Colorado limit some of the Jets’ opportunities.

Eventually, the pressure caught up with Colorado.

With 1:05 remaining in the period, Vilardi found space in the slot and ripped a one-timer past Wedgewood, giving Winnipeg a 1-0 lead and capping a rough stretch for the Avalanche in their own zone.

Winnipeg finished the opening period with a 9-4 advantage in shots, leaving Colorado with plenty to clean up heading into the second.

The Avalanche began the second period trailing by a goal, but there was no shortage of offensive activity.

Gagne generated Colorado’s first significant chance of the period with a sharp wrist shot, but Skinner snared it with his glove and appeared to have a few words for the forward after the whistle.

Colorado soon went to the power play when Winnipeg forward Davis Burnside was called for hooking. Instead of establishing sustained pressure in the offensive zone, however, the Avalanche found themselves on their heels. Cole Koepke forced a turnover that sent Winnipeg the other way, and the Jets quickly generated three shots on Wedgewood before Colorado could regain control. The veteran netminder turned aside all three to keep the Avalanche within one.

The physicality then escalated, resulting in matching minor penalties for both teams. Lysell was whistled for cross-checking Mario Ferraro twice in the back, something Ferraro clearly took exception to. Moments later, after Vladislav Namestnikov was leveled by Gustav Stjernberg at the blue line, Namestnikov came to Lysell’s defense and roughed him up. Both players were sent to the penalty box.

That created a brief stretch of 4-on-4 hockey before Winnipeg was called for too many men on the ice, sending Colorado back to the power play.

On the ensuing advantage, Adam Beckman one-timed a pass from the right circle, but Skinner turned it aside as the Winnipeg goaltender continued to put together a strong outing.

With just under four minutes remaining in the period, Colorado continued searching for a way to break through. Sam Malinski created an opportunity off a faceoff win, dancing across the blue line before snapping a wrist shot toward the net. Skinner was square to the attempt and easily swallowed it.

The Jets eventually doubled their lead late in the period when Mark Scheifele threaded a perfect backhand pass to Cole Perfetti at the backdoor. Perfetti made no mistake, finishing the play with a slick wrist shot to put Winnipeg ahead 2-0.

Lysell was sent to the penalty box early in the third period for roughing up Jets defenseman Henry Thrun, who voiced his displeasure as the forward headed to the box, prompting officials to step in and separate the two.

The Avalanche briefly appeared to get on the board when Gustav Stjernberg unleashed a shot from the point that found its way past Skinner. However, the Jets challenged the play for goaltender interference and won after it was determined that Fedor Svechkov interfered with the goaltender. Replay showed Svechkov battling Dylan DeMelo for position in the crease before making contact with Skinner’s glove.

The goal was ultimately overturned, and Winnipeg quickly responded at the other end. DeMelo fired a precise wrist shot over Nabokov’s glove to extend the Jets’ lead to 3-0.

Merkulov, who signed a one-year, two-way contract with Colorado in the offseason, finally got the Avalanche on the board with 5:26 remaining in regulation, jamming home a rebound that Skinner thought he had covered to cut the deficit to two.

Lysell, who picked up the assist on the goal, joined the Avalanche from Boston in the offseason trade that sent Ivan Ivan to the Bruins, giving Colorado another young forward to work into its lineup.

The Avalanche went back to the power play late after Perfetti was called for tripping and generated several looks around the Winnipeg net, but Skinner continued to deny them. Colorado couldn’t find another goal, and the Jets held on for a 3-1 victory.

The Avalanche showed signs of life throughout the third period, creating several opportunities and finally breaking through for a goal, but unfortunately, it was too little, too late. Colorado couldn’t find a way past Skinner again, as the Winnipeg goaltender stood tall when the Avalanche needed a second goal. When Skinner is playing at the top of his game, he remains one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and he showed exactly why Monday night.