MacKinnon scores twice on power play, Avalanche beat Devils
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DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had two power-play goals and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 shots against his former team and the Colorado Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Wednesday night.
Artturi Lehkonen, Casey Mittelstadt and Logan O’Connor added goals to help the Avalanche snap a two-game skid. Colorado scored three times in a 4:04 span in the third period to crack open a tight game.
Blackwood continues to come up big when he faces the Devils, improving to 2-0 over three starts and allowing just one goal. He was selected by New Jersey in the second round of the 2015 draft.
Jake Allen finished with 31 saves as the Devils fell to 1-1 on their five-game trip. Allen appeared frustrated as he left the game after giving up a fifth goal with 1:42 remaining. Coach Sheldon Keefe said his goaltender was cramping up.
Jack Hughes cut it to 2-1 with 11:32 remaining before Colorado's goal eruption.
Valeri Nichushkin returned to the Colorado lineup after missing nearly two months because of a lower-body injury. He had five shots in nearly 18 minutes of ice time.
Martin Necas had three assists.
Takeaways
Devils: Allen averted a scary situation after Lehkonen crashed into him in the third period and knocked him over. Luke Hughes was called for a slash, leading to MacKinnon's goal.
Avalanche: Colorado improved to 210-74-27 when Nichushkin is in the lineup.
Key moment
Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton had a big save when MacKinnon's liner trickled past Allen. Hamilton stuck his stick into the crease and prevented the puck from crossing the goal line.
Key stat
MacKinnon extended his home points streak to 15 games. It’s the third time MacKinnon has had a home points streak of 15 or more games in his career.
Up next
The Devils are at Utah on Saturday night. The Avalanche host Minnesota on Friday night.
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