Jack Hughes scores in OT, Devils defeat Avalanche for 8th straight victory

NEWARK, N.J. -- Jack Hughes scored his second goal of the game at 1:53 of overtime to lift the New Jersey Devils to their eighth straight win, 4-3 against the Colorado Avalanche at Prudential Center on Sunday.

Simon Nemec collected a turnover in the offensive zone and passed to Hughes in the right face-off circle, where he faked before snapping a shot into corner of the net.

"It's a really good play by Nemec to get that puck back, recover, and get it over to me," Hughes said. "It's just being in the right spot at the right time and then [I] just have to get a quick shot off there."

Nemec had three assists, and Jake Allen made 21 saves for the Devils (8-1-0), who have won at least eight in a row for the 10th time in their history and first since a 13-game run from Oct. 25-Nov. 21, 2022.

New Jersey did it for the most part with just five defensemen after Brett Pesce sustained an upper-body injury in the first period. Pesce blocked a shot from Brent Burns at 14:39 and didn't return for another shift. The injury resulted in more ice time for Luke Hughes (24:43) and Nemec (23:35).

"I thought Luke was great," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I thought the more we needed our defense, he got even better in terms of solving problems and breaking pucks out. He skated out of trouble a bunch of times for us. That was a strength in the third period ... how we were able to speed the puck out of pressure, and Luke led the way for us there."

Brock Nelson tied the game in the third period, and Nathan MacKinnon also scored for the Avalanche (5-1-4), who have lost four straight (0-1-3), including 3-2 at the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Trent Miner made 20 saves.

"They have a lot of skill," Nelson said of the Devils. "Guys who can wheel and fly up front and try to beat you with edges and skills. I thought we did good things offensively, but obviously it would have been better if we found that extra one."

Arseny Gritsyuk gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 9:09 of the first period with a snap shot from the left circle. It was his second goal in three games.

Hughes pushed it to 2-0 just 39 seconds later at 9:48 on a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Miner inside the right post.

"I'm sure he'd like the second one back, but he's played pretty good for us in the two games he's played," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of Miner. "I think it wasn't an easy game coming in against a high-powered offense, and he got us a big point."

Valeri Nichushkin cut it to 2-1 at 12:55 on a snap shot off a rebound from the right hash marks.

MacKinnon tied it 2-2 at 17:03 when he tapped in a loose puck along the goal line. Artturi Lehkonen took the initial shot from the bottom of the left circle that hit the short side post and trickled behind Allen.

Connor Brown scored off a 2-on-0 breakout with Paul Cotter at 12:51 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle to give New Jersey a 3-2 lead.

Nelson tied it 3-3 at 13:55 of the third when he one-timed a shot from the slot off a pass from Ross Colton from the left post.

"That's a really good team over there ... you know MacKinnon, Nichushkin, [they] are going to get their shifts and going to have their looks," Jack Hughes said. "We just had to hold the fort down when they did turn it up, and obviously that's we did. We've been doing a good job at that."

NOTES: Keefe said Pesce will not accompany the Devils on their four-game road trip that begins Tuesday at Colorado. … Hughes passed Scott Niedermayer for second on New Jersey’s all-time list with his ninth overtime goal; Patrik Elias leads with 16. … The Devils became the second team in NHL history to record a winning streak of eight or more after losing its season opener (New York Islanders, eight games in 1982-83). … Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom, who is coming back from a lower-body injury, served as the backup and is expected to play during the road trip. Allen has won his past five starts. … Jack Ahcan made his season debut for the Avalanche in place of Ilya Solovyov; the defenseman had three hits in 11:58.