Avalanche Score Four in Third Period to Beat Devils 5–2

The Colorado Avalanche scored four third-period goals Wednesday to defeat the New Jersey Devils 5–2, turning a tied game into a decisive home victory and ending New Jersey’s four-game winning streak.

Nazem Kadri put Colorado ahead 2–1 at 2:45 of the third. Parker Kelly followed 62 seconds later, giving the Avalanche a two-goal cushion before the period was four minutes old.

Nathan MacKinnon scored his eighth goal of the season at 12:00, and Jaden Schwartz added another 30 seconds later. Those separate bursts transformed the final period after the teams entered it level at one.

Colorado improved to 7–5–1. New Jersey dropped to 8–5–0, with a run of four consecutive wins halted by an opponent that kept generating chances throughout the game.

The Associated Press account credited Mackenzie Blackwood with 20 saves against his former club. Jake Allen stopped 39 for the Devils, facing substantially more work as Colorado finished with 44 shots on goal.

Connor Brown scored both New Jersey goals. His first came shorthanded in the opening period, putting the Devils ahead before Gabriel Landeskog answered on a Colorado power play in the second.

The Avalanche also survived a late second-period stretch defending a two-man disadvantage. Reaching intermission without conceding preserved the tie and left Colorado positioned to make its early third-period scoring count.

Kadri’s goal supplied the first separation. Kelly’s quick follow-up then changed the task for New Jersey, which suddenly needed multiple goals rather than a single equalizer.

MacKinnon and Schwartz widened that gap further. Brown’s second goal reduced the final margin but did not restore the close contest that had existed through 40 minutes.

The Devils continue their trip at Vegas on Friday. Colorado’s next assignment is a home game against Calgary on Saturday, after a performance settled by the depth and speed of its final-period scoring.