Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor kicked things off Thursday night, taking the ceremonial faceoff in front of members of the University of Denver’s NCAA championship team.
O’Connor, who helped the Pioneers win the 2017 national title, then broke the ice by opening the scoring against the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena.
O’Connor’s seventh goal of the season came 3:07 into the second period and led to a landslide. Wingers Andre Burakovsky and Artturi Lehkonen (power play) added goals at 7:45 and 14:35, and the Avs cruised to their eighth consecutive win with a 3-1 triumph to split the two-game season series with the Devils.