Power scores first NHL goal, Sabres defeat Devils

Owen Power scored his first NHL goal, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday.

"It was pretty surreal," Power said. "It's obviously nice just to get it out of the way."
Power, who was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, made it 4-2 at 8:33 of the third period when he scored from the bottom of the left circle off a feed from Jeff Skinner. The 19-year-old defenseman has two points (one goal, one assist) in five NHL games since making his debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 12.
"It's great," Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo said. "He's such a talent and you could tell that he wanted it. The last few games, he's up in the play all the time, he's always around the net and making great plays, so it was just a matter of time before he was going to get it. Great place to do it."
Rasmus Dahlin and Skinner each had a goal and an assist, Victor Olofsson had three assists, and Craig Anderson made 29 saves for the Sabres (30-38-11), who have won three in a row.
"I loved our third period because we give up a goal, the first goal of the period, and then the game tightens up and we were pushing each other," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "Everybody collectively, we just said, 'Let's go. Let's get another. Let's go after them. We're not going to sit on a one-goal lead.'"

Jesper Boqvist and Nikita Okhotiuk scored, and Andrew Hammond made 23 saves for the Devils (27-43-7), who are 3-2-1 in their past six games.
"It was just terrible puckhandling," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "There's nothing more to it. Can't break it down any other way. There was a play to be made."
Okposo made it 1-0 at 11:53 of the second period, scoring a shorthanded goal from the neutral zone when his shot that floated under Hammond's glove.
"Well, I just picked my spot there. No, just a fluky one, just a sinker," Okposo said. "Those happen sometimes, and it dove hard. And then we get another one on the penalty kill, 'Tuchy's' there. Then we get the third one and the floodgates just seemed to open. We just stuck with our game."
Alex Tuch gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead 47 seconds later during the same penalty kill. He scored with a backhand off the skate of Hammond after Olofsson was stopped on a breakaway.
The Devils were 0-for-4 on the power play and are 0-for-29 in their past 11 games.
"We did it to ourselves," Devils defenseman Damon Severson said. "Shorthanded goals are killers, and our power plays have been struggling, so to get scored on shorthanded is even worse. Those ones hurt for sure, and it just kinda started the whole ball rolling against us."

Dahlin extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:58 when his one-timer from the right circle hit Devils forward Dawson Mercer and redirected into the net.
Boqvist cut it to 3-1 with eight seconds remaining in the period, jamming in the puck past Anderson's left skate.
Okhotiuk, who was making his NHL debut, narrowed it to 3-2 at 4:59 of the third period when he scored off a rebound from the left circle.
"He played really well," Ruff said. "I was a little surprised how well he played and scored at the same time, which you don't really expect, so what a great debut for the young man. I'm happy for him."
Skinner converted a tap-in off the rush for the 5-2 final at 16:03.
NOTES: Dahlin has six points (two goals, four assists) during a three-game point streak and 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 15 career games against the Devils. … Skinner has five points (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak and 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in his past 17 games. … New Jersey allowed two shorthanded goals in a game for the second time this season. … Okhotiuk is the 21st rookie in Devils history to score in his NHL debut. … Boqvist has scored in three straight games for the first time in his NHL career. ... Sabres forward Tage Thompson had two assists to extend his point streak to five games (four goals, three assists).