Win Streak Snapped in Colorado | GAME STORY

DENVER - The Devils’ four-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday night, in a 5-2 loss to the Avalanche in Colorado.

New Jersey, playing the second half of a back-to-back, took the early lead on Connor Brown's first of two goals against Colorado. Brown first goal was a shorthanded tally that gave the Devils a 1-0 lead after the first period. 

The ice certainly tilted in the second period, with the Avs taking control. Colorado put 19 shots on net and controlled possession, forcing the Devils to spend much of their energy defending. Gabriel Landeskog scored a power play goal in the middle frame, the first of five straight goals by Colorado.

Colorado took its first lead 2:45 into the third period on a goal by Nazem Kardi, and Parker Kelly added another just over a minute later. Nathan MacKinnon and Jaden Schwartz added the Avalanche's fourth and fifth goals respectively before Brown book-ended the Devils scoring with his second goal of the night. 

"We've had a great stretch of hockey here," Allen said. "The guys have played remarkably well and taken so many big strides, I think, in the last week to 10 days, and this was a tough game. We knew coming in, but we hung on, and you know what? I think there's a lot of things that we're happy about right now. I think this game, just dust off the back and regroup and have a tough test in Vegas, but I think we're happy where we're at."

"I thought our team played really hard tonight and gave us everything that they had," Sheldon Keefe said. "Obviously, it starts with Jake Allen, who had a ton of work coming towards him, but I thought our guys battled real hard, which is why we led most of the game and gave ourselves a chance to compete for points in the third period. Obviously, the dam broke on us, but not a lack of fight or compete from our guys here today."

The Devils and Avs have completed their season-series with both teams winning on home ice.

Here are some observations from the game:

• For the first time this season, the Devils have been outshot by their opponent. New Jersey opened the season with 12 straight contents where they outshot their opponent. 

The Avalanche put up 19 shots in the second period alone on Jake Allen, and outshot the Devils 44-22 over 60 minutes. 

• Despite giving up a goal in the second period, Jake Allen was an absolute beast in the second period. In the second half of a back-to-back, and dealing with the altitude at the same time, the Avs push in the second period was relentless and the pressure coming in waves. The Avalanche had 21 shots in the second period alone, and on the back of Allen only gave up a single goal in the process. 

What was especially noticable, while managing the push, was the way Allen did a great job containing his rebounds and not offering much by way of second chances. Without the performance of Allen in the second period the 1-1 scoreline would have looked much more lopsided heading into the third. 

• With the arrival of Connor Brown back into the Devils lineup, the New Jersey penalty kill had gone 5-for-5 (and a shorthanded goal by Brown himself) before we hit the midway mark of the game against the Avalanche. 

The penalty killers were just a second shy of going 6-for-6 since Brown's return, but with four seconds remaining on a Hischier hooking penalty, Gabriel Landeskog put home a cross-crease pass behind Jake Allen to tie the game. 

• Declan Chisholm returned to the Devils lineup, after sitting out the last three games with the return of Brenden Dillon into the mix. With Chisholm entering, it became a numbers game on the backend, with Johnny Kovacevic having to sit out. 

Prior to the game, Sheldon Keefe explained his thought process behind having seven healthy defensemen, and managing the depth and playing time.

"It's really just a feel, schedule-based," he said. "It's not just Dillon and Chisholm. Kovacevic is a part of that. In fact, Chisholm, as we had said, was going to come in tonight, as he will, but Kovacevic will sit tonight. So, it's a rotation of sorts. It's not necessarily performance-based here in this early going."

• Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was given the full day and night off and did not dress. He posted a victory on Tuesday night in Dallas, his first game action since mid-April. Rémi Poirier backed up Allen.