Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (9) scores an overtime goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 at KeyBank Center on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021.
The Buffalo Sabres didn’t overthink their power-play strategy with Jack Eichel receiving treatment after the 24-year-old captain was struck in the face by a puck.
Without their top player on the ice, the Sabres simply gave Victor Olofsson the puck in the spot where he scored most of his 20 goals as a rookie last season, and the 25-year-old winger delivered the go-ahead goal in the third period Saturday.
Eichel returned to the bench just in time to watch the New Jersey Devils tie the score. He then helped the Sabres secure two points.
Following an overtime in which the Devils’ Jack Hughes hit the post, Eichel scored in the shootout to help Buffalo defeat New Jersey, 4-3, inside KeyBank Center.
The Sabres (4-3-2) have earned points in six of their last seven games, and the Devils (3-3-2), now coached by Lindy Ruff, entered Saturday with three losses in their previous four games.
Olofsson’s power-play goal from the right circle with 9:04 remaining gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead after Eichel left for the dressing room, and the Devils tied the score again when Janne Kuokkanen capitalized on a bouncing puck near Buffalo’s net. Eichel missed almost 13 minutes after taking a puck to the face.
Eric Staal and Tobias Rieder also had goals for the Sabres, and Linus Ullmark make 31 saves while making his fifth consecutive start in net. Ullmark stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.
Andreas Johansson and Ty Smith scored for the Devils.
Better start: The Sabres had five shots on goal through the first 8:16 of the first period and controlled possession, yet they couldn’t generate quality chances against Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood, who played for the Rochester Americans in 2018-19.
Power-play adjustment: With Sam Reinhart out, Dylan Cozens moved to the top power-play unit and assumed Taylor Hall’s position in the slot. However, the Sabres appeared disconnected in their first opportunity on the man-advantage, generating only two shots on goal. Cozens was eventually replaced on the top unit by Rasmus Ristolainen.
Special teams: Buffalo was forced to kill a 5-on-3 when Eric Staal and Brandon Montour were penalized during the same sequence. Ristolainen, Curtis Lazar and Jake McCabe were on the ice for 1:43 of the penalty kill, helping the Sabres not allow a shot on goal on the Devils’ two-man advantage.
Momentum shift: Turnovers caused the Sabres to go 10:06 without a shot on goal in the first period. Buffalo benefited from winning 65% of the faceoffs in the first 20 minutes and outshot New Jersey, 7-6, during that span.
Opening salvo: Staal gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 9:03 into the second period with a shot from the slot that went off the post and in for his third goal of the season. Hall, who was playing the Devils for the first time since he was traded by New Jersey in December 2019, earned the primary assist with his pass from near the right wall.
Staal has points in four of his last five games, including three goals. His 439th career goal puts him ahead of Gary Roberts on the NHL’s all-time list. Staal trails only Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Marleau and Sidney Crosby among active players.
Slump ends: New Jersey was amid a 1-for-11 skid on the power play when Smith scored on the man advantage with a shot from the point, tying the score 1-1 at 18:35 into the second period.
High shot: Andreas Johnsson gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 1:37 in the third period on a shot from the left circle that went over Ullmark’s glove and into the net.
Quick strike: Rieder tied the score at 2:18 into the third period on a low shot from the left circle that beat Wedgewood at the far post.
Matinee magic: Under Krueger, the Sabres entered Saturday with a 7-2-2 record in afternoon games since the start of the 2019-20 season.
Iron man: Reinhart (upper body) missed his first game for the Sabres since March 28, 2017, an iron-man streak of 246 consecutive games played. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Reinhart has totaled 51 goals at 5-on-5.
Reunion: Former Rochester Americans coach Chris Taylor is now an assistant on Lindy Ruff’s staff with the Devils. Taylor, who was among the 22 hockey operations employees dismissed by the Sabres in June, led the Amerks to a combined 116-65-33 record across three seasons.
Lineup: Defenseman Henri Jokiharju returned to the lineup after missing consecutive games with an undisclosed injury. Matt Irwin, who replaced Jokiharju on the blue line, was a healthy scratch for the seventh time this season.
Next: The Sabres complete third set of back-to-backs with a game at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Devils.
January 31, 2021 at 07:44AM
https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/wraparound-jack-eichel-linus-ullmark-send-sabres-to-shootout-win/article_2be81298-631e-11eb-a319-7bded8cdbd13.html
Wraparound: Jack Eichel, Linus Ullmark send Sabres to shootout win - Buffalo News
https://news.google.com/search?q=Send&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment