MacKinnon extended the lead to 5-3 at 9:45. He took a pass from Rantanen on a rush, cut back across the net, and finished with a backhand.
Rantanen scored into an empty net at 18:33 for the 6-3 final.
“Nate was a little snakebitten and he finally puts one in, and Mikko was great and he puts one in,” Bednar said. “I thought, as a whole, our top guys really led the way to kind of set the tone for the group.”
Toffoli gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 3:43 of the first period, scoring into an open net from along the goal line after receiving a slap pass from John Marino.
Rantanen tied it 1-1 at 15:50 when he chipped in a pass from Makar near the right post on a power play.
Ross Colton put the Avalanche in front 2-1 at 2:25 of the second period. Vanecek stopped Wood's backhand on a 2-on-1, but Colton skated in as the trailer on the play and buried the rebound in the slot.
Later in the period, however, Colton was assessed a minor penalty for boarding Luke Hughes, a major penalty for cross-checking Timo Meier, and a game misconduct at 10:44, resulting in a seven-minute power play for the Devils.
“I'll live with the call. After the fact, honestly, I didn't even see that until I watched on replay, but Meier turns back to go at Colton and he's coming at him with his stick high,” Bednar said. “You got to defend yourself and your stick's got to go up unless you want to take one in the teeth. So it's what he does. ... You try and live through it.”
On the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, Meier tied it 2-2 at 11:04, taking a pass just below the right circle and scoring under Georgiev's right pad.
Wood scored 41 seconds later at 11:45 during the following 5-on-4 power play to put Colorado back in front 3-2. He beat Vanecek glove side on a breakaway for a short-handed goal.
