At the Horn | Devils 7 - Sabres 2

Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo each scored for the Buffalo Sabres in a 7-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils inside Prudential Center on Saturday.

Tyler Toffoli led the Devils with a pair of goals while Alexander Holtz, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, and Jesper Bratt all recorded multi-point nights. Vitek Vanecek made nine saves.

Eric Comrie made 14 saves on 18 shots in the first period before giving way to Devon Levi, who stopped 17 of 20 shots.

Mattias Samuelsson exited the game with an upper-body injury with 4:40 to go in the first period and did not return. Buffalo was also without forwards Jordan Greenway (personal) and Zemgus Girgensons, who was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury he sustained against Pittsburgh on Friday.

The Sabres went 2-for-2 on the power play, scoring with the man-advantage for the fourth consecutive game.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 1:31 – Alexander Holtz from Erik Haula and Dougie Hamilton (1-0, NJD)

Holtz snuck in alone and took a quick shot off a pass from Haula to give the Devils an early 1-0 lead.

Period 1, 11:09 – Tyler Toffoli from Brendan Smith and Dawson Mercer (2-0, NJD)

Vanecek went to the bench for an extra attacker during a delayed penalty on the Sabres. Toffoli extended the lead as he collected a rebound in front and backhanded it into the net.

Period 1, 15:20 – Nico Hischier from Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt (3-0, NJD)

New Jersey entered the Buffalo zone on a 3-on-1, which saw Hischier put away a rebound in his first game back following an 11-game absence. 

Period 1, 18:27 – Ondrej Palat from Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier (4-0, NJD)

The Devils made it 4-0 as Bratt dropped a pass back to Palat in the slot for his second point of the night. 

Period 2, 1:53 (PP) – Jeff Skinner from Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt (4-1, NJD)

The Sabres found the scoresheet on the power play, after Rasmus Dahlin drew a tripping penalty on Hamilton. Tuch fed Skinner, who was wide open in the slot to beat Vanecek.

Period 2, 2:44 – Tyler Toffoli from Alexander Holtz and Luke Hughes (5-1, NJD)

Toffoli scored again, capitalizing on a rebound next to the crease after a series of quick passes in the Buffalo end. 

Period 3, 1:50 – Dawson Mercer from Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes (6-1, NJD)

Hamilton took a shot from the point that deflected off Mercer and Connor Clifton then into the net.

Period 3, 3:55 (PP) – Kyle Okposo from Owen Power and JJ Peterka (6-2, NJD)

The Sabres scored their second power-play goal of the night as Okposo tipped the puck in to cut the Devils' lead to 6-2.

Period 3, 5:36 (PP)  – Luke Hughes, unassisted (7-2, NJD)

New Jersey added a power-play tally of its own from Luke Hughes to make it 7-2.

HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME COMMENTS

PHOTO GALLERY

UP NEXT

The road trip continues Monday in New York as the Sabres take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. 

Coverage on MSG/MSG+ kicks off at 6:30 p.m with puck drop scheduled for 7.