Ralph Krueger felt the Buffalo Sabres had begun to establish consistent habits away from the puck during their past six games entering Monday. Their strong defensive play had led to chances offensively, but those opportunities had not yet led to goals on a consistent basis.
That changed against the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres buried five goals in the first period against goaltender Louis Domingue and never looked back in what ended as a 7-1 victory at KeyBank Center.
It was a fitting performance for a franchise celebrating a birthday. Members of the Knox family were in attendance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the day Buffalo was awarded an NHL franchise: Dec. 2, 1969.
Breaking down the numbers behind a high-scoring win over New Jersey
Sheary scores twice; Asplund nets 1st NHL goal in 7-1 victory
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