Jack Hughes scored two goals Sunday afternoon, including the game-winner with 3:07 left in overtime as the streaking New Jersey Devils earned their eighth straight victory by beating the visiting Colorado Avalanche, 4-3, in Newark, N.J.
Hughes missed a shot moments before Simon Nemec picked off Cole Makar’s pass intended for Martin Necas. Nemec dished to Hughes, who shuffled the puck at point-blank range before sending the puck over the right shoulder of Trent Miner as Makar tried unsuccessfully to get into the shooting lane.
Hughes also scored in the first while Arseny Gritsyuk and Connor Brown also scored for the Devils, whose winning streak is their longest since a franchise record-tying 13-game run from Oct. 25 through Nov. 21, 2022. Goalie Jake Allen made 21 saves.
Valeri Nichushkin and Nathan MacKinnon scored in the first and Brock Nelson forced overtime in the third for the Avalanche, who have lost four straight (0-1-3) following a 5-0-1 start. Miner recorded 20 saves.
Gritsyuk and Hughes each created turnovers leading to their goals just before the midway point of the first period.
Gritsyuk battled Artturi Lehkonen for the puck along the blue line before it squirted loose to Timo Meier, who skated towards the goal line. Meier then whirled and passed to Gritsyuk, who controlled the puck after it bounced off his skate and fired a shot over Miner’s glove from the left faceoff circle at the 9:09 mark.
Hughes chased down Nichushkin’s pass off the boards behind the Devils net to begin the sequence he ended by sending a wrister off Miner’s glove only 39 seconds later.
The Avalanche began their comeback bid a little more than three minutes later. Allen couldn’t smother the puck following a shot by Devon Toews before Nichushkin put back the rebound of Makar’s shot with 7:05 left.
Colorado tied the score following another second-chance effort with 2:57 remaining. Lehkonen’s shot bounced off the left post and into the crease, where MacKinnon poked the puck into the net.
The Devils took the lead again with 7:09 left in the second. Nemec blocked a shot by Gabriel Landeskog and the puck sailed towards a streaking Brown, who beat Miner on the breakaway.
Nelson took a pass from Ross Colton and beat Allen from the edge of the crease with 6:05 left in regulation.
