Allen makes 42 saves, Devils shut out Sabres for 3rd straight win

BUFFALO -- Jake Allen made 42 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 5-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.

“It was good, great game for me. I really wanted to bounce back after that game in Philly (a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 22),” Allen said. “[Jacob Markstrom] had a couple of great games, guys found ways to win. I want to find a way to contribute here on the road. I think we all know internally that [our] road game needs to be a little bit better, and we found a way to win here and get some momentum going.”

Arseny Gritsyuk scored twice, and Brenden Dillon and Paul Cotter each had a goal and an assist for the Devils (16-7-1), who have won three in a row.

“We wanted to make them have to come 200 feet as much as we could,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “And you can see when you don't just how dangerous Buffalo is. We were able to get on top of them and earn enough offense to take control of the game. … And I thought for the most part our guys managed it well and when we didn't, Jake Allen was outstanding.”

Alex Lyon made 18 saves in his first start since Nov. 13 for the Sabres (9-11-4), who have lost two straight after winning four of five.

“We left too many chances out there,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “In the third, we started to press. I mean, you don’t like giving up the [chances], but we decided we were going to press hard to get back in it. If you’re going to press hard -- we’ve talked about this -- you’re going to give something up. You know, careless for that.

“But the first 40 minutes, we had opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net. We missed those opportunities. The opportunities we gave them on a couple of our poor plays, they took advantage of.”

Nico Hischier extended his goal streak to four games by giving New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 12:07 of the first period. Timo Meier’s centering pass from behind the net went off Sabres forward Alex Tuch and bounced in front of Lyon, where Hischier snapped it past him stick side.

Gritsyuk made it 2-0 at 7:45 of the second period when he collected a loose puck in the slot and beat Lyon under his right arm.

“I thought there was a lot of energy on the bench, and I thought our team was playing well," Sabres center Tage Thompson said. "I thought we controlled the first two periods pretty handily. Obviously, the score didn’t indicate that, but I thought we had a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities.”

“I think whatever energy or whatever momentum we did kind of have early in the game kind of got snuffed out by their goalie, who was playing a [heck] of a game. It’s frustrating when you’re getting chances and looks and they’re not going in, especially when you feel like they should.”

Dillon’s one-timer from the top of the left circle went bar down to push it to 3-0 at 1:39 of the third period.

Cotter slipped a backhand by Lyon’s left pad on a breakaway to increase the lead to 4-0 at 5:22.

“I think we had a good understanding of what that period would look like,” Devils forward Connor Brown said. “I mean we knew that they had to force things. And with that, you know, we got a couple of breakaways, a couple of chances, a couple of looks and we're able to grow our lead.”

Gritsyuk made it 5-0 at 16:49 when his wrist shot beat Lyon blocker side off a pass from Ondrej Palat on a 2-on-1.

“Everybody wants to score, and my job is to stop pucks and so that’s all I’m going to focus on,” Lyon said. “It’s important that everybody holds themselves accountable as well. We’ve got to continue to do the right things and continue to hammer on the details and just, it’ll turn around.”

NOTES: Allen’s 42 saves were the second most he’s made in a shutout. His career high is 45, reached twice (Oct. 28, 2021, and Nov. 7, 2015). … Hischier has nine points (five goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak. … Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson left the game with 7:53 remaining in the third period after a hit from Meier. Ruff said he went into concussion protocol but did not have any further update.