On Sunday, Feb. 2, the New Jersey Devils faced the Buffalo Sabres in their final matchup of the season. The Sabres won their first game of the series against New Jersey 4-3 on Sunday as the Devils led the series 2-1. The puck dropped at 1:00 PM at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Opening up the first period, Sabres, Peyton Krebs won the faceoff against New Jersey Devil, Dawson Mercer. The first period was difficult for the Devils as they struggled to find the back of the Sabres net. At 8:11 in the first, Tage Thompson scored his 26th goal of the season, putting the Sabres up on the board 1-0. His goal was followed by assists made by Owen Power (22) and Bowen Byram (20). The Devils trailed the entire first period, while they began to look sloppy trying to find their footing before falling further behind. 15:50 in the first, JJ Peterka (15) scores and leads the Sabres 2-0, while Tage Thompson earns his second point of the night (22) and Dennis Gilbert grabs his second assist of the season. To conclude the first period, with seconds remaining, Ryan McLeod picks up his 12th goal of the season, shorthanded, bringing the game to 3-0 Sabres.
The second period commenced, and the Devils began to build a lot more momentum this period as they trailed by three goals in the first. The Devils sought ways to break the Sabres lead and get up on the board. At 4:38, Paul Cotter (11) finds the back of Buffalo’s net, getting the Devils their first goal of the afternoon, 4-1. Assists were credited to Justin Dowling (3) and Dougie Hamilton (27). Physicality began to increase during this period as the Devils continued to fight for more points. At 17:25, the Sabres scored again, Jason Zucker’s 18th goal of the season. Tage Thomspon (22) and Rasmus Dahlin (32) are credited with the assists. Tage Thompson completes a three-point night as the Sabres are up by three in the second.
The third period commenced, and just 18 seconds in, Devils Paul Cotter (12) secured the Devils’ second goal of the afternoon, now trailing by two. His goal was assisted by Brett Pesce (8). The Devils were faced with a five-minute major on Stefan Noesen as a Match Penalty against Tage Thompson due to checking to the head. Paul Cotter had served the penalty, while Noesen had also received a game misconduct. At 5:32, Jack Hughes scored his 21st game of the season, which was a shorthanded goal assisted by Jesper Bratt (43). J. Hughes and Bratt are a power pair and work well when on the ice together. The Devils were only trailing by one now. The team struggled to put in another goal and fell short to Buffalo. The Sabres go scoreless in the third but still secure a 4-3 win over New Jersey.
The Sabres’ Tage Thompson secured a three-point night putting up one goal and two assists, before leaving the game in the third after taking a check to the head. Thompson had made a significant impact on the team’s advantage today.
With crucial players like Nico Hischier and Jacob Markstrom remaining out, it was up to the bottom-six to step up and make an appearance with today’s plays. Including the absence of Erik Haula who normally plays third-line center. Although the Devils could not secure a win this afternoon against the Sabres, the Devils Justin Dowling finished the game above 50% of winning faceoffs. Dowling won eight out of the 10 he was faced with, that being 80%. The Devils fell short by just one goal that could have pushed the game into overtime.
The New Jersey Devils will next face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. puck drop, looking to redeem themselves before they head back to New Jersey on Thursday to play the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
