Andy Greene gives Devils win with OT penalty shot

BUFFALO-- Andy Greene scored on a penalty shot 29 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.
The defenseman was awarded the penalty shot after he was taken down on a breakaway by Sabres forward Evander Kane. Greene then skated in against Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson and beat him through his five-hole for his second goal of the season.
"A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while," Greene said. "I came in and I was just trying to be patient there. Make sure I don't fall and get a decent shot off."

The Devils (7-3-3) have won three straight games. The Sabres (5-5-4) have lost three in a row.
WATCH:All Devils vs. Sabres highlights
Yohann Auvitu's first NHL goal made it 1-1 at 3:13 of the third period. The 27-year-old defenseman took a shot from inside the blue line through a screen from Travis Zajac that got past Nilsson. Zajac extended his point streak to five games with an assist.
"You can give a lot of credit to [Zajac's screen]," said Auvitu, who played his 13th NHL game in his first season. "If there's nobody in front of the net, I don't think I would score that, so it's always very important, especially when you are shooting from the far blue [line], to have somebody, some traffic."

Matt Moulson gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead with 9:26 left in the first period on a power-play goal. He received a pass from Kyle Okposo a put a slap shot past Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid.
Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly left the game 3:49 into the third period. He was scratched from a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday with a mid-body injury. Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said O'Reilly is day to day.
"It wasn't like he went into the game playing with the injury," Bylsma said. "It wasn't a battle through it, he felt fine to go, and I haven't talked to him other than to know he reaggravated it in the faceoff circle there in the third period."
Devils forward Mike Cammalleri missed the game for personal reasons and returned to New Jersey.
"I haven't spoken with Mike since he left," Devils coach John Hynes said. "We'll talk with him today and then tomorrow and see where he's at."

Goal of the game

Greene said his penalty-shot goal was his first, and that he made a move against Nilsson to win the game made it more special.

Save of the game

With 6:40 left in the first period, Devils forward Taylor Hall skated in on a 2-on-1 with defenseman John Moore against Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Hall looked toward Moore before he took a wrist shot that Nilsson saved with his glove.

Highlight of the game

After Auvitu tied the game, the Sabres turned the pressure back on the Devils 37 seconds later but Kinkaid made leg saves against Kane and O'Reilly that prevented Buffalo from retaking the lead.

Unsung moment of the game

With a 1-0 lead in the second period, the Sabres killed a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:25. It was the third straight game when they killed an extended 5-on-3.

They said it

"He's been pretty unbeatable in practice for a while now. There's a guy that works extremely hard in practice, competes on everything. It's no surprise that it transfers over to the games." -- Sabres left wing Matt Moulson about backup goalie Anders Nilsson
"We've had a pretty decent schedule in terms of days off and stuff like that. We've been mostly healthy -- knock on wood -- and we have to take advantage of this because later this month our schedule gets really, really tough; a lot of travel, and we've got to make sure we come in and try to take care of business tomorrow night." -- Devils captain Andy Greene

Need to know

Moulson's five goals this season are all on the power play; he is tied with Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds and Winnipeg Jets rookie forward Patrik Laine for the League lead in power-play goals. … O'Reilly had an assist to give him 200 in the NHL. … The road team has won each of the past five games between the Devils and Sabres, who play at New Jersey on Saturday. … The Sabres went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill and are 16-for-16 at home.

What's next

Devils: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG +, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Sabres: At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG +, MSG-B, NHL.TV)