Devils Down Struggling Avalanche, NHL Roundup

By ESPN

While the New Jersey Devils are hanging around in the playoff race, they are not making up much ground.

Devils defenseman Andy Greene scored the go-ahead goal on a power play and Kyle Palmieri converted on an odd-man rush with Taylor Hall to lead New Jersey over the struggling Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Tuesday night.

The win was the Devils' fourth in six games (4-1-1), but they remain five points out of a postseason spot. They are almost as close to the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference.

"You don't want to lose two in a row ever, especially this time of year with the homestand," goaltender Cory Schneider said after making 28 saves. "If you get off to an 0-2 start out of the break, you're chasing. It was a game we needed to win and we were ready to play."

The win came just two days after the Devils were beaten at home by San Jose. It was also one New Jersey needed against the NHL's worst team.

"They're on the board every day when you come in," Palmieri said of the standings. "Everything is so close. You can't pick and choose and hypothetically go over things in your head. You just have to focus on the things that happen in this room."

Jeremy Smith stopped 37 shots in his NHL debut after seven seasons in the minor leagues. Recent waiver pickup Mark Barberio and Mikhail Grigorenko scored for Colorado, which has lost four straight and is 4-22-1 in its last 27 games.

"I thought he was fantastic; the best player by a country mile," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Smith, who will turn 28 in April.

The win was only the Devils' second against Colorado in 11 meetings.

Greene, who had his streak of 350 consecutive games played snapped on Jan. 6, scored his first goal since Dec. 3 with a shot from the left point. It came after Travis Zajac won a faceoff three seconds after Andreas Martinsen was penalized for hooking.

The goal at 8:55 of the second period was initially waived off because the officials thought Miles Wood interfered with Smith. The Devils challenged the call and the ruling was overturned after the replay showed the interference came after the puck was in the net.

"I thought that was a good goal all day," Bednar said.

Tuesday, February 14 Scoreboard

New Jersey 3, Colorado 2

Pittsburgh 4, Vancouver 0

Toronto 7, New York Islanders 1

Buffalo 2, Ottawa 2

Anaheim 1, Minnesota 0

Winnipeg 5, Dallas 2

Edmonton 5, Arizona 2

Wednesday, February 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Columbus, 6 p.m.

St. Louis at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Philadelphia at Calgary, 8:30 p.m.

Florida at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.