Haula scores twice, sparks Devils past Sabres

NEWARK, N.J. -- Erik Haula scored two goals for the New Jersey Devils, including the game-winner in the third period, in a 5-4 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at Prudential Center on Friday.

Haula broke a 4-4 tie at 14:17 with his second goal, on a tip-in from the slot. 

"[Haula] was hurt a little bit this season, and I don't think he was up to speed in the previous couple of games,” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said, “but tonight we saw more of what we need out of him. When you look at his overall play, a real solid game for us."

Jack Hughes, Alexander Holtz and Jesper Bratt scored, and Luke Hughes had two assists for the Devils (4-2-1), who have won three of four. Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves.

Eric Comrie allowed two goals on 18 shots for the Sabres (3-5-0) before leaving with an undisclosed injury at 9:46 of the second period. He was replaced by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made 18 saves.

"It wasn't optimal (coming in cold), but you just do what you can do," Luukkonen said. "I have to be ready. I'm always ready on the bench, talking to the guys. In the end, it's hockey."

JJ Peterka gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 6:11 of the first period before Holtz tied it 1-1 at 7:41.

Tage Thompson put Buffalo ahead 2-1 at 15:42 when he maneuvered around the right pad of Vanecek at the left post.

Bratt scored 29 seconds later to tie it 2-2 at 16:11 with the teams at 4-on-4. He stole the puck at the offensive blue line, skated in on Comrie and scored through the five-hole.

Haula scored on a short-handed breakaway for a 3-2 New Jersey lead at 13:47 of the second period. It was the eighth short-handed goal of his NHL career and the first of the season for the Devils.

"It was a game that had pretty radical swings when you look at the overall game," Ruff said. "There were pockets in the first period I thought we were really good. I thought there were pockets where they were good, too. Buffalo has some good skill up front, they make a lot of in-tight plays. You look at the goal Thompson scored ... incredible move to get around the goaltender.

"We fought our way back, took a lead. They fought their way back again, so we were able to grab momentum on a couple of those goals. I thought the short-handed goal was huge for momentum. I also thought Jesper's goal was as well."

Rasmus Dahlin tied it 3-3 at 17:32 with his first goal of the season, on a slap shot from the right point.

"Overall, there were pockets of real good and pockets of inconsistency, so we need more of the real good," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We did it to ourselves. We made our own mess. It's disappointing."

Jack Hughes’ power-play goal gave the Devils a 4-3 lead at 2:09 of the third, but Cozens tied it 4-4 at 12:35 with a sharp-angled shot inside the right post.

"It's early and we've got a ways to go, and there's a lot of areas we still can get better at," Haula said. "I think everyone would agree with that as individuals and as a team. So, there's lots of hockey left and we just keep building."

Haula missed an opportunity for his first NHL hat trick when his stick snapped in half prior to a shot attempt into an empty net from the right circle with 1:01 remaining in the third.

"It's a little sad," Haula said. "I don't know how much closer to that I'm going to get."

Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton was given a match penalty after he delivered a high hit to Devils center Nico Hischier along the boards at 16:00 of the first. Hischier played in the second period but did not play in the third.

Clifton will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday.

"He was kept out of the third for precautionary reasons," Ruff said of Hischier. "We'll see how he's doing tomorrow."

NOTES: Granato had no update on Comrie after the game. ... Dahlin extended his point streak to seven games (eight points; one goal, seven assists), the longest of his NHL career. ... Cozens ran his point streak to six games (seven points; three goals, four assists). ... Jack Hughes extended his season-opening point streak to seven games (18 points; five goals, 13 assists), the third-longest such run in franchise history, behind Bratt (11 games, 2022-23) and Tim Higgins (10 games, 1984-85). … All four wins for the Devils this season have been comeback victories.