Victor Olofsson had three goals for his first career hat trick, and the Colorado Avalanche ended New Jersey’s eight-game winning streak with an 8-4 win over the Devils in Denver on Tuesday night.
Olofsson, who did not have a goal coming into the game, scored early in the second period and twice in the third to notch the hat trick.
Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals to move into fourth place on the franchise list and also added an assist, Parker Kelly had a goal and an assist and Zakhar Bardakov scored his first NHL goal for Colorado, which snapped a four-game skid.
Martin Necas also scored, and Cale Makar had four assists for the Avalanche, who were 4-for-6 on the power play after a 1-for-24 stretch.
The Devils nearly erased Colorado’s 5-0 lead with four goals in a span of 4:04 in the second period. Jack Hughes scored his ninth goal and had an assist in the rally, while Stefan Noesen, Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton also scored.
New Jersey’s top goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, returned from a lower-body injury that kept him out for six games but allowed eight goals on 42 shots.
Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves for Colorado.
The Avalanche scored 1:24 into the game on a power-play goal by Necas, his seventh of the season, and Bardakov made it 2-0 at 3:49
Colorado padded the lead early in the second. Olofsson scored at 2:31, MacKinnon scored on a two-man advantage at 7:11 and Kelly scored less than 90 seconds later to make it 5-0, but the Avalanche had to survive a barrage of New Jersey goals.
Noesen and Hamilton scored 1:48 apart midway through the second, and Mercer and Hughes scored 30 seconds apart to cap four goals in less than five minutes.
MacKinnon scored his second power-play goal and ninth overall of the season at 15:24 to give him 316 for his career, one more than Milan Hejduk on the franchise list.
Olofsson sealed it with goals at 3:10 and 17:38 of the third.
