For the first time in 13 games this season, the New Jersey Devils were outshot. And it wasn’t particularly close.

The Colorado Avalanche overcame a shorthanded goal against in the opening period Wednesday and took control from there, rolling to a 5-2 victory at Ball Arena. Colorado outshot New Jersey 44-22, including a staggering 21-6 advantage in the second period.

The Devils were playing the second half of a back-to-back, and the Avalanche capitalized on that.

“They took advantage of us on a back-to-back, so it was nice to give them the favor back and take advantage of them when they’re on a back-to-back,” said forward Parker Kelly, who scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Gabe Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, Nathan MacKinnon and Jaden Schwartz also scored for Colorado, which improved to 5-1-1 on home ice. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves, while Brent Burns and Sam Malinski each recorded two assists.

“I liked our first period, actually,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “We didn’t create as much in the first, offensively, but on the defensive side, I thought we were really good.”

The Avalanche turned a 1-1 into a comfortable lead after getting two tallies in 62 seconds early in the third.

After killing off a two-man advantage, Colorado finally grabbed its first lead of the night. Kadri beat goaltender Jake Allen on a backdoor play, burying a slick pass from returning forward Nic Roy into a wide-open net. The goal came at 2:45, just over a minute after Burns’ penalty expired.

“I was definitely yelling for it for sure. That’s a great play by him,” Kadri said. “I had a feeling he was gonna find me, and I was ready on the backside there. I think we did a great job getting to the net, getting the puck to the net, and then trying to outnumber them there.”

The Avalanche kept the pressure on during the next shift. Kelly carried the puck into the offensive zone on the wing, with Logan O’Connor heading toward the crease. Kelly considered his options before deciding to shoot, beating Allen short-side to make it 3-1.

“Honestly, shooting was my last thought,” Kelly said of his goal. “I felt like I looked at every option.”

Colorado continued to control the game from there, adding two more goals in 30 seconds midway through the period. MacKinnon picked up speed through the neutral zone, went around the two Devils defenders and deposited the puck past Allen to make it 4-1 at the 12-minute mark. Schwartz followed with his fourth of the season 30 seconds later to put the game out of reach.

“We got contributions from everybody, every line,” Bednar said. “Landy scores on the power play, it was a great power play. Both units hit the ice. Penalty kill comes up with a huge three-versus-five. You got a great play on Naz’s goal. We were doing lots of good things and finally got rewarded for it.”

The Avalanche’s comeback began after another costly mistake on the power play put them in an early hole.

MacKinnon attempted a blind pass through the middle of the ice, but Connor Brown intercepted it and carried the puck into Colorado’s zone on a two-on-one. Brown attempted to pass across, and the puck deflected off Cale Makar before trickling through Blackwood’s five-hole to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.

It’s the fourth time the Avs have surrendered a shorthanded goal this season, tying them with the Ottawa Senators for the most in the NHL.

Colorado went into the first intermission trailing despite holding a 10-6 advantage in shots. It wasn’t a particularly strong offensive period, but the Avalanche began to take over in the second.

Colorado generated chances from all over the ice and eventually broke through on the power play. The first unit moved the puck well before the second unit finished the job, with Brock Nelson sending a pass across the crease to Landeskog at the doorstep for his fifth goal of the season.

The Avalanche carried a commanding advantage in shots and high-danger chances into the final minutes of the period. But before the horn, they took two penalties that threatened to undo their work.

O’Connor was called for cross-checking Jack Hughes at 18:01. While killing that penalty, Burns was whistled for tripping, giving New Jersey a five-on-three advantage for the final 32 seconds of the period.

Colorado survived without surrendering another goal and made relatively easy work of the remaining penalty time early in the third. That set the stage for Kadri and Kelly to help put them ahead.

Good: The Roy and Kadri Connection

The Avalanche haven’t had many opportunities to experiment with their line combinations this season because of the injuries they’ve dealt with. With Roy out, Colorado lost some of the flexibility that comes with having several options down the middle.

Roy’s return allowed Bednar to move Kadri back to center while slotting Roy onto the second line wing. Bednar opted to keep Jaden Schwartz and T.J. Hughes together rather than split them up, meaning Roy and Kadri didn’t spend much time playing together.

That’s something that could change in the future.

Kadri and Roy developed chemistry late last season after both were acquired at the trade deadline

I know a lot of players on this team have chemistry with one another, something Kadri alluded to after the game. But there’s something about the Roy-Kadri connection that works.

Bad: Manson Out

An unfortunate development on what was otherwise a strong night for the Avalanche. Josh Manson left the game with a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return.

Bednar did not have any additional information to share after the game. The team may have a better update when the Avalanche return to practice Thursday or Friday.

Manson’s left skate appeared to buckle as he fell forward onto it, and he immediately went down in pain. He needed help getting to the bench and down the tunnel. It didn’t look good.

The silver lining was Malinski’s performance in Manson’s absence. The defenseman arguably played his best game of the season, logging more than 21 minutes while skating alongside both Burns and Brett Kulak. He finished with a +3 rating and the aforementioned two helpers.