Sabres give up four first-period goals in a one-sided loss to New Jersey
Sabres give up four first-period goals in a one-sided loss to New Jersey
The Buffalo Sabres were not able to carry the momentum of a strong third-period comeback against Pittsburgh in the second of back-to-back games against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, surrendering four goals in the first period in a 7-2 drubbing at the Prudential Center. The Devils chased Sabres starter Eric Comrie after the Sabres were outshot 18-3 in the opening 20 minutes.
Jeff Skinner scored on the power play early in the second, but New Jersey quickly responded with a goal from Tyler Toffoli to extinguish any momentum. Kyle Okposo scored in his second straight game, also on the power play. Devon Levi allowed three goals on 20 shots in relief of Comrie, as Buffalo once again falls under .500 at 9-10-2.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 7-2 loss to the Devils:
Defensive Confusion
The Sabres horrific first period was mostly a result of poor defensive structure and missed assignments. The opening goal by Alexander Holtz was due in part to Victor Olofsson being out of position, while tallies by Nico Hischier and Ondrej Palat later in the first were the result of bad neutral zone turnovers by Connor Clifton and Casey Mittelstadt.
Clifton Public Enemy #1
It was a particularly rough night for New Jersey native Clifton, whose hit on Hischer in their first meeting with the Devils kept the team captain out for a month. Clifton was -4 on the night in just over 17 minutes and was confronted by Devils enforcer Brendan Smith.
Kulich and Rosen Debut
Sabres called up forwards Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen with Zemgus Girgensons and Jordan Greenway unavailable and it was a baptism of fire for the former first-rounders. Kulich had one shot on goal in 14:53 and was on the ice for Tyler Toffoli’s early goal during a delayed penalty, while Rosen was on the ice for the first two Devils goals and played 13 minutes on the night.
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES
Takeaways From The Win Over The Penguins