Newark, N.J. (WGR 550) - In a game that lived up to the billing, the Buffalo Sabres were on the wrong end of a wild 5-4 final at the Prudential Center against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
It was a high-octane start, as the teams traded goals twice in the opening period of play. The blue and gold twice held leads, and it was JJ Peterka who gave Buffalo its first edge with his third goal of the season.
It didn't take long for the Devils to answer, though, as 90 seconds later, forward Alexander Holtz pounced on a rebound in front of Sabres goalie Eric Comrie to make it a 1-1 contest.
After some more chances traded and a strong showing on a penalty kill by Comrie and co., the Sabres, once again, grabbed another lead. This time, Tage Thompson used his incredible reach and danced the puck right around the pad of Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek for a 2-1 Buffalo advantage.
This time, the Sabres' lead lasted less than a minute.
With the teams playing at 4-on-4, Devils forwards Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes skated in towards Comrie on a 2-on-1 rush. Bratt kept the puck and beat Comrie five-hole to even the score at 2-2.
The reason for both teams being at 4-on-4 was because of a hit to the head delivered by Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton to Devils captain Nico Hischier. Clifton received a match penalty and a game misconduct, while Devils winger Ondrej Palat received a two-minute instigator penalty, along with five for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.
The teams, once again, mirrored each other in the second period of play, as the game ended up a 3-3 contest at the end of 40 minutes of play.
The Devils did take their first lead of the night in the second period. With the Sabres on a power play, a turnover sprung forward Erik Haula all alone on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and he beat the netminder with a patient backhand.
Luukkonen found himself thrust into game action at the midway mark of the period when Comrie suffered a lower-body injury and was unable to continue between the pipes.
The blue and gold found the equalizer with 2:29 left in the middle frame. Rasmus Dahlin was a point-per-game player to this stage of the season, but he'd done it with all assists. However, Dahlin added the first goal of his campaign with a point-shot rocket through traffic in front of the Devils net.
In the third, the Devils won the race to four goals on a controversial power play. It was not the power play called that was in question, but rather what happened moments earlier.
It appeared as though Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton flipped a puck out of play for a delay of game minor. The play went uncalled, and play resumed until Luukkonen committed the same infraction and was penalized for it.
On the ensuing man advantage, Jack Hughes scored to give the home side the 4-3 edge.
The Sabres had one more response left in them, as Dylan Cozens went to work to score on a tough-angle scoring play with new linemates Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons.
Unfortunately, that was the last gasp the blue and gold had left on this night.
Haula netted his second goal of the night for New Jersey with 5:43 to play, and it held up as the game-winning goal.
----------
GOAL SUMMARY:
First Period:
BUF: 6:11 - JJ Peterka (3) (Henri Jokiharju, Owen Power); 15:42 - Tage Thompson (4) (Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway)
NJD: 7:41 - Alexander Holtz (2) (Luke Hughes, Michael McLeod); 16:11 - Jesper Bratt (4) (Unassisted)
Second Period:
BUF: 17:31 - Rasmus Dahlin (1) (Mattias Samuelsson, Jeff Skinner)
NJD: 13:47 - Erik Haula (3) SHG (Unassisted)
Third Period:
BUF: 12:35 - Dylan Cozens (3) (Kyle Okposo)
NJD: 2:09 - Jack Hughes (5) PPG (Luke Hughes, Timo Meier); 14:17 - Erik Haula (4) (Kevin Bahl, John Marino)
----------
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 11:03 - Kyle Okposo (High sticking - 2 min.); 16:00 - Connor Clifton (Fighting - 5 min.); 16:00 - Connor Clifton (Match penalty - 5 min. / Game misconduct)
NJD: 8:39 - Brendan Smith (High sticking - 2 min.); 16:00 - Ondrej Palat (Instigator - 2 min.); 16:00 - Ondrej Palat (Fighting - 5 min.); 16:00 - Ondrej Palat (10-minute misconduct)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
NJD: 13:10 - TEAM (Too many men on the ice - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 0:56 - Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Delay of game - 2 min.); 14:27 - Owen Power (Tripping - 2 min.)
NJD: NONE
----------
----------
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Erik Haula - NJD
2.) Jesper Bratt - NJD
3.) Michael McLeod - NJD
----------
What's next:
The Sabres head back home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday for the second "goathead" black-and-red sweater night of the 2023-24 season. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 1 p.m. ET on the flagship home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.