The Devils play the first of back-to-back games on a short one-game trip to Buffalo tonight with the back-half coming Saturday at home against Ottawa.
You can watch the game on MSG or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO
WATCH:
Head Coach Lindy Ruff
BY THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparison: Devils vs. Sabres
Media Game Notes
Head to Head: Devils vs. Sabres
Devils Player Statistics
Sabres Player Statistics
NHL Standings
RECENT VIDEOS
DEVILS NOW:
Learning from the Vets
THURSDAY'S INTERVIEWS:
Ruff
|
Hischier
|
Boqvist
|
Mercer
MAKE-A-WISH:
Reilly Hoagland
RECENT ARTICLES
FEATURE:
Best Foote Forward
NOTEBOOK:
Devils Practice, Travel to Buffalo
THREE THINGS:
New Addition
PROSPECT WATCH:
The Rundown
TV & RADIO
You can watch the game on MSG. The pre-game show starts at 6:30 p.m. ET.
You can listen to the game on the
Devils Hockey Network.
The pre-game show starts at 6:50 p.m. ET.

PRE-GAME STORY

BUFFALO, NY - The Devils didn't take a morning skate today, which is rarity when the team isn't in a second half of back-to-back games but perhaps the morning off was to allow the players to clear their heads given the stakes of tonight's contest. A win would send the Devils to the postseason officially for the first time since 2018.
"You set out at the start of the year - we talked about playing meaningful games at the end of the year - we're in a situation where we could put an X beside our names and do it ourselves," said Devils head coach Lindy Ruff on clinching.
"It's just something we've worked at for 70+ games. Got to continue to work on the game. We've had a few ups and downs along the way but we've become a good team when you can battle through adversity."
The opportunity to clinch comes after the Devils had played 12 games in 21 days with travel from one side of the country to the other. The club went 6-3-3 in that stretch which certainly isn't a bad stretch of hockey but they've only won one of their last five (1-2-2) and struggled to score on Tuesday against Minnesota.
"We've just gone through a real tough stretch of games." Ruff began. "We talked about that after the game. We left too many good chances out there. We had a run where the puck started going in the net and now we've had a run where it hasn't been going in.
"We have to be better at finishing the opportunities. Down the stretch, playoffs, the chances get thinner so when you get the Grade A chance you've got to convert."
LINEUP UPDATES
Ruff noted that Tomas Tatar, who did not skate on Thursday at practice, is likely to play tonight. Ruff was also asked about pairing Hischier with Bratt and Hughes with Mercer, hoping to create some duos that could develop consistency heading into the playoffs.
"There's a couple schools of thought sometimes with two guys going together. That one guy is usually complementing something the other guy is doing. We like to try to stay with something that could be consistent down the stretch here. When you look at where I get most nights, the lines are going to change whether I say they are or not."

BLACK AND WHITE
The Sabres will be wearing their third jerseys tonight, the black and red angry Buffalo that was a trademark of Ruff's early years coaching the Sabres -- including when they made the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. Ruff was asked about those uniforms.
"We had a couple uniforms that got heavily criticized but we had pretty good success in them. I don't have feelings any other way but they were good for me and good for the team," he chuckled.

PREVIEW

DEVILS (45-18-8) at SABRES (33-31-6)
TV: 6:30 p.m. ET; Televised on MSG
RADIO: 6:50 p.m. ET; Live on the
Devils Hockey Network
Head-to-Head:
The Devils and Sabres have met one time previously this season, a 3-1 Devils win back on November 25 in Buffalo. Tomas Tatar, Jack Hughes and Jesper Boqvist each scored in the victory as Akira Schmid stoppd 33 of 34 shots for the win.
Last season, the Devils won two out of three between the clubs. They meet for a third and final time this season on April 11 at Prudential Center.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils have won only once in their last five games (1-2-2) but remain within striking distance of the Carolina Hurricanes for top spot in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind. However, the Hurricanes have two games in hand. The Devils are six points ahead of the third-place Rangers.
New Jersey has three players with 30 or more goals this season: Jack Hughes (37), Nico Hischier (30) and Jesper Bratt (30). Fourth is Dawson Mercer with 22. The last time the Devils had even one 30 goal scorer was 2017-18 -- the last year they made the playoffs -- when Taylor Hall had 39. The last time they had three 30-goal scorers was 2011-12 -- the season they made the Stanley Cup Final. Ilya Kovalchuk (37), Zach Parise (31) and David Clarkson (30) were the scorers.
Sabres Team Scope:
The Sabres are fighting for their playoff lives at the moment. They are eight points behind Pittsburgh with a game in hand with only 11 games left and need to nearly run the table for a chance to get in.
They haven't made things easy on themselves as of late. They've lost their last four games (0-3-1) and only won one of their last nine overall (1-6-2).
Tage Thompson leads the way for the Sabres in a breakout season with 43 goals and 88 points. Jeff Skinner is second on the club with 30 goals and 68 points in 67 games. Alex Tuch is also having a breakout season with 30 goals and 65 points in 62 games. His previous career high was 20 goals and 52 points.
By the Numbers:
New Jersey's magic number is now two. Two points gained by the Devils or lost by the Panthers gets them officially into the postseason.
With 26 wins on the road this season, the Devils are tied with Boston for the most in the NHL. Last season, no team in the NHL won 26 road games. Washington, Calgary and Carolina each had 25.
Nico Hischier leads the Devils in points in March with 12 (5G, 7A in 12 GP). Dawson Mercer is second with 11 (3 G, 8 A in 12 GP). Damon Severson is third with nine points in 12 contests.
Injuries:
Devils
Miles Wood (undisclosed, day-to-day)
Nathan Bastian (upper body, day-to-day)
Curtis Lazar (upper body, day-to-day)
Mackenzie Blackwood (lower-body, IR)
Jonathan Bernier (hip, LTIR)
Sabres
Jordan Greenway (upper body, day-to-day)
Eric Comrie (lower body, day-to-day)
Mattias Samuelsson (upper body, day-to-day)