Evangelista has two points in return, Devils hold off Avalanche
New Jersey has won three of four; Lehkonen scores twice for Colorado
By Mike G. Morreale
NHL.com Senior Draft Writer
NEWARK, N.J. -- Luke Evangelista had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup, and the New Jersey Devils held on for a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Prudential Center on Tuesday.
The forward had missed the previous three games with an illness.
“When we had our success tonight, we were direct, we put pucks behind them, hounded their defense, and turned over pucks," Evangelista said. "We played in the offensive zone and had a ton of looks and a ton of shots. I think that's kind of the recipe for us going forward."
Jake Allen made 31 saves for the Devils (5-4-0), who have won three of their past four games. Allen, who was making his second straight start, was honored ahead of the game for playing his 500th in the NHL on Oct. 10.
"I told myself just to enjoy that moment," Allen said. "Winning the Stanley Cup (with the St. Louis Blues in 2019) and tonight are the two highlights of my career for sure. To experience it with your family, you don't get to do that too often. That's one of the games I'll remember forever."
Artturi Lehkonen scored two goals, Cale Makar had two assists, and Scott Wedgewood made 37 saves for the Avalanche (5-4-1), who lost 3-2 at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and are 1-2-1 in their past four.
"They were kind of buzzing offensively and it felt like we were a little bit on our heels in our defensive zone," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "They were shooting and we were standing and watching where the rebound was going and then they would jump to it. It just felt like we were reactionary instead of just going."
Evangelista scored on a wrist shot down the slot to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 6:40 of the first period. The forward was traded to the Devils from the Nashville Predators on Sept. 1.
"Our players have to keep pushing and challenging each other to do the right things, and it's just making the right choice," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We're not going to be at our best every night, but we can give ourselves every opportunity for success because we're that good a team. I believe we're going to score more than we have. But in the meantime, we keep buttoning up our defending and our checking habits and make ourselves a real tough team to beat."
Landeskog tied the game 1-1 at 14:32, scoring on a wrist shot from outside the right post. Makar took the puck at the right point, stickhandled between the legs of Timo Meier and skated past Jack Hughes before finding Landeskog alone in prime position.
Declan Chisholm gave the Devils a 2-1 lead after his snap shot from the left point deflected off the stick of Avalanche forward Brock Nelson in the slot and past Wedgewood at 12:33 of the second period. It was Chisholm's first goal with the Devils; the defenseman was acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on June 25.
"When we couldn't make good on the chances that we had, we just stayed with it and didn't change our game," Keefe said.
Allen made 19 saves in the third period, including stops against Nathan MacKinnon and Makar just outside the right post at :38.
"After the first two saves it was just chaos," Allen said. "Those are the moments that we need to get. If they score right there, that changes the game."
Arseny Gritsyuk pushed it to 3-1 at 4:39 of the third period, picking up the puck in the neutral zone, skating over the blue line and splitting the defense pairing of Makar and Devon Toews before scoring on a backhand.
"That was foul," Evangelista said of Gritsyuk's play. "I was so fired up for him on the bench."
Jesper Boqvist scored an empty-net goal at 16:05 for a 4-1 lead.
Lehkonen pulled the Avalanche within 4-2 at 16:47. He then scored his second of the game at 19:55 with Wedgewood pulled for the extra attacker for the 4-3 final.
"We looked slow and unenergetic," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We were losing races, losing battles. We waited too long to start playing. They looked like they were energized and doing all the right things and we didn't manage the puck well."
NOTES: Makar became the eighth player in Avalanche history to record 80 career multiassist games. ... Devils forward Connor Brown had an assist in 13:54 of ice time in his season debut, returning from a lower-body injury sustained during training camp on Sept. 28. ... Meier had eight shots on goal and 13 shot attempts in 16:09 of ice time.
