MacKinnon's point streak ends at 14, Devils edge Avalanche on late goal

NEWARK, N.J. -- Nathan MacKinnon had his 14-game point streak end for the Colorado Avalanche, who allowed a late tiebreaking goal to John Marino in a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Marino put the Devils back in front 4-3 on a low wrist shot from the slot at 17:43 of the third period.

"Kind of a fortunate bounce," Marino said. "I got a great pass (from Nico Hischier), and lucky it went in. We've been resilient the whole year. We gave up the lead and came back to win that game against a great team, so hopefully, it goes a long way for us."

Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula each had a goal and an assist, Hischier had two assists, and Vitek Vanecek made 35 saves for the Devils (25-20-3), who had lost two in a row and were playing their first game in 10 days.

Jonathan Drouin had two assists, and Justus Annunen made 26 saves in his second start of the season for the Avalanche (32-15-4), who have lost two straight games for the first time since Dec. 7-9. Colorado lost 2-1 in overtime at the New York Rangers on Monday in its first game since the NHL All-Star break.

MacKinnon had 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) during his streak.

"We didn't do enough on the offensive side to generate the goals we needed, and we didn't do enough on the defensive side of things to shut more plays down," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said.

Vanecek denied MacKinnon on a breakaway 28 seconds before Marino’s goal.

"You can just sum it up with that save," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "MacKinnon is the one guy that can create his own opportunity. He skated against Luke [Hughes] and was able to skate by Luke, and if you can skate by Luke, you know you're moving pretty fast. Luke gave it all he had to get back, and I think [Vanecek] did one heck of a job making the save and giving us an opportunity to win that hockey game."

Mikko Rantanen gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 1:23 of the first period when he scored on a snap shot from the slot after a turnover by Hischier.

Chris Tierney scored 42 seconds later with a deflection from the right circle to tie it 1-1.

The Avalanche appeared to take a 2-1 lead 38 seconds into the second period when Josh Manson scored from the high slot, but the Devils successfully challenged for goalie interference by Logan O'Connor.

"I thought it was a goal," Bednar said. "I didn't think O'Connor was going into the goalie without getting hit. They obviously saw it differently. A big momentum swing. Then we give up two right after that."

Bratt gave the Devils a 2-1 lead with a shot from the left circle off a give-and-go on a 2-on-1 with Hischier at 3:49 of the second. Bratt extended his goal streak to three games.

"It's about reading the situation, and Nico's such a smart player," Bratt said. "He knows exactly how to read a play, and as soon as I gave it to him, he knew the defenseman and the goalie were going to get ready for a quick shot. He makes a great play and a great read to give it back to me for, pretty much, an empty net ... I like those passes."

Dawson Mercer pushed it to 3-1 when he poked in a loose puck to the right of Annunen at 6:47.

Colorado scored twice in 29 seconds to tie it during a 4-on-4 early in the third period.

Cale Makar pulled the Avalanche within 3-2 on a shot at the left post at 8:27, and Samuel Girard made it 3-3 with a slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle at 8:58.

"We started off slow but had a great third period," Colorado forward Miles Wood said. "That's the way it goes sometimes. Back-to-backs are tough. It comes with the territory of playing in the NHL."

Haula scored into an empty net with one second remaining for the 5-3 final.

"I think the push we gave them really was probably on the power play, and on the 4-on-4 when they got a little more time and space and they made some good plays," Bratt said. "Other than that, I think we played a really solid defensive game against one of the best offensive teams in the League. Obviously, it was really strong of us to come back to get the win in the end after they scored two goals to tie."

NOTES: Wood, who played the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Devils, received a video tribute and ovation from the crowd in his first game back at Prudential Center with the Avalanche. He had three shots in 14:50. ... Devils forward Tyler Toffoli was a late scratch due to illness. He was replaced by Max Willman, who had one shot in 8:38. ... New Jersey forward Tomas Nosek had three shots in 10:48 in his return after missing 31 games because of a broken foot. ... The Devils earned their 17th comeback win of the season, tying the Dallas Stars for the NHL lead.