Pavel Francouz came close to earning his first career shutout for the second consecutive game but had to settle for another victory instead.
Francouz made 37 saves, and Nathan MacKinnon continued his stellar performance with a goal and an assist, leading the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Over the past two games, Francouz has made 69 saves, narrowly missing a shutout in both games due to late goals. He made 15 saves in the third period on Friday to maintain the lead and help the Avalanche extend their points streak to nine games.
“It was one of those nights when the puck just keeps hitting you, and you can enjoy the time out there,” Francouz said. “My teammates played well before me, which greatly helped.”
The Devils, who have been struggling, made a last-minute decision to pull forward Taylor Hall from the lineup for precautionary reasons, according to the team. Hall, who leads New Jersey with 25 points, has been the subject of trade rumors recently but was not held out due to injury.
“Management decision,” interim head coach Alain Nasreddine said. “The guys reacted well. I told them we had a job to go out and perform because there were two points on the line. That’s where our focus should be. I thought the guys came out ready to play. It’s big news, I’m not going to lie. It’s big news when one of the top players in the league isn’t dressing for your team.”
New Jersey goaltender Louis Domingue made 15 saves on 17 shots before leaving the game midway through the second period due to a lower-body injury. Mackenzie Blackwood came in as a replacement and stopped all 20 shots he faced.
Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin also scored for Colorado, which secured the win despite what coach Jared Bednar described as a sloppy performance.
“Our puck play was really poor,” Bednar said. “We worked hard, got the puck, and returned it to them. We were doing that all night. We found a way to win, though. I’m not going to get upset after a win.”
The victory moved Colorado back to the top of the Western Conference standings, marking their eighth win in nine games. The Avalanche’s only loss during this stretch came in overtime, and they earned five out of a possible six points on their recent homestand.
On the other hand, the Devils are 0-6-1 in their last seven games and 2-9-1 since a modest two-game winning streak in mid-November.
Landeskog gave Colorado a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with a one-timer from the slot at 11:37. Nichushkin extended the lead with his sixth goal of the season at 7:56 of the second period.
Nichushkin, who went 91 games without a goal, now has six goals in his last 10 games and is currently on a career-best four-game points streak.
Francouz was closing in on the shutout when Mirco Mueller scored at 15:48 to bring the Devils within one. New Jersey pulled Blackwood in the final minute, and MacKinnon secured the win with an empty-net goal at 19:28, his 20th of the season.
MacKinnon is now third in the NHL in scoring with 50 points and is the fourth player in Avalanche history to reach 20 or more goals and 30 or more assists in the first 32 games of a season.
Game Notes:
- New Jersey C Nico Hischier returned to the lineup after missing three games due to illness.
- Avalanche G Philipp Grubauer was active after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury.
- The Devils have lost their last three games against Colorado.
- Avalanche D Cale Makar (upper body) missed his third straight game.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: Travel to Arizona to face the Coyotes on Saturday night.
- Avalanche: Head to St. Louis to play the Blues on Monday night.
