Jack Hughes, Jesper Boqvist, and Tomas Tatar scored goals as the New Jersey Devils secured their ninth straight road win, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Friday night.
The Metropolitan Division-leading Devils rebounded after a 2-1 home loss to Toronto on Wednesday, which had ended their franchise record-tying 13-game winning streak.
“We talked about not losing two games in a row,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “And I thought overall we got a really good team effort.”
The Devils’ nine consecutive road wins match the second-longest streak in team history. Their 11-1-0 record in November is also a franchise best for the month.
“We had a great jump,” said Erik Haula, who assisted on the Devils’ first goal after creating a scoring chance with a poke check in the defensive zone. “Great O-zone pressure. We were able to get on pucks and create some turnovers. We gave up a couple of chances, but I thought we had great energy.”
New Jersey backup goalie Akira Schmid made 31 saves, improving to 4-0-0 this season. The 22-year-old from Switzerland lost in his four starts as a rookie last season.
Victor Olofsson scored for Buffalo, and Craig Anderson stopped 41 shots.
The Devils’ defense effectively contained a Sabres offense that had netted 13 goals in their previous two wins following an eight-game losing streak.
“They got a lot of swagger right now,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “Their defense, I thought, was pretty dominant, pretty early.”
New Jersey scored three goals in the second period and has outscored opponents 30-20 through 21 games.
Dawson Mercer’s backhand pass set up Hughes for a sliding one-timer two minutes into the second.
About four minutes later, Yegor Sharangovich extended his point streak to five games by taking the puck from Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson along the end boards and feeding Boqvist in the slot.
After Olofsson scored on a rush to make it 2-1, Tatar answered for the Devils with a shot from the left circle that slipped between Anderson’s pads with 2:05 remaining in the second.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Captain Kyle Okposo returned to the Sabres’ lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury. “It was just some wear and tear I’ve been dealing with, and I had to give it some time to calm down,” the 34-year-old forward said.
Buffalo defenseman Jacob Bryson is out for at least a week with a lower-body injury sustained in Wednesday’s 6-2 win against St. Louis. Casey Fitzgerald, the son of New Jersey general manager Tom Fitzgerald, has been a healthy scratch in five of the past eight games and replaced Bryson in the lineup.
APPROACHING MILESTONE
Devils coach Lindy Ruff is one victory away from becoming the fifth NHL coach with 800 career wins. A former Sabres player, Ruff won 571 games coaching Buffalo from 1997-2011. He added 165 wins in five seasons with Dallas, and Friday’s victory was his 63rd in two-plus seasons with New Jersey.
GAME NOTES
The Devils improved to 15-0-0 this season when Nico Hischier recorded a point. The captain assisted on Tatar’s goal. New Jersey is one road victory away from matching the franchise record of 10 set from Feb. 27 to April 7, 2011. The team last won nine in a row from Oct. 8 to Nov. 12, 2009.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Washington on Saturday to conclude back-to-back games.
- Sabres: Host Tampa Bay on Monday night.
