Schneider gets second win in row for Devils against Sabres

NEWARK, N.J. --Cory Schneider made 34 saves to win his second straight game for the New Jersey Devils, 4-1 against the Buffalo Sabres at Prudential Center on Sunday.

Schneider, who was 0-17-4 in his previous 24 regular-season games, made 15 saves in relief of Keith Kinkaid in a 5-4 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
"I feel good," Schneider said. "I feel much more like myself and I've been back to the way I know I can play. It's a smaller sample, but for me, I really feel it's sustainable. You know you're going to have bumps in the road or nights that don't go so well, but as long as they're outweighed by the good performances and the ones where I'm giving my team wins and points, that's important."
WATCH: [All Sabres vs. Devils highlights\]
Kyle Palmieri had a goal and two assists, and Travis Zajac and Andy Greene each had two assists for the Devils (23-28-8), who won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 12-14.

Sam Reinhart scored, and Carter Hutton made 20 saves for the Sabres (28-23-7), who have lost three of their past four games and are six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"We need to bear down and start putting up more points," Reinhart said. "We are focused on getting back and getting ready for the Florida Panthers (on Tuesday). It's another opportunity to put up points, but the loss is tough to swallow."
Miles Wood gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 7:25 of the second period when a pass from Palmieri deflected in off his right skate.
"That's one of the things that makes Miles an effective player," Palmieri said. "He's got incredible speed and strength and I think he did a great job with the puck in his feet. He did a great job of putting the puck in the net, but just not a great job of stopping (after scoring and crashing into the net)."
Jesper Bratt scored on a one-timer from the right circle on the power play to make it 2-0 at 13:36, but Reinhart cut it to 2-1 at 19:04 after he took a pass from defenseman Zach Bogosian and scored off a snap shot from the left circle with Schneider out of position.

"We had our chances and I thought we played hard," Bogosian said. "I thought it was a back-and-forth game though the score was what it was. I thought we had our chances."
Palmieri extended the lead to 3-1 on a wrist shot that beat Hutton short side over his left shoulder at 14:09 of the third period, and Joey Anderson scored a shorthanded goal into an empty net at 16:51 to make it 4-1.
"I kind of noticed a bit of a tendency (with Hutton) where he does a really good job of taking away the bottom of the net and controlling rebounds," Palmieri said. "The puck was kind of rolling and it was towards the end of our shift and I was able to elevate it. Lucky enough it caught the net."

They said it

"I believe in our group. I believe in these guys. They came back and responded the right way. It wasn't our night. I know that's disappointing, but we've got a big game against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. We're still in this thing. We are still fighting and that's the way we are going to look at it." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley
"I strive to be consistent and recently, you know, in the past year, it hasn't really been that at all. But to get back to that so the guys know what they're going to get every single night and that I'm going to give them a chance to win is really important to me and, I think, to the team." -- Devils goalie Cory Schneider
"There were quite a few opportunities there throughout the game where [Schneider] was just really square and really solid and he just looks good. He looks like his normal self and that's good to see. It's good for him and good that he got another big win." -- Devils captain Andy Greene

Need to know

Sabres center Jack Eichel had an assist and has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past 12 games. … Reinhart has an NHL career-high 51 points (14 goals, 37 assists) on the season. … Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin led all skaters in ice time at 23:02. ... Bratt has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Palmieri has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past two games. … New Jersey went 1-for-2 on the power play and has scored a power-play goal in five straight games (5-for-15).

What's next

Sabres:At the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Devils:Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNP, MSG+, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)