The New Jersey Devils (4-2-1) defeated the Buffalo Sabres (3-5-0) 5-4 on Friday night at the Prudential Center. New Jersey bounced back from a home loss to Washington on Wednesday. The Devils now sit tied for third in the Metropolitan Division with nine points, one point out of first.
Game Summary
First Period
The Devils had failed to score first in any of their first six contests, and that trend continued on Friday. With Buffalo skating through the neutral zone, Luke Hughes lost an edge and went down, giving J.J. Peterka a partial breakaway. The young forward made no mistake, beating Vitek Vanecek to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead just over six minutes in.
However, the Devils had an immediate response. Luke Hughes threw a shot on net and Alexander Holtz cleaned up the rebound. His second of the season tied the game after just 1:30.
Both teams then traded power plays, but failed to capitalize. Sabres’ netminder Eric Comrie did make a pair of saves to rob Timo Meier of the go-ahead goal.
The Sabres got back in front with four minutes left in the opening frame. Jonas Siegenthaler lost his stick and Tage Thompson wound up all alone in front. He made a beautiful move and tucked it around Vanecek to make it 2-1 Buffalo.
With New Jersey pushing for an equalizer, Nico Hischier was hit high by Connor Clifton and left the game with an injury. He returned briefly in the second period before exiting again in the third period.
Clifton was assessed a five-minute major and match penalty while Ondrej Palat picked up an instigator for standing up for the captain. The Devils would have a three minute power play after two minutes of four-on-four.
Just ten seconds into the four-on-four, Jesper Bratt pounced on a loose puck and beat Comrie five-hole, tying the game at two.
That was all the scoring in an eventful first period. Shots were 15-12 New Jersey with the Devils posting a 60.00 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 46.88 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five.
Second Period
The Devils failed to convert on their extended power play from the Clifton hit, and Buffalo seemed to gain momentum from the penalty kill. The Sabres had their best stretch of the game, getting chance after chance on the rush, but Vanecek made several highlight-reel saves to keep it tied.
Buffalo ended up going to the power play in the latter half of the period after the Devils were called for too many men. It was New Jersey who capitalized, though.
Erik Haula picked off a loose pass and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who had replaced an injured Comrie, with a top-shelf backhander. Haula’s third of the year gave the Devils a 3-2 lead with six minutes left in the frame.
Buffalo struck back before the intermission, though. Rasmus Dahlin uncorked a blast from the point that appeared to deflect off Nathan Bastian and past Vanecek, tying the game at three.
In the second, shots were 11-7 Buffalo while the Devils posted a 52.38 CF% and just a 23.53 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
The Devils’ power play got another chance early in the third period and connected this time. Jack Hughes fired a wrister from the top of the circle that beat Luukkonen with screens from Meier and Toffoli. The goal was ultimately credited to Hughes and gave the Devils a 4-3 lead two minutes into the final period.
From there, the Devils dominated the run of play, but could not solve Luukkonen for an insurance goal.
That proved costly when Dylan Cozens tied the game with 7:25 to go. The 22-year-old snuck one through Vanecek from a tight angle, making it 4-4 on Buffalo’s second shot of the period.
However, as they had done all night, the Devils had a response. A Kevin Bahl point shot deflected off a defender in front and then off Erik Haula, beating Luukkonen. With 5:43 to go, the Devils were back in front.
New Jersey had some chances to seal it, but couldn’t find any insurance, most notably when Erik Haula couldn’t hit the empty net when his stick broke on his shot attempt, denying the Finn his first NHL hat trick. However, the Devils held on for a 5-4 win.
In the third, shots were 17-4 Devils with New Jersey posting a 61.90 CF% and a 78.21 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
Erik Haula led the way for New Jersey with his pair of goals while Luke Hughes had a two-point night. Holtz, McLeod, Meier, Bratt, Marino, Bahl, and Jack Hughes all picked up one point as well.
Vitek Vanecek got the win, stopping 23 of 27 shots and allowing 1.37 goals above expected.
Per Amanda Stein, after the game, Lindy Ruff said Hischier’s third period absence was precautionary and he would be evaluated on Saturday.
For the game, shots were 39-27 Devils with New Jersey putting up a 56.63 CF% and a 41.34 xGF% at five-on-five.
Game Notes
Tough Night For The Top Line
With Nico Hischier’s injury and Ondrej Palat’s instigator penalty minutes, the Devils had to jumble the forward lines a bit, and none played particularly well in terms of possession metrics at five-on-five.
Most jarring, though, was the top line of Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, and Tyler Toffoli. That line has been dominating with over a 70.00 xGF% entering the game. However, in eight minutes of action, they generated just 0.02 expected goals for just a 5.51 xGF%.
This isn’t overly concerning long-term, but look for this line to have a bounce-back effort against Minnesota on Sunday.
Strong Showing From John Marino
One Devil who did have a strong night at five-on-five was John Marino. The defenseman had a 60.47 xGF% and was the only New Jersey defenseman north of 50% in that category.
With Marino on the ice at five-on-five, scoring chances were 10-6 in favor of the Devils and high-danger chances were 4-2 New Jersey.
Later on in the game, Marino appeared to take some shifts with Luke Hughes, which could be worth monitoring going forward.
Special Teams Dominance
While it was a fairly even game at even strength, the Devils absolutely dominated special teams on Friday night. New Jersey’s power play has gotten its flowers this season, and deservingly so, but all aspects of special teams were great in the win.
The Devils’ power play went one-for-four, actually lowering the season percentage to 40%. This was the sixth time in seven games the Devils scored on the power play. The Devils also added a four-on-four goal from Jesper Bratt.
The penalty kill was the real headline-grabber on Friday, though. New Jersey killed off both Buffalo power plays and Erik Haula added a shorthanded goal, so the PK unit finished with a plus-one goal differential in a one-goal win.
What’s Next
The Devils wrap up a three-game homestand against Minnesota on Sunday. Puck drop is slated for 5:00 pm ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick