Sabres at Devils
THE STORY: The Buffalo Sabres won four straight games between Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 and looked poised to make a run up the Northeast Division standings. The next night, Ryan Miller suffered a concussion in a 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins - and the Sabres have not won back-to-back games since. They will try to change that on Wednesday when they visit the New Jersey Devils. Buffalo got the first end of the back-to-back wins done on Monday, when it scored four goals in the first 15 minutes against the Washington Capitals to snap a three-game slide. The Devils did not come back from the holiday break so hot, dropping a 4-2 decision to the lowly Carolina Hurricanes. New Jersey has lost two of three and has surrendered at least three goals in each of its last five contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), MSG+ (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE SABRES (17-15-3): Buffalo has gone 7-10-3 since that four-game winning streak ended - but at least Miller is back. The former Olympic star made 20 saves in Monday’s win as the Sabres used their opening surge to coast to a 4-2 win. Jason Pominville scored the first goal in the barrage and has 11 points in the last nine games.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (19-15-1): New Jersey excels on the penalty kill, leading the NHL at 93 percent, but has surrendered 11 shorthanded goals. The Devils made a spirited comeback on Monday, cutting a 3-0 deficit to 3-2, but Ilya Kovalchuk’s errant pass from the Carolina end line ended up missing its target and going into the New Jersey net, giving a tally to opposing goalie Cam Ward. Normally known for their team defense, the Devils are allowing an average of 2.9 goals - matching the Sabres for 20th in the league.
OVERTIME:
1. Devils C Travis Zajac was elevated to the top line Monday with Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, dropping rookie Adam Henrique to the third line.
2. Miller has allowed one or no goals in each of his last five starts against New Jersey.
3. The Devils took the first meeting, 5-3, on Nov. 16, beating Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth.