Avalanche 3 - 2 Devils
Final
  for this game

Avs score twice late to beat Devils

Nov 16, 2014 - 4:40 AM Newark, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - Erik Johnson and Matt Duchene scored in the third period as the Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 at Prudential Center.

John Mitchell also scored and Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for the Avalanche, who have won consecutive games for the first time this season and concluded their four-game road trip at .500.

"We're very happy with those last two wins and hopefully we can built on that for the next game at home against Washington," said Colorado head coach Patrick Roy.

Eric Gelinas and Martin Havlat supplied the goals for New Jersey, which had its two-game win streak snapped and lost for the fifth time in seven games.

Cory Schneider stopped 26 shots in defeat.

Gelinas gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 8:21 of the third. Following a faceoff win by Patrik Elias, Gelinas let go a wrister from the left point near the boards that made its way through traffic and over the left shoulder of Varlamov.

Johnson tied it with 7:30 remaining on a shot from the bottom of the right circle after an end-to-end rush.

"I make that move a hundred times and this one squeaks in," Schneider said about Johnson's tying goal that went through his pads as he tried to hug the near post. "Just a mistake by me."

Duchene gave Colorado the lead when he buried his own rebound with 2:53 left. Schneider, who has started each of the Devils' 18 games this season, made a left pad save on Duchene's initial bid, but the Avalanche forward converted on his second try, slipping the puck between the goaltender's legs.

New Jersey went on a power play 19 seconds later, but couldn't capitalize, even with Schneider on the bench.

The Devils went ahead 1-0 on Havlat's goal 2:04 in. Varlamov turned away Michael Ryder's shot, but Havlat slammed home the rebound from the slot into a partially open net.

Mitchell tied it at 8:11 of the first period after he was left uncovered in front of Schneider. Two New Jersey players converged on Gabriel Landeskog as came out from behind the Devils net with the puck, and Mitchell directed in the Colorado captain's pass.

Schneider preserved the deadlock in the second period by denying Marc-Andre Cliche on a 2-on-1 break.

Cliche was high-sticked later in the second, but the Avalanche generated few quality scoring chances on the four-minute power play.

Game Notes

Martin Brodeur holds the Devils' record with 19 straight starts to open the 2001 season ... Colorado improved to 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings with New Jersey.






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