There wasn’t much energy in the building on Saturday night at Ball Arena, but there were a few spirited bursts from Logan O’Connor.

Avalanche fans are happy to see those again.

O’Connor dressed in his third game of the season on Saturday, playing 12 minutes in Colorado’s sleepy 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Coming off a four-game road trip in which they went undefeated, the Avalanche looked a little tired, registering just 23 shots on Connor Hellebuyck. The Avalanche are used to seeing Hellebuyck stonewall them in the regular season, but he didn’t have to do that much on Saturday.

Colorado barely tested him.

“We weren’t creating a bunch of offense at times, especially in the second period,” Jared Bednar said. “I didn’t mind our first, besides a little bit of a shaky start, and then we get going. Second period, we didn’t give up much, didn’t get much. I don’t think we got our first scoring chance until four minutes to go in the period … just not enough going on on the offensive side of it.”

It’s possible Colorado’s best scoring chance in the third came off the stick of O’Connor, who hit the post off a shorthanded rush halfway through the period. It has been a long road back for the 29-year-old winger, who was sidelined with a mystery injury for most of the season after recovering from offseason hip surgery.

The original plan was to get him some games with the Colorado Eagles to get up to speed. Plans change, though.

“It was discussed. The plan actually was at some point to go down there,” O’Connor said of an AHL conditioning stint. “Once the race with Dallas there was pretty tight, I think there was a little more urgency to get me in games here right away, which had to sacrifice the practice time in order to do so, just because we don’t practice here anymore.”

That meant that O’Connor had to make the most of morning skates and off-day work with skills coach Mark Popovic. By the time he dressed for his first game in Pittsburgh last week, he had not done any 5-on-5 work at practice.

With so little time left in the season, the Avalanche decided to throw him in and let him work through what he needs to over the final month of the season in order to be ready for the playoffs.

He’s off to a pretty good start.

“Game to game has felt better, for sure,” he said. “As every game has gone on and I’ve gotten more games, feeling more and more comfortable, using my feet more. I feel like I’m on top of pucks a little more, whereas the first game, maybe a little more tentative and thinking … my game doesn’t really change, despite being out as long as I’ve been. It’s all about the details, the process, the work ethic, those are all things within my control. It’s on me, day to day, to ramp things up as quick as I can here with a limited amount of games left.”

Jets 4, Avalanche 2

What happened: The energy wasn’t there for the Avalanche, who are 3-7-3 in their last 13 home games.

What went right: Parker Kelly matched his jersey number with his 17th goal of the season in the second period. That fourth line continues to be a bright spot for the Avalanche, who are trying to figure out the best combinations for their other three lines.

What went wrong: The wild card in Colorado’s forward group is Ross Colton, and Saturday wasn’t his best showing. He turned the puck over ahead of Winnipeg’s second goal and got away with a penalty when he clipped Hellebuyck’s feet behind the net in the third. When Nic Roy returns, Bednar will be faced with some tough choices, assuming the team stays healthy, because Joel Kiviranta is playing like a guy who wants to stay in the lineup. Will he choose the safe Kiviranta over Colton, whose ceiling is higher?

Avalanche goal scorers: Nelson (33), Kelly (17)

Jets goal scorers: Vilardi (28), Koepke (7), Perfetti (11), Connor (33)

Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood got another start, stopping 17 of 20 shots in the loss.

What’s next: The Avalanche will host the Calgary Flames on Monday at 6:30 p.m.