Vanecek makes 24 saves, Devils defeat Avalanche

NEWARK, N.J. -- Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves in his first shutout for the New Jersey Devils, a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Prudential Center on Friday.

Vanecek, acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on July 8 for a second- and third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, earned his seventh NHL shutout and first since a 2-0 win at the Arizona Coyotes on April 22.
"Honestly, it was a really good game and the guys played really well," Vanecek said. "The guys were just working hard, blocking the shots and doing everything for me."
Jack Hughes scored a power-play goal at 2:59 of the third period for the Devils (5-3-0), who have won their past two games and four of five.
"We're getting comfortable playing tighter games, we're smarter with the puck," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "There were too many times last year I talked about our puck management that led to opportunities for the other team to win the game.
"We had a lot of games where we'd be winning by a goal and a penalty may have led to an opportunity for the opponent to tie the game, maybe win it in overtime or a shootout, But I think we're in a different place."

Hughes used a screen provided by Nathan Bastian for his first power-play goal of the season, a snap shot from the left face-off circle after a cross-ice pass from Jesper Bratt.
"I knew the puck went through me but didn't know it went through the goalie, so it's an exciting feeling when you turn around and see Jack celebrating," Bastian said.
Pavel Francouz made 22 saves for the Avalanche (4-3-1), who will play at the New York Islanders on Saturday.
"They have great team speed, good skill, so you've got to give them credit; their penalty kill is really good," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We had too many turnovers. We didn't do enough to win the hockey game. Tonight, we just didn't have the jam."

The Avalanche entered the game with the most power-play goals (10) and best power-play percentage (50) in the NHL, but went 0-for-6 on eight shots against the Devils. Colorado forward Valeri Nichushkin, who has five power-play goals this season, did not play because of a lower-body injury.
Vanecek's best save came at 9:57 of the third when he used his right pad to deny Evan Rodrigues on a breakaway.
"Those are the things that lift the whole bench up," Ruff said. "That's the save we're looking for. It was a bad bounce that got by
John [Marino]
, and you need a save. He looked so comfortable making the save, and I actually felt comfortable after he made it."
The 26-year-old goalie made 10 saves in the third in his second straight start.
"We didn't have enough jump and tried cutting through the neutral zone, and they were picking passes off," Rodrigues said. "We didn't get enough odd-man rushes. We just have to keep it simple and keep getting pucks in."

Vanecek denied J.T. Compher on a snap shot from the slot at 9:27 of the first period.
"Let's enjoy it for the next hour, but then we got to get ready to move on to our next game (against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday)," Ruff said. "We felt this was the right team to play at the right time where our game was at. It was going to test us, and it was going to make us uncomfortable. But we have to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and I felt for the most part we passed that test."
NOTES: Vanecek is the second goalie in Devils history to shut out the Avalanche (Martin Brodeur, four times). … Bratt extended his season-opening point streak to eight games (three goals, 10 assists); the only player in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history with a longer season-opening point streak is Tim Higgins in 1984-85 (five goals, five assists in 10 games). ... Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had a game-high seven shots on goal but was held without a point for the second time this season in 25:29 of ice time. ... Forward
Martin Kaut
, who replaced Nichushkin on the second line, had one shot in 7:17. ... The Devils went 34-for-48 (71 percent) on face-offs; Nico Hischier went 16-for-17 and Erik Haula went 8-for-11. ... New Jersey had a goal disallowed at 14:45 of the first when it was determined after a video challenge that Miles Wood preceded the puck into the offensive zone and was offside.