The Buffalo Sabres took care of business on Saturday afternoon, beating the visiting New Jersey Devils by way of a 4-3 score in a shootout at KeyBank Center.
After the first period saw zero goals scored, the Sabres broke the scoreless tie about nine minutes into the second. Eric Staal's third goal of the season gave the veteran forward points in four of his last five games.
The Devils tied things back up before the end of the period, though, as they cashed in on a power play opportunity with Staal sitting in the penalty box. Defenseman Ty Smith's point shot got past Linus Ullmark and evened the score 1-1 as the teams readied for the third period.
New Jersey then doubled up and tallied another goal to start the third period. Off a feed from Jack Hughes, winger Andreas Johnsson sniped the top-right corner of the net against Ullmark, making it a 2-1 contest.
As quickly as the Devils seemingly snatched all the momentum, Buffalo seized some right back 41 seconds later. After Johnsson got the go-ahead score for New Jersey, Tobias Rieder found pay dirt for the Sabres from the left faceoff circle.
The back-and-forth affair tumbled back Buffalo's way, as it was their turn to string consecutive goals together. Later in the period with New Jersey's Smith in the box for hooking, Victor Olofsson got some time and space on his off-wing and fired a shot over the glove of a screened Scott Wedgewood in net.
The Devils did not go away, though, as less than four minutes later, Janne Kuokkanen stuffed a puck between the left post and Ullmark's right pad to tie the game at 3-3. It was also his first goal in the NHL.
Kuokkanen's goal was the last of its kind in regulation, as the teams needed more time to decide this game. However, the extra five minutes settled nothing either, so the game headed to a shootout.
The only skater to score in the shootout was Sabres captain Jack Eichel, who rang his shot off the inside of the goal post and in to open the first round.
While Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Olofsson did not score for Buffalo, New Jersey failed to get goals from Jesper Bratt, Nikita Gusev or Kyle Palmieri as Linus Ullmark turned away all three shooters.
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GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
NJ: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 9:03 - Eric Staal (3) (Taylor Hall, Brandon Montour)
NJ: 18:35 - Ty Smith (2) PPG (PK Subban, Pavel Zacha)
Third Period:
BUF: 2:18 - Tobias Rieder (3) (Cody Eakin, Colin Miller); 10:56 - Victor Olofsson (4) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall)
NJ: 1:37 - Andreas Johnsson (1) (Jack Hughes, Damon Severson); 14:41 - Janne Kuokkanen (1) (Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
NJ: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 12:15 - Eric Staal (Slashing - 2 min.); 12:15 - Brandon Montour (Tripping - 2 min.)
NJ: 7:15 - Andreas Johnsson (Interference - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 12:05 - Taylor Hall (Hooking - 2 min.); 18:11 - Eric Staal (Hooking - 2 min.)
NJ: 0:57 - Andreas Johnsson (Holding the stick - 2 min.); 5:58 - Miles Wood (Slashing - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 2:55 - Jeff Skinner (Delay of game - 2 min.)
NJ: 10:21 - Ty Smith (Hooking - 2 min.); 18:08 - Damon Severson (Tripping - 2 min.)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
NJ: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Ty Smith - NJ
2.) Jack Hughes - NJ
3.) Victor Olofsson - BUF
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What's Next:
The weekend mini-series between the Sabres and Devils will wrap up on Sunday with another afternoon matchup. Opening faceoff at KeyBank Center is, again, set for 1 p.m. EST on the flagship home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550. The Paul William Beltz Pregame show kicks off at noon with Brian Koziol.
