SIMULATED GAME RECAP: Devils 10, Sabres 3

NEWARK, NJ - After a tied first period, five unanswered goals in the final 30 minutes of the game allowed the Devils to down the Sabres 10-3 on Fan Appreciation Night presented by M&Ms. This was the final simulated home game of the regular season for the New Jersey Devils in the 2019-20 campaign.
In the win, Kyle Palmieri scored a hat trick, while Joey Anderson, Travis Zajac and Nikita Gusev all had two goal nights. Miles Wood tallied a goal to round out the goals for the home team.
Angelo Gerbavac made his Devils and NHL debut in the game. Gerbavac is the winner of a Fan Appreciation Night presented by M&Ms contest and he centered the top line with Kyle Palmieri and Miles Wood on the wings. Gerbavac had a strong debut with two primary assists including on the opening goal of the contest.

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New Jersey plays its final game of the simulated season against the New York Islanders on Long Island. You can follow along on njd.TV or on the Devils Facebook, Twitter or YouTube channels.
The Devils got off to a quick start with Kyle Palmieri scoring just 16 seconds into the game. Angelo Gerbavac recovered the puck behind the Sabres net, passed to Palmieri right in front of the net, and Palmieri scored to make it 1-0 Devils.
New Jersey made it 2-0 when Joey Anderson scored six and a half minutes into the game, unassisted. Anderson got the puck off a Devils face-off, and scored on his own rebound, going with a backhanded shot.
The Devils power play had their first opportunity of the night when Jeff Skinner was called for hooking halfway through the first period.
A fight broke out with six and a half minutes left in the period when Jesper Boqvist and Colin Miller dropped gloves. Both players were given five-minute majors for fighting. The Devils had a string of strong offensive possession following the fight with several chances on net. However, none of them crossed the goal line.
With five minutes left in the game, Kyle Palmieri was called for tripping giving the Sabres their first power play of the game. In the final seconds of the power play, Buffalo's Rasmus Darlin picked up a rebound right in front of the net and scored on Mackenzie Blackwood.
In the final minute of play Buffalo tied up the game 2-2 with a goal from Jack Eichel. Eichel, in the high slot, found room and fired a shot on net to get the visitors second goal of the game.
At the end of the first period the Sabres were slightly leading the Devils in shots on goal with a 33-29 advantage. However, the Devils led the Sabres in faceoff wins, 21-13.
The Devils went back on the power play two minutes into the the second period when Buffalo was called for tripping. Although the Devils were unable to convert on the man-advantage in their first power play, Kyle Palmieri scored his second of the night. Pk Subban fed a pass to Palmieri who was in the left face-off circle. Palmieri fired one off to break the tie, and put the Devils up 3-2.
The Devils power play would see more action with three penalties by the Sabres two minutes. First Buffalo was called for tripping with 16:25 on the clock. Then 24 seconds later, the Sabres were called for hooking, giving the Devils a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:36. With a delayed penalty coming, the Devils pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, trying to get a goal. Although, they were unable to, Buffalo was called for another hooking penalty a minute and a half after Buffalo's first penalty call in this stretch.
Although the Devils were unable to score during the 5-on-3 advantage, Kyle Palmieri did score on the power play to get his third goal of the night. Palmieri shot through traffic and scored, earning a hat trick.
Connor Carrick is sent to the box and the Devils penalty kill is put to work for the third time so far this game. The Devils special teams units come up strong and keep the Sabres off the board. The Devils continue to lead 4-2 following the penalty kill.
Miles Wood increases the Devils lead to 5-2 when he scores with 7:25 on the clock in the second period. Wood lifted his shot over the goaltender's pads to score on Linus Ullmark, the Buffalo goaltender.
Two minutes later, Connor Carrick is called for tripping, putting the Devils on the penalty kill. 20 seconds later, Wayne Simmonds scored a power play goal to bring the score to 5-3 Devils.
The Devils would score their first of five unanswered goals with less than five minutes left in the second period. Kevin Rooney passed the puck to John Hayden who threw a shot on net. Buffalo's goaltender stopped the initial shot but Travis Zajac was able to collect the rebound and score.
In the final two minutes of the second period, Nikita Gusev would score a goal to make it 7-3 Devils. Mirco Mueller found Gusev crashing the net and Gusev buries the feed. Neither team would find the back of the net in the remaining time and the Devils were up 7-3 after the first two periods.
At the end of the second period the Devils outshot the Sabres 31-25, and New Jersey saw two power play goals and a hat trick from Kyle Palmieri.
The third period saw three unanswered goals with Travis Zajac scoring his second of the night with 10:53 on the clock. Damon Severson fed it to Zajac who was right on the doorstep. Zajac redirected it five-hole to make it 8-3 Devils.
Five minutes later, Nikita Gusev got his second goal of night to make it 9-3 Devils. There was a fight for a rebound but Gusev kept his composure and found the back of the net. Following the goal, the Sabres switched goaltenders bringing in Carter Hutton. Joey Anderson got a feed from Boqvist who was wrapping behind the net. Anderson bobbled the puck but regained possession a moment later, and threw the puck on net.
With 27 seconds left in the third period, Wayne Simmonds is called for tripping and the Devils power play goes out to end the game. Then, with less than a second left in regulation, John Hayden is called for slashing, making it 4-on-4 for 1 second. That would be it as the Devils beat the Sabres 10-3.
Mackenzie Blackwood finished the night with 90 saves on the 93 shots he faced. The Devils were strong on face-offs all night and won 59 of the 107 face-offs in the game. The Devils will have their last game of the simulated season on Saturday against the Islanders on Long Island. Thank you to the Devils fans for their support throughout the season!