On Tuesday, Oct. 28, the New Jersey Devils traveled to Ball Arena to take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Devils just hosted the Avalanche on Sunday, so the two were familiar with playing one another. Unlike the game on Sunday, the Avalanche were the victors with an 8-4 victory to snap the Devils’ eight-game win streak.
Game Recap
Just 18 seconds into the game, Jacob Markstrom received a delay of game penalty for sending the puck over the glass. The Avalanche were quick to capitalize on their early extra-man advantage. Martin Necas was seeking a scoring opportunity. He sent the puck down to Cale Makar who held it at the blue line. Makar passed it back to Necas, who found his scoring opportunity. He took a shot to score the first goal of the game.
Two minutes later, the Devils took a shot but Parker Kelly picked up the rebound. He passed it to Gavin Brindley, who sent it up the boards for Kelly once more. He spotted Zakhar Bardakov and passed it to him. With no one defending him, Bardakov skated up to the net to score his first NHL goal.
Two and a half minutes into the second period, the Avalanche increased their lead. Jack Ahcan passed the puck through the center of the ice for Victor Olofsson. He skated the puck up uncontested to give Colorado a three-goal lead.
Six minutes in, Stefan Noesen took a seat for cross-checking Brindley. Dougie Hamilton entered the box for tripping just 11 seconds later. The Avalanche didn’t let the 5-on-3 chance pass them by. Nathan MacKinnon missed his first one-timer in the faceoff circle. Olofsson collected the loose puck and passed it to Makar. He sent it back to MacKinnon who made another one-timer in the same spot. This time, the puck went into the net.
A minute later, Brent Burns sent the puck down the ice for Ross Colton in Colorado’s offensive zone. He passed it to Parker Kelly. No one was defending him and he skated up to the goal to score Colorado’s fifth of the night.
Halfway into the second, the Devils scored their first goal of the night. Paul Cotter laid a heavy hit on Burns to make sure the puck stayed in the Devils’ offensive zone. Noesen picked up the loose puck and flipped it over the shoulder of Scott Wedgewood.
One minute later, Luke Hughes passed the puck through traffic for Dougie Hamilton. He took a shot but his initial one was blocked. He picked up the rebound and sent the second shot behind Wedgewood.
At 13:42, Timo Meier passed the puck to Nico Hischier in the Devils’ offensive zone. He was in front of the net but he passed it to Dawson Mercer, who scored the third goal of the night for the Devils.
Less than a minute later, Jack Hughes sent a no-look pass behind him to Jesper Bratt. He passed it back to Hughes to score the Devils’ fourth unanswered goal in four minutes.
Immediately following the Devils’ fourth goal, Meier took a seat for tripping Bardakov. Olofsson passed the puck to Makar, who passed it to MacKinnon in the faceoff circle. With a one-timer, he scored his second power play goal of the night in the exact same spot as his first.
Two minutes into the third, Luke Glendening took a seat for slashing Valeri Nichushkin. In the Avalanche’s offensive zone, MacKinnon dished the puck to Olofsson. From the faceoff dot, he scored his second goal of the night on the power play opportunity.
With three minutes left in the game, Jack Drury stole the puck off a bad pass from Seamus Casey. Drury dropped the puck to Olofsson to score his third of the night. With a hat trick under his belt, Olofsson ensured the Avalanche’s victory.
Next Up
The Devils will continue on their West Coast road trip to take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, Oct. 30 to close out the season series. The Avalanche will travel to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights for a Halloween matchup on Friday.
