Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils lost to the Colorado Avalanche at altitude 6-3. It was their first loss against the Avalanche since spring of 2022.
Recap
Period One
The Devils came out playing well on the road, getting a multitude of rush opportunities. It was a zone chance though that netted the first goal of the game. Tyler Toffoli got free and fired home a rebound that put the Devils up 1-0.
The Avalanche would strike back at the tail end of the period on the power play. Mikko Rantanen tipped a Makar shot-pass to even the score at the end of one.
Period Two
The second period started out poorly for the Devils as the Avalanche would score right off the bat. New Jersey native Ross Colton scored his third of the season to put his squad up a goal.
While on a four-on-four, Colton would go on a penalty speedrun, boarding Luke Hughes and cross-checking Timo Meier in the face to give the Devils seven minutes of power play time. Both Hughes and Meier ended up being fine.
On the ensuing five-on-three, Timo Meier scored his third goal of the season on a nice wrister. Shortly after that, former Devil Miles Wood scored shorthanded to put the Avalanche back up by one.
The game wouldn’t be 3-2 for long though as Dougie Hamilton let a wrister fly for his fifth goal of the season to even the score. The back-and-forth affair would be tied after two.
Period Three
The third period was a rough one for New Jersey. A turnover led to a clean shot and a goal for Ryan Johansen. Just two minutes later, nice passing from Mikko Rantanen and Nathan Mackinnon put Colorado up by a pair for the first time.
The Devils would get their chances but to no avail. Rantanen whipped his second goal of the game into the empty net and the Avalanche beat the Devils 6-3.
Game Notes
Missing The Stars
While the Devils were able to hold on against the Blackhawks, their lack of star power was noticeable in a game like this. Not to the fault of anyone of course, it’s going to be that way when Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier both miss significant time at the same time. The team can’t let this game discourage them though as they kept it tight for the most part against a tough Avs squad.
Washington is next up who took down New Jersey at the Rock just a couple of weeks ago. Without Hischier and Hughes that will be a good test to see where this team is at.
Tyler Toffoli “Scoreiloi”
With the aforementioned centers injured it is important that guys like Toffoli step up. On the short season, the winger acquired in the summer has eight goals in 12 games. Although he is almost certainly not going to keep up his 55-goal pace, another 40 goal scorer on this roster would be even more deadly.
Hopefully, when Hughes comes back Toffoli can pick back up his chemistry with the elite center.
Next Up
The Devils return home to face the Washington Capitals. Puck drop is Friday at 7:00 pm ET at the Prudential Center.