Luke Evangelista came back from a three-game illness absence and gave the New Jersey Devils exactly the jolt they needed Tuesday, scoring once and adding an assist in a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Prudential Center.
Jake Allen stopped 31 shots for New Jersey, including 19 in a hectic third period, as the Devils moved to 5-4-0 and claimed their third victory in four outings. Colorado fell to 5-4-1 after dropping the second stop of a back-to-back.
Quick facts
- New Jersey defeated Colorado 4-3 at Prudential Center.
- Luke Evangelista returned from illness with a goal and an assist.
- Artturi Lehkonen scored twice for the Avalanche.
- Jake Allen made 31 saves; Scott Wedgewood faced 41 shots and stopped 37.
- Cale Makar recorded two assists and reached 80 career multi-assist games.
Evangelista opened the scoring at 6:40 of the first period, snapping a wrist shot home from the slot. It was an immediate contribution from the forward, acquired from the Nashville Predators on Sept. 1.
“When we had success, we were direct,” Evangelista said. “We put pucks behind them, got after their defense and created turnovers. We spent time in the offensive zone, generated a lot of looks and shots. That has to be our formula moving forward.”
Colorado answered at 14:32 of the opening period. Makar worked the puck from the right point, slipped between Timo Meier and Jack Hughes, then found Gabriel Landeskog open near the right side of the net for a wrist-shot finish.
New Jersey regained control in the second when Declan Chisholm’s shot from the left point changed direction off Brock Nelson’s stick and beat Wedgewood at 12:33. The goal was Chisholm’s first as a Devil after his June 25 trade from the Washington Capitals.
The Devils created separation early in the third. Arseny Gritsyuk collected the puck in neutral ice, crossed the blue line, split Makar and Devon Toews, and tucked a backhand past Wedgewood at 4:39 for a 3-1 lead.
“That was foul,” Evangelista said of Gritsyuk’s rush. “I was so fired up for him on the bench.”
Jesper Boqvist added an empty-netter at 16:05, but Colorado made the finish uncomfortable. Lehkonen scored 42 seconds later, then struck again at 19:55 with Wedgewood on the bench for an extra attacker.
Allen’s key sequence came just 38 seconds into the third, when he denied Nathan MacKinnon and Makar from close range near the right post. The veteran goalie was making his second consecutive start and had been recognized before the game for reaching 500 NHL appearances on Oct. 10.
“After the first two saves, it was just chaos,” Allen said. “Those are the moments we have to make. If they score there, it changes the game.”
Allen called his 500-game milestone one of the defining memories of his career, alongside winning the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. He said sharing the occasion with his family made it a night he will not forget.
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe liked his club’s response after missed chances and credited the group for sticking with its game plan. He said New Jersey must continue improving its defensive detail and checking habits while trusting that more offense will come.
“We are not going to be at our best every night, but we can put ourselves in position to succeed because we are a very good team,” Keefe said. “We believe we are going to score more. Until then, we keep tightening up our defending and become a difficult team to beat.”
Colorado captain Landeskog said the Avalanche spent too much of the game reacting in their own end rather than winning rebounds and initiating plays. Jared Bednar was similarly blunt, saying his team lost races and battles and waited too long to find its urgency.
“They had energy, and they were doing the right things,” Bednar said. “We did not manage the puck well.”
Lehkonen’s two goals and Makar’s two assists led Colorado’s push, while Wedgewood made 37 saves. The Avalanche had also lost 3-2 at Philadelphia on Monday and are now 1-2-1 over their past four games.
For New Jersey, Connor Brown made his season debut and picked up an assist in 13:54 after missing time with the lower-body injury suffered during training camp on Sept. 28. Meier drove the Devils’ attack with eight shots on goal and 13 attempts in 16:09 of ice time.
