Avalanche score four in the third to beat Devils 5-2 at Ball Arena

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

The Colorado Avalanche scored four unanswered goals in the third period to turn a 1-1 tie into a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena on Wednesday. Nazem Kadri and Jaden Schwartz each finished with a goal and an assist for Colorado, which improved to 7-5-1 after a stretch in which it had lost four of its previous six games.

New Jersey jumped in front 1-0 when Connor Brown converted a short-handed chance at 12:21 of the first period. Brown intercepted Nathan MacKinnon’s centering pass in the defensive zone, raced into open ice with Luke Hughes on a two-on-one rush, and finished after his attempt caromed off Cale Makar’s left skate and beat Mackenzie Blackwood.

The Avalanche responded in the second period on the power play. Gabriel Landeskog tied the game 1-1 at 10:58 by sending a home goal after Schwartz’s cross-crease pass found him near the right post. Landeskog initially passed to Devon Toews high above the middle of the circles before crashing the net to receive Schwartz’s feed.

Colorado’s third-period surge began at 2:45 when Kadri scored to make it 2-1. Nicolas Roy set up the play with a pass into an open net at the left post for Kadri, sending the game into Colorado’s favour before Parker Kelly added to the lead at 3:47 with a wrist shot from the right dot that went short side past Jake Allen.

Nathan MacKinnon then extended Colorado’s lead to 4-1 on a breakaway at 12:00 of the third period. After splitting Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce in the neutral zone, MacKinnon entered from the left side, cut into the slot, and fired a wrister under Allen’s glove.

Schwartz made it 5-1 just 30 seconds later, finishing the rebound of Brent Malinski’s initial shot into the open net beyond Allen. Malinski’s effort came from above the right circle and ricocheted to Schwartz inside the left circle, sealing Colorado’s five-goal output.

Brown scored for New Jersey with 4:25 remaining to cut the margin to 5-2 at 15:35 of the third. His second goal came on a backhanded rebound of Amadeus Lombardi’s shot, which went into the net past Blackwood after it was stopped beyond the blocker of the Avalanche goaltender.

Between the pipes, Blackwood made 20 saves for Colorado, while Allen finished with 39 stops for New Jersey. With his two assists in the game, Brent Burns reached 950 career points and moved into sole possession of the 10th-most by a defenseman in NHL history, passing Erik Karlsson and Chris Chelios.

The game also featured an early injury concern. Colorado defenseman Josh Manson left the contest at 15:19 of the first period with a lower-body injury after falling awkwardly following a missed body check. New Jersey, which had won four straight coming in, including a 5-1 victory at the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, saw that streak halted as Colorado completed its third-period comeback into a decisive win.

For Colorado, the result sharpened its scoring momentum after a difficult stretch, while New Jersey was left to regroup following a strong run that included consecutive wins leading into Wednesday. The focus for both teams now shifts to how they respond after the Avalanche’s four-goal burst and the Devils’ end-of-streak defeat at Ball Arena.