Daws wins NHL debut, helps Devils defeat Sabres in OT

NEWARK, N.J. -- Nico Daws won his NHL debut when Pavel Zacha scored with 1:51 remaining in overtime, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 at Prudential Center on Saturday.

"I'm kind of speechless right now," Daws said after making 24 saves. "We got off to an early deficit and, at that point, my job was to just give the team a chance to win, try to stop every puck I can."
Zacha scored on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle for the third overtime goal of his NHL career.
"The shot is perfect, above the pad and below the glove," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "It's a shot not many guys can pull off but 'Pav.' I've seen a lot of it in practice and he hit the perfect spot."

Nico Hischier scored for the Devils (3-1-0), who played their fourth straight home game to start the season.
Dylan Cozens scored his first goal of the season, and Dustin Tokarski made 37 saves for the Sabres (3-1-1) in their first road game. Buffalo lost 4-1 to the Boston Bruins on Friday.
"The back half of the game, [the Devils] got some momentum," Tokarski said. "We were a little tired, but the boys played a great game. Their goalie played awesome. We could've had a few more. Give him lots of credit. In the overtime, I don't know exactly what led to the play, but he made a shot."
Daws, a third-round pick (No. 84) by the Devils in the 2020 NHL Draft, is the fifth-youngest goalie in their history to make his NHL debut (20 years, 305 days). Craig Billington, who made 23 saves in a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 26, 1985, is the youngest (19 years, 45 days).
"Obviously, I had nerves in the first couple minutes of the game, the legs are a little shaky, but that's expected in my first NHL game," Daws said. "It's a big crowd and I'm not really used to that, but after a few shots, a couple saves, I think I calmed down."
Cozens gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead on the power play with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle at 3:19 of the first period.
"I thought our guys battled really hard," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We didn't give up a lot of second chances, we cleaned it up very well. We kept a lot of shots to the outside."

Daws kept the Devils within one goal when he stopped Drake Caggiula on a breakaway at 12:27 of the second period.
"I was thinking of nothing (on the breakaway). Just save it," Daws said. "I don't really think during the game, I just kind of go."
Hischier tied it 1-1 on a power-play goal at 5:52 of the third period. Dougie Hamilton's point shot caromed off the end boards to Hischier near the right post, where he scored his first of the season.

The Devils captain had left for the trainer's room with one minute remaining in the second after he was seen bent over on the bench in discomfort, but he returned for the third period.
"I didn't get hurt, it was just pain, so just wanted to go out there and finish the game," Hischier said.
Ruff said, "Was he hurting? Yes. You know, I think a lot of players maybe don't come back and play. Nico is the type of guy, as a captain of the team, who said, 'I'm going to finish this game.'"
New Jersey was without goalies Mackenzie Blackwood (heel) and Jonathan Bernier (lower body), and center Jack Hughes, who missed his second straight game after being placed on injured reserve Thursday with a dislocated left shoulder.
"Obviously with Jack out, there's a big hole there, but I always just try to focus on my game," Hischier said. "I try to bring the team what I can do, offensively and defensively. In the end, I feel like everybody who is in the lineup tries to give 100 percent. That's what matters."
NOTES: Sabres defenseman Will Butcher, who played his first four NHL seasons with the Devils before being traded to Buffalo on July 28, had two hits and two blocked shots in 20:26 of ice time in his first game against his former team. ... Hischier had a game-high five shots and was 8-for-12 on face-offs (67 percent) in 20:06. ... New Jersey defenseman Ty Smith played 20:49 and had three blocked shots after missing the first three games with a lower-body injury.