Confidence is a heck of a drug.

After scoring just four power-play goals over the first 10 games of the season, the Avalanche put up four on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils on their way to an 8-4 victory, ending a four-game skid. Once they got one, it felt like the floodgates really opened on the man advantage for the Avalanche.

Other than the puck actually entering the net, was there any noticeable difference with the power play on this evening?

“Maybe shooting the puck a little bit more,” the star of the evening Victor Olofsson said. “We didn’t hesitate to attack and take it to the net, and it paid off tonight. I think the power play should be a big part of our game. We’ve got a very skilled group of guys and it can help win games in this league.”

It’s a good thing shooting is kind of Olofsson’s thing. Coming into Tuesday’s game, Olofsson had 26 shots on goal, a very high total considering he’s averaging just over 13 minutes of ice-time a game. The only problem is that none of those shots had actually hit the back of the net.

For shooters like Olofsson, it’s always just a matter of time before things start to go their way, and Tuesday was his night. The 30-year-old Swede picked up his first career hat trick against the Devils and added two more assists, giving him a career-high five points on the evening.

He wasn’t worried about the lack of goal scoring, but you could see the relief on his face after the game.

“It felt great (to score),” he said. “I’ve been putting a lot of pucks on the net and unfortunately, not a lot in the net, but usually it does come when you keep shooting.”

The Avalanche looked like they were on their way to a carefree victory when halfway through the second period they found themselves up 5-0, but the highly skilled Devils team had other ideas. In a span of just 4:04, the Devils scored not one, not two, not three, but four goals to make things really interesting. A Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal put an end to the Devils’ comeback attempt, something the Avalanche brought on themselves.

“Some of our decision making without the puck was just not good,” coach Jared Bednar said. “More in that game than probably any other game that I’d want to clean up from the structure of our game, but there was also a lot of nice playmaking, so we got to find the balance in it.”

Bednar noted some of those mistakes could be due to fatigue, as the team is coming off back-to-back games out East. With another back-to-back looming this weekend, the Avalanche will take Wednesday off before returning to work Thursday.

Scott Wedgewood got the start against the Devils, but the return of Mackenzie Blackwood to the net appears to be imminent. Blackwood backed up Wedgewood on Tuesday night and appears set to make his first start of the season against either the Vegas Golden Knights or San Jose Sharks this weekend.

Although Wedgewood has held down the fort just fine in Blackwood’s absence, the return of their No. 1 goaltender would be a huge boost for the Avalanche, who have not received a .900 save percentage from their goaltender in any of the last five games.

Avalanche 8, Devils 4

What happened: Throwback night might have been last week but this one was closer to an old-school ’80s game with an eight-goal second period.

What went right: Outside of the power play finally breaking out, Zakhar Bardakov scored his first career NHL goal and Bednar loved the work of the entire fourth line. “They all looked fantastic,” Bednar said.

What went wrong: That’s a scary Devils team and the Avalanche falling asleep for just a few minutes in the second almost came back to bite them. The Avalanche have had several of those moments over the last week, they just haven’t scored eight goals to erase them.

Avalanche goal scorers: Necas (7), Bardakov (1), Olofsson (1,2,3), MacKinnon (8,9), Kelly (2)

Devils goal scorers: Noesen (1), Hamilton (4), Mercer (4), Hughes (9)

Between the pipes: Scott Wedgewood stopped 26 of 30 shots in his 10th start of the young season.

What’s next? The Avalanche will head to Vegas on Friday afternoon to take on the Golden Knights. That game starts at 2 p.m. Yes, you read that start time correctly.