The New Jersey Devils’ eight-game winning streak came to a halt two nights ago in an 8-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Former Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood shined, stopping 26 of 30 shots for a .867 save percentage and improving his record to 5-0-0 against his former team.
Wedgewood, drafted by the Devils in 2010, has yet to lose to New Jersey. He denied several second-chance opportunities and remained steady throughout the night.
Wedgewood Set To Start Against Former Team as Devils Face Avalanche
Scott Wedgewood is set to start in the net for the Avalanche and face his former team tonight as the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils">New Jersey Devils</a> take on Colorado in their second and final meeting of the season.
While the Avalanche put together a strong performance, the Devils had an uncharacteristically poor outing. They never held a lead, and their discipline issues proved costly.
The Devils fell behind early, failing to score in the first period while surrendering five goals. Costly penalties, an ineffective penalty kill, and a career night from Victor Olofsson all contributed to the lopsided result.
Olofsson recorded his first career hat trick and added two assists for a five-point performance.
New Jersey took six penalties, totaling 12 minutes, while Colorado was whistled for just two. The tone was set early when Jacob Markstrom, making his first start since October 13, was called for a delay of the game. Ondrej Palat served the penalty, and Colorado capitalized with the game’s first goal on the ensuing power play.
Further penalties on Jonas Siegenthaler (interference), Stefan Noesen (cross-checking), Dougie Hamilton (tripping), Timo Meier (tripping), and Luke Glendening (slashing) gave the Avalanche multiple opportunities. Colorado converted four of its power plays, half of its total goals, taking full advantage of New Jersey’s mistakes.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon spoke to team reporter Amanda Stein postgame about the penalty kill’s struggles:
“The goals against were, for the most part, Grade A’s from our self-inflicted wounds. Crazy, because we haven’t really done that (this year). Got to be better.”
Heading into the game, the Devils’ penalty kill had been one of their strengths. According to StatMuse, New Jersey had killed 31 penalties and ranked 10th in the league with an 83.8% success rate.
The second period was the wildest of the night, featuring eight of the game’s 12 total goals. The Devils scored all four of theirs in that frame but failed to find the back of the net in the first or third.
It’s difficult to win a high-scoring game when production comes in only one period. Meanwhile, the Avalanche spread their offense evenly, scoring two in the first, four in the second, and two more in the third.
The return of Jacob Markstrom was not what the Devils had hoped for. After the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t mince words about his team’s effort:
“Our team was just dreadful in front of [Markstrom] today. We could have had two goalies in the net tonight and it wouldn’t have made a difference,” Keefe told NHL.com.
Despite the loss, the Devils remain 8-2-0 and sit atop the Metropolitan Division. They’ll look to regroup when they face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.