Sabres survive Devils' comeback bid for 3rd straight win

The Buffalo Sabres survived the New Jersey Devils’ third-period comeback bid and secured a 4-3 victory on Sunday at KeyBank Center, extending their winning streak to three games.

Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists but left the game following an illegal check to the head from Devils forward Stefan Noesen, after which the Devils scored a shorthanded goal to cut the Sabres' lead to one.

Although Thompson didn’t return for the final 15 minutes, he felt good after the game and “passed all the tests,” according to Lindy Ruff. Buffalo’s coach said he expects Thompson to be available for Monday’s practice, adding that he might get a day off.

Buffalo began the final frame with a 4-1 lead, but on the opening shift, Paul Cotter scored his second of the game to narrow New Jersey’s deficit.

“To get the goal scored against us right at the start of the third,” Ruff said, “you get a sense, ‘Oh no, what’s coming next?’”

Five minutes in, Noesen took a run at Thompson near Buffalo’s offensive blue line, drilling him with an elbow to the head. The Sabres’ leading scorer required assistance off the ice and his three-point afternoon was cut short.

“Definitely a hit that you don’t like,” Ruff said. “That penalty was well deserved.”

Sabres players who spoke after the game lamented their lack of an immediate response to the hit, as well as the fact that Noesen, who received a match penalty, avoided any further repercussions for his malicious check.

“We have to work on that,” said captain Rasmus Dahlin. “I think that’s a thing that cannot happen.”

Ruff said players on the bench had the intention of responding, but Jack Hughes' shorthanded goal on the subsequent power play cut their lead to one and the team's focus shifted to protecting its lead down the stretch.

"I know I had a couple of guys that wanted to go after him right away," Ruff said.

Asked about the outside perception that the Sabres were unwilling to respond, Ruff replied: "Bulls–t."

The Devils had two power-play opportunities as they pressured during the final 10 minutes but failed to score. Including those third-period penalties, the Sabres killed off all five shorthanded situations in the win.

“They have some dynamic players, so just try not to give them too much room and space,” said defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who played 4:50 shorthanded. “I think zone entries are a big thing on the PK. Try not to let them enter clean and disrupt the flow of the power play, and I think we did a good job of that.”

“That desperation to keep the game where it was – our PK did a hell of a job,” said Ruff, who noted the high-end offensive talent on a Devils team he coached from 2020-24.

In surviving New Jersey’s third-period push, clinging to a lead that might’ve slipped away earlier this season, the Sabres exhibited the recent improvement that has yielded closely contested wins and a 7-5 record since Jan. 6.

“Finally, we’re getting better at grinding,” Ruff said. “I like the aggressiveness, even the last 30 seconds. We went after them.”

Here’s more from the win.

1. Before his early exit, Thompson led the charge in another dominant first period for the Sabres.

He opened the scoring eight minutes in with his 26th goal of the season, collecting the rebound from Owen Power’s shot and beating Devils goaltender Jake Allen five-hole from the slot.

Thompson tallied primary assists in tight on JJ Peterka’s goal, which extended the lead to 2-0 in the first, and Jason Zucker’s, which extended it to 4-1 late in the second.

A second three-point output in the last three games pushed Thompson’s career point total to 301. And he’s totaled 14 points (7+7) in the last nine contests.

“He’s a special talent,” Zucker said. “I think he finds ways to score goals in a lot of different ways. People talk about his big shot, and of course he has that, but his goal tonight, he drives to the paint, gets a rebound goal. He makes a lot of little plays. He’s a big part of our team.”

Buffalo’s third goal, by Ryan McLeod on a shorthanded breakaway, came with 29 seconds remaining in the opening frame. The Sabres led 3-0 after 20 minutes and now lead the NHL with 59 first-period goals.

“If you watched [New Jersey’s] previous game, they ran over Philly,” Ruff said. “… I didn’t know if some of our guys could match that intensity right off the bat, but I thought our guys answered the call.”

2. Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made some highlight-reel stops in a 21-save afternoon.

In the first period, a Buffalo turnover at the defensive blue line gave Timo Meier a partial breakaway. Luukkonen, after whiffing on a poke check, kept his right pad extended to deny Meier’s delayed, wide-angle shot.

New Jersey had 1.42 expected goals and eight shots in the opening 20, but Luukkonen turned them aside as the Sabres built their 3-0 lead.

With less than a minute remaining in the second, Luukkonen stopped a Dawson Mercer rush shot before stoning Meier once again with a sprawling glove save on the backhand follow-up attempt.

“He made some big saves there to hold the lead,” Samuelsson said.

3. Dahlin recorded two assists for the second straight game. He’s totaled a league-leading 20 helpers in 18 games since returning Dec. 23 from back spasms and now has 330 career points, surpassing Mike Ramsey for second most by a defenseman in franchise history.

4. Sunday concluded the season series between Buffalo and New Jersey; the Devils opened the regular season with wins in Prague on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5. This win, the Sabres feel, is further proof of the strides they’ve made as the season has progressed.

“I think we’re a different team,” Zucker said. “I think it’s really easy to look back at Prague, which feels like it was about three years ago now, and say it was a different game. But I think they were a better team than us at that point in the season. And I think we made some adjustments – we’ve become a better team since then and I think it was a good showing for us tonight.”

5. Sabres defenseman Dennis Gilbert drew back into the lineup after three straight games as a healthy scratch. He logged an assist for his second point of the season, along with two hits and two shot blocks in 6:36 of ice time.

Sunday, which was Youth Hockey Day at KeyBank Center, marked Gilbert’s 100th NHL game. Read more about the Buffalo native’s rise from local youth hockey to the Sabres.

Up next

The Sabres conclude their four-game homestand Tuesday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tickets are available here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.