Artturi Lehkonen scored two goals, Cale Makar had two assists, and Scott Wedgewood made 37 saves for the Avalanche (5-4-1), who lost 3-2 at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and are 1-2-1 in their past four.
“They were kind of buzzing offensively and it felt like we were a little bit on our heels in our defensive zone,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “They were shooting and we were standing and watching where the rebound was going and then they would jump to it. It just felt like we were reactionary instead of just going.”
Evangelista scored on a wrist shot down the slot to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 6:40 of the first period. The forward was traded to the Devils from the Nashville Predators on Sept. 1.
“Our players have to keep pushing and challenging each other to do the right things, and it’s just making the right choice,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We’re not going to be at our best every night, but we can give ourselves every opportunity for success because we’re that good a team. I believe we’re going to score more than we have. But in the meantime, we keep buttoning up our defending and our checking habits and make ourselves a real tough team to beat.”
Landeskog tied the game 1-1 at 14:32, scoring on a wrist shot from outside the right post. Makar took the puck at the right point, stickhandled between the legs of Timo Meier and skated past Jack Hughes before finding Landeskog alone in prime position.
Declan Chisholm gave the Devils a 2-1 lead after his snap shot from the left point deflected off the stick of Avalanche forward Brock Nelson in the slot and past Wedgewood at 12:33 of the second period. It was Chisholm’s first goal with the Devils; the defenseman was acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on June 25.
“When we couldn’t make good on the chances that we had, we just stayed with it and didn’t change our game,” Keefe said.