DENVER (AP) — Dawson Mercer stayed hot with a design and three assists, Tomas Tatar had a design and two assists, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-5 on Wednesday night.
Nico Hischier and Miles Wood each had a design and an assist, and Nathan Bastian, Ondrej Palat and Dougie Hamilton additionally scored for the Devils. Vitek Vanecek had 14 saves outdated to being modified early within the third length after giving up five goals. Akira Schmid got right here on and stopped all 12 footage he confronted.
Mercer has scored a design in seven straight games and has 10 overall in that span.
New Jersey forward Timo Meier, received from San Jose on Monday, used to be scratched.
Nathan MacKinnon had two goals to lengthen his factors trail to 9 games and Mikko Rantanen scored his 41st of the season for Colorado. Valeri Nichushkin and J.T. Compher additionally scored, and Artturi Lehkonen had two assists. Justus Annunen executed with 22 saves.
Colorado executed a deal with Washington for middle Lars Eller on Wednesday morning, and he landed in Denver in time to play. His first shift as an Avalanche got right here 25 seconds into the game and he used to be on the ice when Palat beat Annunen 42 seconds later to present the Devils a 1-0 lead.
Bastian and Tatar scored 2:35 apart later within the important thing and MacKinnon’s design at 19:46 lower the lead to three-1.
The offenses dominated the 2d length, with Hamilton and Wood scoring 2:40 apart to make it 5-1. Colorado answered with goals by Rantanen, MacKinnon and Compher in a span of two:04. For Rantanen, it gave him a design in six straight games.
Mercer scored his 20th of the season gradual within the 2d and Nichushkin made it a one-design game all as soon as more 1:26 into the third. Schmid then got right here on for Vanecek.
Hischier’s empty-netter with 1:14 left capped the scoring.
MAKAR STILL OUT
Colorado D Cale Makar missed his fifth game in a row and eighth within the last 10 attributable to 2 separate concussions. Makar suffered the important thing one Feb. 7 at Pittsburgh, returned to play two games however suffered the 2d one at St. Louis on Feb. 18.
200 CLUB
Compher notched his 2 hundredth profession level with his design. Now to now not be outdone, Lekhonen’s two assists additionally gave him 200 profession factors.
UP NEXT
Devils: At Vegas on Friday night.
Colorado: At Dallas on Saturday.
