Sabres outlast Devils 4-3, increase win streak to three games

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres took on the New Jersey Devils Sunday afternoon from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. A back-and-forth game that saw the Sabres take down the Devils 4-3, improving the Sabres win streak to three games. A feat they have accomplished now four times this season, but the Sabres have yet to get a four-game win streak under their belts.

First Period

The first period of this one was all Sabres, the Sabres started the scoring from none other than Tage Thompson, who followed up a rebound on a shot from Owen Power and tucked it five-hole for his 26th goal of the season. The Sabres didn’t stop there as defenseman Dennis Gilbert flipped the puck into the zone, where Tage Thompson beat both defenders and made a beautiful back pass to JJ Peterka, who was waiting on the doorstep to put it away for his 15th of the season and give Buffalo a 2-0 lead. The Sabres were in trouble late in the first period as they were on the penalty kill with less than a minute remaining when Ryan McLeod went to work. McLeod chipped the puck up the boards to himself to beat a defender and then found a streaking Alex Tuch at center ice. The play didn’t stop there as McLeod hustled for the 2-on-1, where Tuch gave him a beautiful saucer pass and sent him in on a breakaway. McLeod also went five-hole on Jake Allen and got his 12th goal of the season, increasing the Sabres lead to 3-0.

Second Period

The second period was even for the most part, the Devils struck first however with a goal from Paul Cotter just a few minutes in. From there we saw back-and-forth hockey from both teams as we saw incredible saves from both Jake Allen and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to keep the game at 3-1. However, the Sabres struck back with just under three to play in the second period coming off a powerplay. Tage Thompson rang the crossbar, but Owen Power won the race to the puck to keep the puck in the zone. From there Power made a quick pass to Rasmus Dahlin, who found Thompson, who once again made a beautiful pass to Jason Zucker who tapped it in for a 4-1 lead and his 18th of the season.

Third Period

The third period, which has been the Sabres’s kryptonite, got off to a bad start as Paul Cotter got his second of the game just 20 seconds into the period. Then moments later in the offensive zone, Tage Thompson took an elbow from Devils forward Stefan Noesen and exited the game with a head injury. Noesen was given a game misconduct and ejected from the game. The Sabres then had a five-minute powerplay, but it didn’t go as intended. The Devils broke out in a 2-on-1 and Jack Hughes netted the third goal of the game for the Devils making it 4-3. From there the game was even for the last 13 minutes until the extra attacker came on for the Devils. The Devils put on pressure the last two minutes of the game, but the Sabres defense staved off the attack. Including some good saves from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to end the game, and give the Sabres a 4-3 win once again.

Key Takeaways 

Pros:

• The Sabres's penalty kill was great in this one, going 5-5 against the second-best power play in the league this season.
• The Sabres have now averaged five goals a game on this homestand, totaling 15 in the last 3 games.
• Rasmus Dahlin recorded his 331st point as a Buffalo Sabre, putting him second on the all-time list for points by a defenceman in Sabres history.

Cons:

• The Sabres are still giving up too many odd-man rushes and chances.
• Tage Thompson’s injury means he could miss the last few games before the break.
• The Sabres power play went 0-4 on the night, including surrendering a short-handed goal in the process.

Next Game

The Sabres will conclude their four-game home stand Tuesday night as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at the KeyBank Center at 7 PM EST. The Sabres are 0-1 on the season against the Blue Jackets losing 6-4 back in October. The Sabres will aim for their first four-game winning streak of the season.