Winnipeg Jets head coach optimistic despite losing Game 2 at home to Avalanche

Rick Bowness always goes to bed with hockey looping in his mind, but Tuesday night's thoughts weren't all bad for the Winnipeg Jets head coach.

Despite the Jets losing 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday in a Game 2 that evened their first-round playoff series at 1-1, Bowness saw improvements in his team's play from Sunday's wild 7-6 victory.

"We were better [Tuesday] night," Bowness told reporters at the airport Wednesday before the team flew to Denver for Friday's Game 3 and Sunday's Game 4.

"We spent a little more time in their zone and a minute less in our zone, so there's improvements there. But it's something that we have to continue to address and continue to improve."

So is the glass half full or half empty at this point in the Western Conference best-of-seven series?

"Half full, because we feel good about ourselves and we feel we can go in there and win a game," Bowness said.

The Avalanche were the NHL's best home team during the regular season, finishing 31-9-1 at Ball Arena to rank first in home wins.

However, the Jets accounted for two of those losses as they took the season series 3-0, including a 7-0 victory on April 13 and a 4-2 win Dec. 7.

Winnipeg also went 25-13-3 on the road this season and were tied for third in the NHL in road wins.

While regular-season results are usually tossed out the window when the playoffs roll around, Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey said their success in Denver can help a little bit.

"They're a great team, they play well at home," Morrissey said. "But we should have confidence going into that building having gotten a couple of wins there this year. We're a confident team."

Goaltending will likely play a big role in the upcoming games.

"It's always going to come down to that,"