Devils, hockey, NHL, Avalanche
(Photo by Mark Fischgrund - JSN)

Five Unanswered Goals Rally Devils to Win in Newark

The New Jersey Devils would come out firing on Tuesday, just like they did on Sunday, out-shooting their opponent 7-1 in the first nine minutes of the opening contest. It wouldn't translate into an early lead like the last game however, as just after the nine minute mark, the Colorado Avalanche would draw first blood. Michael McLeod would take a hooking penalty that led to Colorado seizing the opportunity with the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon; one of the leagues premier young talents, opened up the scoring on the powerplay with his 19th goal of the season. This one would be a bit of an odd goal as MacKinnon took a whack at a puck out of mid air, that somehow slipped by Nico Daws low stick side for the 1-0 advantage.

Damon Severson would take a tripping penalty a short time later, giving the number eleven powerplay unit the league another opportunity. One that they would not squander, as Mikko Rantanen buried a one-timer glove high past Daws for his 27th of the season and Colorado's second powerplay goal of the night. MacKinnon threaded the needle on a beautiful cross-ice pass to setup Rantanen from the right faceoff dot to give Colorado the 2-0 lead. Though the Devils would out-shoot the Avalanche in first (14-8) it wouldn't translate into any goals heading into the intermission.

Avalanche would continue the offensive output just before the six minute of the second, when Cale Makar would crash the net and put home a backhand rebound in front of the net for his 20th of the season. While Colorado lead 3-0 despite being heavily out-shot, momentum would begin to turn as New Jersey finally found the back of the net to get on the scoreboard just before the halfway point of the period. Tomas Tatar would take a shot that deflected off the post from Jonas Siegenthaler right to him at the right faceoff circle and put it home to cut the deficit to two at the nine minute mark.

The momentum in the building would shift in the Devils favor; as Ty Smith drove to the net and scored his 3rd goal of the season on a backhand deflected in front by Samuel Girard, that went just under his goaltender's glove Darcy Kuemper. Devils would get a break that they really needed when Jack Johnson took a tripping penalty against Jesper Bratt. Though they didn't capitalize on the man advantage a few minutes earlier; this time would be different as Damon Severson would hammer a slap shot from the point for his 8th goal of the season, tying the game at three before heading into the third period.

Fans would be on pins and needles for the first half of the third as teams traded chances back and forth with neither side giving an inch, the Devils would get another break at the twelfth minute. Rantanen tripped up Jonas Siegenthaler, giving New Jersey the opportunity they needed to take the lead late in the game with a second goal on the powerplay of their own. Nathan Bastian would take hold of a loose puck in the crease after a shot from Jack Hughes was blocked away by Kuemper, and bounced off Nathan in the paint for the easy tap-in goal he put home for his 10th of the season.

Home team would find themselves in a bit of a bind late when P.K. Subban would take a tripping penalty just before the seventeenth minute of the third. This would lead to the Avalanche having a two man advantage with the powerplay and the extra man after pulling Kuemper in the later part of the third just down one. Amazingly the Devils would not only fight off this threat that already scored twice earlier in the night, but actually score against it with the shorthanded empty netter to put this one away.

That play came after stellar defensive effort by Dawson Mercer to poke the puck off Nathan MacKinnon's stick, which was picked up by Yegor Sharangovich and brought towards the Devils bench. Yegor would then fire the puck two thirds of the way down the ice for the game clinching goal to cap off the phenomenal comeback with his 14th goal of the year.

Devils Defeating Quality Teams of Late

New Jersey comes away with a win probably no one expected of them, especially being down 3-0 to a team like Colorado who's a legit Stanley Cup contender and also likely to win the President's Trophy (team with most points in NHL). However, these are the kind of wins the Devils need if they want to turn back the clock to the glory days of the late 90's and early 2000's. Their success back then was built on defense, overall physicality, and a great forecheck all of which where on display tonight. When I asked Coach Lindy Ruff was there anyone in particular that stood out on the forecheck, he replied "All twelve forwards".

This is something the Devils haven't had in quite some time and is refreshing to see, as they will need to continue this type of play going forward in the future. For now, the Devils will worry about the present and who they play next which will be the Winnipeg Jets at the rock.