Buffalo 7,
New Jersey 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 5, 2019
Where: KeyBank Center,
Buffalo, New York
Referees:
Tom Chmielewski, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Scott Driscoll
Attendance:
19070
By Field Level Media
Victor Olofsson scored a pair of power-play goals as the Buffalo Sabres converted three times with the man advantage in their 7-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in Buffalo.
Sam Reinhart tallied twice and captain Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner each collected a goal and an assist as the Sabres improved to 2-0-0 under new coach Ralph Krueger.
The offense was more than enough for Carter Hutton, who followed up his 28-save performance in Thursday's win at Pittsburgh by turning aside 18 shots.
Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac each scored and Mackenzie Blackwood yielded seven goals on 36 shots for the Devils, who have seen the bottom fall out after squandering an early four-goal lead in a shootout loss to Winnipeg on Friday.
Buffalo wasted little time igniting its power play to secure a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Eichel skated in from along the right-wing wall before sending a cross-seam pass to Olofsson, whose wrist shot from inside the left circle opened the scoring at 2:56 of the first period.
Olofsson also made his presence felt on the second goal with 2:34 remaining in the period, as his check on New Jersey defenseman Damon Severson allowed Skinner to poke a loose puck to Eichel for an easy conversion.
Palmieri scored from the right circle to halve the deficit just 37 seconds into the second before Kyle Okposo regained Buffalo's two-goal edge just over two minutes later. Okposo deflected defenseman Rasmus Dahlin's shot from the point to push the Sabres' lead to 3-1.
Skinner, who signed an eight-year, $72 million contract in June, settled Marcus Johansson's cross-ice feed and wired a shot inside the near post from the left circle at 8:57 of the second period.
Olofsson capped his two-goal performance 4 1/2 minutes later after wristing a shot inside the near post from the right circle.
Reinhart answered Zajac's early third-period goal with two of his own, wiring a shot from the right circle past Blackwood at 3:56 before scoring on a breakaway with 3:44 remaining to complete the scoring.
Prior to the game, the Sabres celebrated the 50th anniversary of the franchise by welcoming back 15 former team captains for the home opener. Buffalo joined the Vancouver Canucks as part of the NHL's second wave of expansion by entering the league in 1970.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
|
New Jersey |
|
Buffalo |
|
Kyle Palmieri 1
|
Points |
Jack Eichel 3
|
|
Kyle Palmieri 1
|
Goals |
Victor Olofsson 2
|
|
Blake Coleman 1
|
Assists |
Rasmus Dahlin 3
|
|
N/A
|
Power Play Goals |
Victor Olofsson 2
|
|
N/A
|
Short Handed Goals |
N/A
|
|
Mackenzie Blackwood .806
|
Save Percentage |
Carter Hutton .900
|
|
Mackenzie Blackwood 29
|
Saves |
Carter Hutton 18
|
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
|
New Jersey
|
20 |
2 |
0-2 |
1-4 |
20
|
25
|
|
Buffalo
|
36 |
7 |
3-4 |
2-2 |
16
|
24
|
Upcoming Games
-
Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Columbus.
The Sabres have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia.
The Devils have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
For more information, contact us