Hughes, Devils end six-game losing streak with win against Sabres

BUFFALO --Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists, and the New Jersey Devils ended a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.

Jesper Bratt also had a goal and two assists for the Devils (11-15-5), who were outscored 26-12 during the streak and lost 15 of their previous 18 games. Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves.
"I think we were in a pretty big hole there, so for us to get a few days just to refresh and come back to the rink excited, it's a big deal," Hughes said of the NHL holiday break. "I think we were all pretty excited coming back and then to start it off with a win, that's huge for us."
Tage Thompson had two goals, and Ethan Prow scored in his NHL debut for the Sabres (10-16-5), who were 2-0-2 in their previous four games but hadn't played since Dec. 17. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 38 saves.
"The guys battled," said Sabres assistant Matt Ellis, who served as coach with Don Granato in COVID-19 protocol. "The battle and the compete was there. The execution at times, you said it, it was definitely sloppy. It took us a little while to get into the game and even at that point just finding a true rhythm to the game. … Tonight it felt a little bit off, but the battle level was there, the compete was certainly there."

Hughes and Yegor Sharangovich scored 2:22 apart in the third period to give New Jersey a 4-2 lead. Hughes made it 3-2 at 4:28 on a rebound at the right side of the net, and Sharangovich redirected a point shot from Ty Smith at 6:50.
"You need your best players to make a difference for you and Jack made a difference for us," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "Coming back from a real tough injury (dislocated shoulder), I think it takes a little bit of time to get back in rhythm, but I thought he did a lot of great things.
"I know it was a three-point night, but he could've been in on a couple more opportunities. We count on him for a lot."
Dougie Hamilton gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead on the power play, one-timing a pass from Hughes from the point at 4:43 of the first period.
Bratt made it 2-0 at 11:48 on a rebound of P.K. Subban's point shot that bounced to Bratt in the slot before he skated to the goal line and lifted it over Luukkonen.
Thompson ended a 10-game goal drought when he tipped in Alex Tuch's shot from the point 33 seconds into the second period to cut it to 2-1.
Tuch was activated from injured reserve (shoulder) and made his Sabres debut after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 4. Tuch grew up a Sabres fan in Syracuse, New York.
"It was a dream come true," Tuch said. "You know, we didn't get the result we wanted tonight and that was my biggest concern, not only playing for the Sabres but trying to get a win with the guys in the locker room. We were really disappointed.
" … But, you know what, the first game's out of the way now. We can just focus on playing hockey and getting those jitters out of the way."
Thompson tied it 2-2 at 3:17 of the second. Rasmus Dahlin (two assists) stole the puck from Jesper Boqvist in the Sabres end and lobbed a pass to Thompson for a breakaway.
"We would have liked to eliminate the breakaways and the 2-on-1s," Hughes said. "We know that the other team's going to score at some point, but we want to eliminate the self-mistakes. I think tonight if you look at the first and third, we played really well, and we've got to continue to do that and try to do that for 60 minutes."

Prow scored his first NHL goal off a rebound from the bottom of the left face-off circle at 14:38 of the third period for the 4-3 final.
Prow, a 29-year-old defenseman, was called up from the taxi squad prior to the game after being assigned to it from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Wednesday morning. He replaced Buffalo defenseman Jacob Bryson, who was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
"Obviously, it was great to get a call-up and be able to be in the lineup," Prow said. "You never expect to get your first one and your goal as well, so that's just the cherry on top, I think."
NOTES: Hughes, 20, had his fourth three-point game in the NHL. Six players in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history had more before age 21: Kirk Muller (10), Scott Gomez (six), Brendan Shanahan (six), Paul Gardner (six), Nico Hischier (five) and Petr Sykora (five) . … Devils forward Jimmy Vesey was placed in NHL COVID-19 Protocol prior to the game. … Sabres defenseman Casey Fitzgerald was recalled from Rochester and played his second NHL game. He is the son of Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald. … Buffalo forward JJ Peterka made his NHL debut. He had one shot on goal in 16:12 of ice time. … Forward Peyton Krebs, who was acquired with Tuch in the trade with the Golden Knights, also made his Sabres debut. He won three of seven face-offs in 17:03.