Saturday morning, the New Jersey Devils look to wrap up their time overseas with another win against the Buffalo Sabres. After taking game one of the global series in Czechia against Buffalo on Friday, New Jersey is looking to repeat that performance in what is an early game on the east coast.
Match Overview
Historically the Devils have matchup up well against Buffalo, with an all time record of 73-51-13-9. Last season, the two teams met three times, with the home team winning each matchup. The Devils took a thriller in October 5-4, they then pummeled the Sabres 7-2 just after Thanksgiving, before letting a 2-0 first period lead slip away en route to a 5-2 loss in Buffalo last March.
Both teams missed the playoffs last season. For Buffalo it was their 13th straight year without being in the postseason, tied for the longest active streak in professional sports. Yesterday ,was not a good start for the Sabres who, of course, fell 4-1 to the Devils.
Projected Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Bratt-Hughes-Meier
Tatar-Hischier-Mercer
Palat-Haula-Noesen
Cotter-Lazar-Bastian
Defense
Dillon-Hamilton
Siegenthaler-Kovacevic
Casey-Nemec
Goalies
Allen
Markstrom
Sabres
Forwards
Peterka-Thompson-Tuch
Benson-Cozens-Quinn
Zucker-McLeod-Greenway
Malenstyn-Lafferty-Aube Kubel
Defense
Dahlin-Jokiharju
Byram-Power
Samuelsson-Clifton
Goalies
Levi
Luukkonen
Keys to the Game
Battle of the Backups
With Jacob Markström and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen going yesterday for the two teams, the backups of Jake Allen and Devon Levi should be facing off this morning.
Allen has played 14 career games against the Sabres and has a record of 8-5-1 with a .919 save percentage (sv%). Devon Levi on the other hand is 1-1-0 all time against the Devils with an appearance in relief as well. Levi’s lone win against the Devils came last March where he made 28 saves on 30 shots.
Last season, in 13 games with the Devils, Allen put up a 1.91 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Levi played in 23 games as a Sabre and stopped 7.92 GSAx. All numbers are via Evolving Hockey.
Leaving Prague on a High Note
Obviously getting the win on opening day was nice, but as head coach Sheldon Keefe said in a behind the scenes video following the win, “We didn’t just come here for one. We came here for two.”
The Sabres played the Devils well on Friday, but couldn’t solve Jacob Markstrom, with a different pair of goalies in net we’ll see who comes out on top in game two.
Where To Watch
The Devils and Sabres matchup is slated for a 10:00 am ET puck drop. The game can be seen on MSGSN.