Markstrom Return Flops; PK Implodes; Devils Streak Snapped in Wild Loss to Avalanche

The New Jersey Devils’ eight-game win streak is officially snapped. The Colorado Avalanche pounced on Jacob Markstrom early, making his return to the crease on Tuesday in unspectacular fashion.

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Despite taking a commanding 5-0 lead halfway through the game as a result of poor goaltending and execution on the penalty kill, the Devils did not sit back on their heels.

They fought all the way back with a four-goal run. Yet, New Jersey couldn’t keep the gap close, as Colorado re-gained control and ultimately widened their lead by four, again.

Let’s dive into how the Devils’ streak ended at the hands of the Avalanche in an 8-4 loss.

First Period

18 seconds into the opening frame, Jacob Markstrom got a little too overzealous in his return to the cage and sent the puck over the glass. The Devils went to the first penalty kill of the game, and it didn’t last very long. Seven seconds into the Avalanche power play, Martin Necas gave Colorado a 1-0 lead.

Just over two minutes later, the Avalanche doubled their lead when Zakhar Bardakov—an ex-Devils prospect traded to the Avalanche for Kurtis MacDermid—scored his first NHL goal to double the Colorado lead.

Markstrom settled after allowing the first two goals on four shots, and finished with 10 saves in the first period.

The Devils peppered Scott Wedgewood with a whopping 17 shots in the opening frame.

Second Period

Despite the Devils trailing two goals after the opening 20 minutes, they played well.

That was not the case in the second period.

Victor Olofsson snuck behind the Devils’ defense in the neutral zone and entered the offensive zone with the puck on his stick. He rifled a shot past Markstrom to extend the Avalanche to 3-0 just 2.5 minutes into the middle frame.

The Devils then went down two men after Stefan Noesen and Dougie Hamilton were called for minor infractions 11 seconds apart. Nathan Mackinnon made good on the two-man advantage, scoring on the power play to give Colorado a four-goal lead.

New Jersey allowed one too many odd-man rushes on Tuesday, including to Parker Kelly, who also slipped behind the Devils’ defense and scored on a breakaway to make it a 5-0 game.

There would be no shutout, however. In fact, the Devils decided to fight back.

After Noesen scooped up a loose puck in the Avalanche slot and scored his first of the season on Wedgewood. Hamilton added a second marker over a minute later, following up a rebound he created, and batted it into the open net to cut Colorado’s lead to 5-2.

The Devils just kept pushing the pace of play, and peppered Wedgewood with more shots. Eventually, Dawson Mercer finished a tic-tac-toe play on the rush with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, bringing New Jersey within two goals, 5-3.

30 seconds later, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt connect on a tic-tac-toe play of their own, and Jack scored to make it a one-goal game.

Unfortunately, however, Meier took an untimely tripping penalty near the 15-minute mark of the second period. Mackinnon scored his second power play goal to regain Colorado’s multi-goal lead.

Third Period

The Devils started the third period with 1:02 of power play time. However, they couldn’t score, and the Avalanche maintained a two-goal lead.

That was until Luke Glendening took a slashing minor at 2:33, and sent Colorado back to the power play. It wasn’t long before Olofsson scored his second of the night, and the Avalanche widened the gap again to three goals, 7-4.

Olofsson completed the hat-trick at the 2:22 mark of the third period, re-gaining a four-goal lead on the Devils and ultimately snapping their win streak at eight games.

In his return to the lineup, Markstrom allowed eight goals, making 33 saves on 41 shots.