In addition to earning a 5-3 victory, the New Jersey Devils ended Nathan MacKinnon's impressive 14-game point streak.
On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils earned two vital points against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche. In addition to earning a 5-3 victory, the club ended Nathan MacKinnon's impressive 14-game point streak.
The 2013 first-overall pick entered the game with 13 points in his previous five games and had been held off the scoresheet only seven times before the puck dropped at Prudential Center on Feb. 6.
The Avalanche forward fired four shots at Devils netminder Vitek Vanecek. His best opportunity came late in the third period on a breakaway.
Curtis Lazar's shot went wide on Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen and the puck quickly moved up the boards. MacKinnon picked it up in the neutral zone, where he had a step on rookie defenseman Luke Hughes. Vanecek made a huge save to keep the game tied at 3-3.
"That was an epic save," ESPN analyst AJ Mleczko said during the broadcast.
"You can just sum the night up with that save," Ruff said. "You need a big save. MacKinnon is the one guy that can create his own opportunities. (Vanecek) did one hell of a job of making the save and giving us an opportunity to win that hockey game."
Less than a minute later, John Marino scored the game-winning goal with 2:17 remaining in the game.
In addition to crediting Vanecek, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff praised the play of his young captain Nico Hischier, who spent most of the night matched up against MacKinnon's line.
"I think Nico did one heck of a job. There were a lot of one-on-one battles where Nico did a terrific job on the walls with (MacKinnon) at keeping him there and not letting him come off the walls."
It was the win the Devils needed after limping into the All-Star Break, dropping two straight games. The team was sound defensively and generated offense without two of their top three goal scorers, Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli.
The club will look to carry that momentum into their next game on Thursday night when they host Yegor Sharangovich and the Calgary Flames.