Devils win fourth straight, defeat Sabres
NEWARK, N.J. -- Nick Lappin and Kyle Palmieri scored the tie-breaking and go-ahead goals in a span of five minutes and six seconds midway through the second period to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Saturday night.
Kyle Quincey and John Moore also scored for New Jersey, which improved to 8-3-3 overall with its fourth straight win, and 6-0-1 at home.
Essentially, the teams could be viewed as opposite sides of the same coin. New Jersey entered the game having won three straight while Buffalo had lost three in a row.
It did not take exceptionally long for both trends to continue, as Quincey opened the scoring with his first of the season at 4:01.
The scoring sequence began with Damon Severson controlling a loose puck along the right side boards before connecting on a diagonal, cross-ice pass with his defense partner at the point. Quincey fired a low shot that beat a screened Robin Lehner glove side.
Lehner allowed all four New Jersey goals on 27 shots.
Marcus Foligno's goal 3:41 into the second period tied the game 1-1.
The deadlock lasted all of two minutes and thirty seconds.
The Devils regained the lead, 2-1, on Lappin's second of the season--and second in three games -- at 6:11. New Jersey's rookie right winger snapped a pass from Hall over a sprawled Lehner.
Hall finished with two assists. He, Severson and Adam Henrique had two points apiece, as the Devils had nine players record a point in the win.
New Jersey's advantage grew to 3-1, as Palmieri wristed his third of the season over Lehner's glove at 11:17.
Even though shots were relatively even -- New Jersey outshot Buffalo 27-22 for the game -- the Sabres were unable to make up the two-goal deficit due in part to Cory Schneider.
Even though he wasn't under siege, the New Jersey goaltender was solid when called upon. His toughest saves came early in the second period when he made a sprawling stick save on the second of two Justin Falk shots. Falk's first shot hit the post, then ricocheted back to the Buffalo defenseman.
Schneider finished with 20 saves.
For all intents and purposes, Moore ended any comeback hopes the Sabres might have entertained with his second of the season 6:32 into the third.
After corralling a loose puck in the neutral zone, Hall sprung Henrique for an odd-man rush. With Jake McCabe defending the shot, Henrique dished a pass to Moore, whose shot pinballed between Lehner's pads and rolled into the net.
Even though Matt Moulson's sixth goal of the season at 9:43 halved the lead, Buffalo dropped to 5-6-4 with its fourth loss in as many games.
The game was the second half of a back-to-back between the Eastern Conference teams. New Jersey and Buffalo will meet once more in the regular season, Feb. 6 at Prudential Center.
All six goals occurred at even strength. New Jersey went 0-for-5 on its man advantages, while Buffalo was 0 for 1 on its lone power play.
NOTES: When Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma met with reporters before the game, he announced C Ryan O'Reilly would miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Bylsma said O'Reilly's status is day to day. Bylsma also noted D Dmitry Kulikov was out. ... The Sabres scratched D Zach Bogosian. ... New Jersey coach John Hynes said LW Michael Cammalleri was out because of personal reasons, which also caused Cammalleri to miss Friday night's 2-1 overtime win over the Sabres in Buffalo. RW Devante-Smith Pelly dressed in place of Cammalleri. ... LW Reid Boucher was scratched by the Devils. ... New Jersey announced the signing of 2016 third-round draft selection Brandon Gignac to a three-year, entry-level contract. Gignac, 19, is currently assigned to Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. ... The Devils acquired RW Petr Straka in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2017 or 2018 draft, the team announced. ... The game was the backdrop for the Devils' Military Appreciation Night promotion.