Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres left the first period down 2-0 against the New Jersey Devils on Friday, but they didn’t let that do them in.
In three first periods against the Devils this season, the Sabres have been outscored, 8-2, and went on to lose the first two matchups.
This time felt different, though, for the Sabres.
Both goals by the Devils were deflections that Buffalo goalie Devon Levi had no chance on. The first one was tipped by Max Willman and then went in off Rasmus Dahlin. The second was a shot by Jesper Bratt that hit JJ Peterka’s stick and shot up over Levi’s shoulder and under the crossbar.
After that happened, the Sabres' penalty kill went to work.
Penalties to Bo Byram and Alex Tuch gave New Jersey a 26-second two-man advantage, and the Devils had control of the puck. However, Jordan Greenway, Owen Power and Connor Clifton didn’t allow a single shot on goal.
In three power play chances on Friday, the Devils only managed two shots.
Once Buffalo got out of the first period, the team regrouped, and Tage Thompson took over. He looked like he did last season when he scored 47 goals and 94 points.
Thompson started the second period by stealing a puck in the neutral zone, coming through the left circle and beating Devils goalie Jake Allen over his glove. That got Buffalo on the board just 28 seconds into the period, and sent them on their way.
Levi was superb, stopping New Jersey’s top-two scorers - Jack Hughes and Bratt - on breakaways to keep the score at 2-1.
Alex Tuch then ran his assist streak to seven games when he found Thompson down the slot to make it 2-2 late in the second period.
That set up a third period when the Sabres played hard in the New Jersey zone, and blitzed the net more than a few times.
Allen made numerous good saves, but eventually, a Dahlin shot from the left point dribbled behind him, and Thompson went to the net to tap in his hat-trick goal with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
Both Peterka and Thompson scored their 26th goals of the season into the empty net, and Buffalo had its sixth home win in eight games.
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Peterka now has goals in four-straight games, and Thompson has eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 10 games.
Levi made 28 saves on the night to go 1-1-0 in his three games since being called up from the Rochester Americans. He has a 1.78 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage, stopping 90-of-95 shots.
Buffalo is now six points behind the Capitals for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, but Washington still has two games in-hand. The Sabres are also four points back of the Detroit Red Wings, who have one game in-hand. The New York Islanders are two points in front of the Sabres with two games in-hand, and the Devils are even in games and one point ahead.
The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, while Detroit is in Florida to play the Panthers, the Islanders are in Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning, and Washington hosts the Boston Bruins.
That takes us to Monday, where the Islanders will play the Flyers in Philadelphia, and Detroit is in Tampa Bay.
Join Brian Koziol and myself on Saturday for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from Don Granato, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Peterka.
