Devils hold off Sabres, stop skid at four

BUFFALO -- Taylor Hall scored in his return from injury, and the New Jersey Devils ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

Hall gave New Jersey a 2-0 lead at 5:31 of the third period when he received a cross-ice pass from Jesper Bratt and scored on a wrist shot off Robin Lehner's glove for his 18th goal.
\[WATCH: All Devils vs. Sabres highlights\]
"You could see on the score sheet how big that second goal was, but in general what [Hall] brings is the identity that we want to play with," Devils coach John Hynes said. "He's a difficult player to play against. He's a very driven player this year. He's really on task, focused. Just being in the locker room, how he prepares for the game, how he plays the game, I think you need that this time of year. And it's nice to have him back and be as competitive and driven as he is."
Hall returned after missing the past three games and the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday with a thumb injury.
"Sometimes you get in the game and adrenaline takes over and you find a way to feel good," Hall said. "It's almost February now and not everyone in the League is feeling 100 percent. Not to make myself sound like a warrior by any means, but you play through stuff and a lot of guys in this room are."
Miles Wood and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Devils (25-16-8).

The Sabres (14-27-9) had a three-game winning streak end.
Wood gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 5:49 of the second period. He received a pass from Will Butcher, skated up the left wing and cut to the net, beating Lehner with a backhand for his 14th goal.
"Obviously [Wood] is a tough guy to hold coming down the wing like that with that speed," Devils captain Andy Greene said. "There's honestly not many guys, when he's moving like that, that can stay with him. When you have that you've got to use that to your advantage and we did a little bit tonight."

Lehner, the League's Third Star of the Week, had his NHL career-best shutout streak end at 145:15. His previous best was 126:59 from Feb. 16-21, 2016. Lehner made 25 saves.
Wood's goal also ended the Sabres' shutout streak at 199:19. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the streak was their longest since a Buffalo-record streak of 226:24 from Jan. 16-25, 2003.
Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe made it 2-1 with a power-play goal with 5:02 remaining in the third period after getting the puck following Ryan O'Reilly's face-off win.

"I think you just saw a team in New Jersey that we knew what they bring," McCabe said. "They check hard, they skate, they're a really fast team. They're always on top of you, always in your face, and we weren't ready to make that next play and they won a lot more battles than us and our inconsistent play tonight, you saw the result."
Palmieri scored into an empty net with 5.9 seconds remaining to make it 3-1.
Keith Kinkaid made 27 saves for New Jersey in his first start since missing three games with a groin injury.

Goal of the game

Hall's goal at 5:31 of the third period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid's glove save on Marco Scandella with 5:06 remaining in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Kinkaid's save against O'Reilly with 1:33 left in the third period.

They said it

"Sometimes you go into those breaks and you're playing really well and you don't want the break because it kills momentum and whatnot. But going out there and losing four straight, it's a mental reset and that's important for us. We take a look at the big picture and we've done a lot of good things this year, we've done a lot of things well, but this League can humble you really quickly and it did there. This is only one game, but hopefully this is the start of a good run here." -- Devils captain Andy Greene on coming out of the All-Star break after a 2-6-3 stretch
"Our 5-on-5 game wasn't where it needed to be. We talked this morning about where they are a desperate team. They just played with more urgency and we respected the position they were in. Coming off a road trip, you would've thought we would've gained confidence and been sharp, but I don't think we realized the checking ... we did on the West Coast trip. We were playing more on our toes. I think we got a little bit on our heels. … We gave them too much freedom." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley

Need to know

Bratt has four points (two goals, two assists) in three games against the Sabres this season. … O'Reilly has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past nine games.

What's next

Devils: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSP, NHL.TV)
Sabres: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-F, NHL.TV)