On a night when even the Devils’ announcers sounded tired, the Devils would have their work cut out for them on the second half of a back-to-back at high altitude. I hope they’ve been doing their cardio.
First Period
Colorado began the game fast, seemingly to catch the Devils with tired legs on the second half of a back-to-back. For their part, the Devils largely matched the Avalanche’s speed in the first several minutes, showing few signs of fatigue from the night before.
Just near the 2:00 mark of the period,
Brendan Dillon laid a hit on Nazim Kadri that set the tone for the Devils’ approach for handling the Avalanche tonight – nothing fancy, just get in the way and get it done. On the hit, Kadri was attempting to cross into the Devils’ half of the ice with speed, but Dillon stood him up with a fundamentally solid hit that sent the Devils back in the other direction.
At 3:30, a broken play with a bouncing puck turned into a legitimate scoring chance for the Avalanche, but Allen stood tall. He remained sharp a few minutes later, when about halfway through the period, there was a flurry of activity directly in front of him, including a sharp-angle shot from his left that he needed to be ready for.
Allen remained strong throughout the period. He looked square to most shots and kept his movement – especially his lateral movement – compact and minimal. Because of this, he managed to be in good position for all of the Avalanche’s shots, making the saves look easy, even on shots coming off the sticks of some of the most talented players in the NHL. Very strong period for Jake, especially since there were one or two scrambles in front of him that never looked particularly dangerous.
In one of those scrambles at the 11:00 mark, Brett Pesce took a hooking call on Nathan MacKinnon. I’ll admit that I held my breath when the penalty was assessed. I’ve been impressed with our penalty kill, but this Colorado team is so stacked, their power play (even when in a bit of a slump) is incredibly dangerous.
Luckily, Connor Brown had other plans for the Avalanche advantage. While defending in their own zone, Brendan Dillon and Brown were tenacious with their sticks in passing lanes. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon continually tried to cross the puck from the boards toward the middle of the net, with Dillon and Brown plugging the lanes with their sticks. On one attempt, Brown managed to corral the puck and take a two-on-one the other way with Luke Hughes. As they approached the lower slot area below the dots, Brown attempted to slide a pass from right-to-left to Hughes. The pass deflected off a kneeling Cale Makar and past our old friend Mackenzie Blackwood and into the net for a shorthanded goal. 1-0, Devils!
The remainder of the period was relatively uneventful, save for Colorado fans chanting Luke’s name when he held the puck behind the net. At least, that’s what I heard.
The Devils had a strong, fundamental period where they didn’t overpursue or put themselves in bad position. For the most part, they stayed in passing lanes and kept Avalanche shots to the outside. This Colorado team is dangerous, but in the first period, the Devils managed to keep them under control. Add a little puck luck, and the Devils go into the locker room with a 1-0 lead.
Second Period
The second period was a slog. From the start of the period, the Devils looked significantly slower than they did in the first. At this point in the game, it was clear that the grind of a game in Colorado on the tail end of a back-to-back was starting to catch up with them. Throughout the period, Avalanche players were beating Devils to loose pucks, and Devils players were often swatting at the puck with one hand on their stick in wild attempts to dispossess Avalanche players. Colorado outshot the Devils 21-6 for the period. Enough said.
With that kind of shot differential, as you might expect, the story of the period was Jake Allen. Despite being under constant pressure throughout the period, Allen has stood tall, saving all but one. On that one goal, at 10:58, Gabriel Landeskog scored from the back door on a sneaky pass across the crease at the very end of a hooking penalty on Nico Hischier. To that point, the Devils’ kill looked alternately calm and desperate, but ultimately, the potency of the Colorado power play finally struck to even the game, 1-1.
Toward the end of the period, the Devils began to tilt the ice toward the Colorado net. At 18:01, the Avalanche took a cross-checking penalty, and at 19:29, a tripping penalty. In 31 seconds of 5-on-3 time, the Devils put decent pressure on Mackenzie Blackwood, with the puck just missing the net on a deflection in the last second of the period.
I’d have liked to have seen more of a plan on the 5-on-3 than “let Jack dance in the high slot and rip a shot on net,” but with legs as tired as theirs, I can see why they’d fall back on that.
Into the locker room, 1-1. The Devils start the third with a power play.
Third Period
[sits back down with popcorn, rubs hands together]
“Okay! Here we go! Let’s go Dev-“
GOAL. Colorado. Nazim Kadri.
“Oh. Oh man. Okay, no problem, it’s only a one-goal defic-“
GOAL. Colorado. Parker Kelly.
“Um… okay. Well, I guess it’s only a two-goal lead, they can st-“
GOAL. Colorado. Nathan Mackinnon.
“Dammit. I guess I’ll start writing my reca-“
GOAL. Colorado. Jaden Schwartz.
[loses appetite, slides popcorn to the side]
GOAL. Devils. Connor Brown.
“I’ll take it.”
In all seriousness, the Devils legs left them in this period and once the Avalanche scored the early goal, there was no looking back. Allen did what he could, and stood up heroically, but the talent of the Avalanche, coupled with the Devils’ fatigue… it was just too much. Devils lose, 5-2.
Random Impressions
Less East-West, More North-South
While writing up the recap for the Los Angeles game, I considered adding a section like this one, but the 3-1 win made feel like the criticism wasn’t too warranted. Tonight, the issue is a little more glaring. Too often, when working odd-man rushes toward the opposing netminder, the Devils opt for the difficult cross-ice pass instead of the shot on goal. Of course, you could argue that getting the goalie moving laterally increases the chances for a goal, but it gets increasingly frustrating when the pass gets broken up or odd-man rushes end up going the other way.
Shooters shoot, and I’d like to see the shooters on the Devils start opting towards firing on net instead of always going for the saucer pass across the middle. (Especially when the man on the far-side is Jesper Bratt, lately… come on, Bratter. Hit the net.)
The Evolution of Luke Hughes
Once again, one of the bright spots for this game was Luke Hughes. We are all aware of the ways that Luke’s skating ability has opened up his offense. I hate to invite the comparison this early in his career, but watching him skate reminds me of the halcyon days of Scott Niedermayer. His stride is effortless and he covers so much ice in such a short period of time.
One underappreciated part of his game, however, is how his skating and stickhandling helps him defensively. There was one sequence in the third period where he was defending Nathan MacKinnon in the corner.
MacKinnon cut; Luke cut. MacKinnon accelerated; Luke accelerated. MacKinnon spun; Luke spun.
It was like watching someone try to shake off their shadow.
Luke is only just getting started in his evolution, and although we are sure to be treated to some incredible offense from him, keep an eye on how his speed and stick-handling help him in his own zone as well.
Hard to be too Upset
If the Devils were going to have their streak broken, this was the game that was going to do it. They were on the second game of a back-to-back at altitude against a stacked Colorado team. Over the course of the game, you could see the Devils get slower and slower as their legs gave out under them. For his part, Jake Allen was a stud all night. Hat tip to Jake.
Of course, that’s part of hockey. Great teams find ways to grind out games like this and get at least a point from them. But still, I’m not too upset by this loss. Great teams also bounce back.
Losses like this happen. They need to get on the plane, nurse their wounds, and get ready for Vegas.
Bunwatch 2026-27:
The formerly undefeated Bun takes its first loss. 5-1-0. Still a 141-point pace. Not bad.
Up Next
The Devils are at Vegas on Friday at 6:00 PM Eastern time.
Let’s go, Devils!
