The Buffalo Sabres hit the road Saturday night, falling to the New Jersey Devils 7-2 in a disappointing loss.
The Sabres offense was unable to get going for large parts of the contest, recording just 12 shots in the loss.
The defense wasn’t any better, as the unit allowed seven goals on 38 shots in this one.
Goaltender Eric Comrie started the night in net, but after allowing four goals in the opening period he was pulled in favor of Devon Levi.
The lone standout from the game was their power play unit, which accounted for both goals for Buffalo.
In the end, Buffalo couldn’t overcome their defensive woes and fell 7-2 in a dominating loss on the road.
1st period
New Jersey’s offense got going early, as forward Alexander Holtz scored his sixth goal of the year just over a minute and a half into the game.
However, the Devils offense wasn’t done yet, continuing to apply pressure on Buffalo, but goaltender Eric Comrie kept it 1-0.
The Sabres offense started to get going thanks to some Devils turnovers, but they remained scoreless halfway through the period.
New Jersey would then establish good zone pressure which would lead to a Sabres penalty.
Despite the delayed call, New Jersey would score their second goal, this time from Tyler Toffoli to make it 2-0.
The Devils would again apply pressure right after the goal, but couldn’t beat Comrie, keeping it a two-goal game.
Late in the period, Buffalo’s offense would start to get chances, but it was once again the Devils who would breakthrough as Nico Hischier and Ondrej Palat both scored in rapid succession to give New Jersey a 4-0 lead.
After the late offensive explosion, the two teams would head to the locker room after the first period.
2nd period
The Buffalo Sabres started the second period by switching goaltenders, putting in backup Devon Levi for Eric Comrie.
This perhaps gave Buffalo a spark, as the unit applied pressure and forced New jersey to take a penalty.
The Sabres would take advantage of their power play, as forward Jeff Skinner scored to give the team their first goal of the night.
However, New Jersey responded quickly, as Tyler Toffoli scored his second of the night as the Devils took a four-goal lead once again.
The teams would trade a few chances, but neither side was able to capitalize, keeping it 5-1.
Both teams would then head to the locker rooms in a 5-1 game through two periods.
3rd period
New Jersey would start the period with a quick goal from forward Dawson Mercer, making it 6-1 not even a minute into the third period.
However, the Sabres would once again start the period off hot, forcing another New Jersey penalty.
Once again the Sabres were able to capitalize, as captain Kyle Okposo scored his second goal in as many games on a tip from the point to make it 6-2.
Despite the goal, New Jersey’s offense would again score not even two minutes late to give them a 7-2 lead.
After the offensive explosion to start the period, the teams offenses would start to slow down and New Jersey would hold on to win big in front of their home crowd, defeating the Sabres 7-2.
Takeaways
Despite a great night from their power play, the Sabres weren’t able to get anything going outside of it, leading to a disappointing loss on the road.
From the offense to the goaltending, Buffalo didn’t play their best hockey and the team would lose their first of a four-game road trip.
With the loss, Buffalo falls to 9-10-2 which is good for sixth in their division and tied for 13th in their conference.
The Sabres now look ahead to their matchup Monday night at Madison Square Garden against the surging New York Rangers.