Ristolainen scores OT winner; Eichel nets a pair in victory over Devils

NEWARK - It's been a long season of waiting for Rasmus Ristolainen. The defenseman sat out nine games earlier in the season due to an injury, and entering the Buffalo Sabres' game against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, he'd yet to find the back of the net.
Ristolainen had waited so long, in fact, that his plan had become to break the drought on a grand stage.
"I was planning the first one to go in Monday afternoon," he said following an overtime victory at Prudential Center. "But I'll take it one game earlier."

Instead of scoring his first goal at the Winter Classic, Ristolainen sent Buffalo into the New Year with a victory. The defenseman got a bounce in the corner in overtime, cut to the net and scored off his forehand to clinch a 4-3 victory for the Sabres.

The result was a reversal of fortune for a Sabres team that has played well as of late but has too often left points on the table with overtime losses, including in their game in New York on Wednesday. Buffalo entered the night with a 1-8 record in overtime, and four of those losses had come in December.
Playing a Devils team that began the night atop the Metropolitan Division, however, the Sabres fought through adversity and found a way to win. Jacob Josefson, a former Devil, scored in his first game back in New Jersey and Jack Eichel scored twice for his third multi-goal effort in six games.
"I think we did a great job," Eichel said. "That's a really good hockey team and they don't make it easy. I think you earn everything you get. They've got a lot of speed, they have some real skilled forwards and they make a lot of plays. Credit to us for just sticking to our game plan and just finding a way to win. It's nice to be on the other end of it."
The Sabres entered the second period trailing 1-0 after Miles Wood opened the scoring for New Jersey. What ensued was a lopsided period in which the Devils not only outshot the Sabres 13-3, but controlled the majority of the play in the Buffalo zone.
Buffalo managed to score on two of those three shots, however, allowing them to keep the deficit to one goal as the period came to its end. Josefson scored on a breakaway to begin the period, and after John Moore and Marcus Johansson scored back-to-back Devils goals, Eichel was able to score on a deflection to make the score 3-2 going into the second intermission.
With a victory within earshot, the Sabres emerged in the third period looking like a new team.
"I feel like it's been a tough year, and we didn't just want to lose the game," Ristolainen said. "We wanted to win. I think the will [was the difference]. Everyone wanted to win."
Eichel tied the game with his second goal of the night, a one-time shot on the power play with 8:56 remaining in regulation. The goal was Eichel's 15th of the season, but only his first on power play, and it snapped the team's six-game scoreless drought with the extra man.

"We didn't have a really great second period," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "Puck decisions in the neutral zone came right back at us, but I give it to our guys. They dug deep in the third period and I thought the way we played our first and third periods was really excellent.
"We found a way to get a power-play goal finally and a big goal by Rasmus. I'm just really proud of our guys, the way they battled."
Much like in their loss to the Islanders on Wednesday, the Sabres had several chances to win the game once it was tied. Eichel came just a few inches shy of netting his second hat trick in six games with a backhand shot that rung the crossbar, and overtime was a back-and-forth affair that produced golden opportunities for both sides.
The difference this time was that, finally, it was the Sabres who came out on top. With the World Junior Championship underway in Buffalo, it was only fitting that the winner came off the stick of Ristolainen, who scored the overtime winner for Finland in the tournament's Gold Medal Game back in 2014.

Ristolainen now has three overtime goals in his young NHL career, tying Housley and Tyler Myers for the most in franchise history.
"Every time we're in overtime, I enjoy it," Ristolainen said. "You have a chance to win the game."
Perhaps most importantly, the win was vindication for the Sabres that when they stick to their plan, the results will follow. Housley said the first and third periods were examples of how, when they move pucks north and make good decisions, they can be dangerous regardless of their opponent.
They'll have a chance to show what they're capable of in front of a national audience come Monday, when they take the ice outdoors against the New York Rangers. You can bet it will feel even better going into the game with a win under their belts.
"We get two days to enjoy this," Housley said. "It's going to be a great thing for Buffalo and our organization, to represent our community and the fans in Buffalo. So we're looking forward to it. We're going to enjoy it. And it's great to have a win before you go into it."

A win for Robin

The Sabres might not have had a chance to win the game had it not been for the play of Robin Lehner, whose 35-save performance included some high-leverage stops during the lopsided second period. Lehner was rewarded with his ninth win of the season.
Lehner also saved the game in overtime, robbing Devils rookie Nico Hischier on an odd-man rush:

Upon further review

Not long after Eichel had scored the game-tying goal in the third period, the Devils appeared to have regained the lead when Taylor Hall found the back of the net on the rush. The Sabres challenged for an offside entry, however, and the call was reversed.
"Mat Myers, our video guy, called it," Housley said. "We looked at it and I was thinking he didn't have possession, but when I looked at it again, he did. He was onside until he lifted his skate. It was a great call by Mat to challenge it and it was a big turning point in the game."
Lehner was happy to see the call go Buffalo's way after being vocally upset about an overturned call that went against the Sabres in Brooklyn on Wednesday. The review in that instance was initiated by the NHL's Situation Room in Toronto, whereas the offside review is conducted by on-ice officials.
"You see what happens when the refs get to make a call," Lehner said. "Leave the Toronto guys out of it and we get fair results."

Eichel stays hot

With his two-goal performance, Eichel extended his point streak to four games, during which he's tallied four goals and three assists. He also has four multi-point outings - and three multi-goal outings - in the six games dating back to his hat trick on Dec. 15.
"I think there's a lot of guys in that same boat but Jack, he's been playing a lot of great hockey and it's showing," Housley said. "Tonight was another great example of it."
Zemgus Girgensons earned the secondary assist on Eichel's first goal, winning a battle along the wall to set up the point shot from Jake McCabe that Eichel would deflect into the net:

Girgensons now has points in three straight games (2+1) since joining a line with Eichel and Sam Reinhart.

Welcome back, Jacob

Josefson played 282 games with the Devils (including playoffs), the organization that drafted him in the first round back in 2009. Friday marked his first game at Prudential Center as a visitor, and he was able to leave a stamp on the game against his former team.
Josefson opened the scoring with a breakaway goal in second period, tying the score at 1-1. Jordan Nolan initiated the play by intercepting a pass in the Buffalo zone and quickly feeding Josefson, who beat Cory Schneider below the glove.

The goal was Josefson's second in 14 games this season.

Up next

The Sabres will head outside to face the New York Rangers at the 2018 Bridgestone Winter Classic at Citi Field on Monday. The game can be seen nationally on NBC with coverage beginning at 1 p.m., or you can listen to Rick Jeanneret and Rob Ray on the call on WGR 550.
In the meantime, the Sabres are scheduled to practice at Citi Field at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Stay tuned to Sabres.com and on Twitter @BuffaloSabres for updates.