Dec 5, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin (13) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images The New Jersey Devils will go for their third straight win when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.
Colorado, in the midst of a five-game road trip, plays the second of back-to-backs after a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
Cole Makar ended an eight-game goal drought, Valeri Nichushkin also scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves for the Avalanche, who had lost three of four.
“He was outstanding,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Georgiev, “especially when we needed him. (He made) key saves to keep it 1-0, key saves to keep it 2-1, and then the flurry at the end.”
Nichushkin opened the scoring at 10:48 of the first period with his third goal in two games and sixth of the season since making his debut on Nov. 15.
“He’s been huge for us,” Makar said of Nichushkin. “(He) eats a lot of minutes and (is) starting to play really well. (He’s) starting to drive his feet, and when he’s driving his feet, really nobody in the league can stop him, so (it’s) fun to watch.”
Colorado forward Ross Colton, who missed 17 games because of a broken foot, was plus-1 with three shots on goal in 13:16 in his return.
The Avalanche are expected to start goalie Scott Wedgewood on Sunday. He served as a backup for the Nashville Predators when they visited the Devils in late November and subsequently was traded to the Avalanche.
A former member of the Devils who was selected by the team in the 2010 NHL Draft, Wedgewood has appeared in five games against New Jersey and started three of them. His record is 3-0-0 with a .958 save percentage, and 1.28 goals-against average.
The Devils opened a five-game homestand with a 3-2 victory against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night. New Jersey will also face Toronto, Los Angeles and Chicago over the course of the homestand.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL game, and Timo Meier and Luke Hughes also scored against Seattle. Jack Hughes had two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves for the Devils, who have won six of eight.
“We’re starting a (five-game) home stretch, and we wanted to come out and win this first game,” Meier said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way. Maybe a puck bounced our way, but you got to earn those sometimes.”
Bratt has nine points in his past four games (three goals, six assists), including a four-point night on Monday in a 5-1 victory against the Rangers.
Jack Hughes had the primary assist on brother Luke’s first goal of the season and has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) on a four-game point streak.
“I mean, 20 games is enough for me (to score my first goal), so good for me to break through and a big win for our team,” said Luke Hughes, a defenseman. “I called for the puck … I was wide open. Jack is an unreal player and he’s going to make good plays. He put it on my tape (stick blade), and I just put it in the back of the net.”
Forward Tomas Tatar played 11:32 in his return to the Devils’ lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury.
–Field Level Media
