Devils Take Down Avalanche in Dominant Victory

The Devils held the majority of the zone time as the period approached five minutes remaining, but Timo Meier got fooled by Cale Makar, who found Gabriel Landeskog wide open at the side of the net for a goal at 14:32. Nazem Kadri added a secondary assist.

New Jersey got a late power play after Colorado flipped the puck over the glass, but couldn’t convert before the period expired.

The Devils outshot the Avalanche 16-4 in a strong opening period.

Period Two

The Devils couldn’t cash in on the remaining few seconds of the power play.

New Jersey kept the pressure on in the opening minutes of the second, and Wedgewood was forced to make some good saves.

The Devils dominated the zone time, and shots were 25-8 with ten minutes left in the frame.

The Devils finally broke through on a delayed penalty. Meier got hit in the face with a high stick, but managed to get back into position, providing a screen for Declan Chisholm’s first goal of the season at 12:33. Evangelista had the lone assist.

New Jersey surged again, but Wedgewood managed to trap the puck beneath him as he sprawled in the crease.

Colorado had a few isolated chances from distance that Jake Allen fought off, and the Devils carried a one-goal lead into the second intermission.

New Jersey outshot the Avalanche 17-9 in the period.

Period Three

Allen was sharp early, fending off a few chances in the opening minute of play.

The Devils went the other way as Arseny Gritsyuk beat both Makar and Devon Toews to spring himself on a breakaway and bury the buck behind Wedgewood at 4:39. Dougie Hamilton had the lone assist.

New Jersey went right back to work, and Meier rang a shot off the post as they pushed.

Evan Rodrigues was tagged for hooking, giving the Avalanche their first power play of the game near the halfway point of the third. Allen made some good saves, and the Devils killed it off.

New Jersey was called for a late icing, giving Colorado an offensive zone faceoff. They pulled Wedgewood in favor of the extra attacker with 4:44 left to play.

Allen made a pad save on a heavy shot from the blue line, and Jesper Boqvist corralled the puck and hit the empty net at 16:05. Connor Brown had the lone assist, his first point of the season in his first game.

Artturi Lehkonen got Colorado right back in the hunt with a shot that beat Allen up high at 16:47. Gavin Brindley and Fedor Svechkov had the assists.

Again, Colorado pulled their netminder and peppered the net as the Devils struggled to clear the zone against six attackers. Lehkonen lit the lamp again at 19:56, but it was too little too late as the Devils hung on for the victory.

New Jersey outshot Colorado 41-33 in the 4-3 win.

Takeaways

This was the exact performance the Devils needed after an underwhelming effort against the Washington Capitals.

The Avalanche are a perennial Stanley Cup contender and, coming off a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, they were hungry for a win.

New Jersey neutralized their rush offense and did well to break up passes and escape the zone. They also were much sharper with their puck control, snapping passes tape-to-tape and avoiding unnecessary turnovers. This culminated in over 40 shots on net for the Devils, the most allowed by Colorado since December of last season.

While there were a lot of positive takeaways for the Devils offensively and defensively as a whole, they did lose their composure a bit in the final five minutes of play.

Of course, defending six attackers for an extended duration didn’t help their cause, but they ended up scrambling in front of their net and consequently were pinned back for far too long, leading to two goals against.

The Devils defended with confidence and composure throughout the first 55 or so minutes of play, but have to learn to maintain that style during the high-pressure moments at the end of games.

Up Next

The Devils are back in action on Thursday night when the Anaheim Ducks arrive at the Prudential Center.

The Ducks are off to a 4-5-0 start to the season. Most recently, they lost 3-2 to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on MSGSN.