The Buffalo Sabres travel to the Prudential Center for a meeting with the New Jersey Devils tonight. This marks the third of a four game road trip for the Sabres who will look to get back in the win column following a disappointing loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night 4-3.
The Sabres improved their play in each period against the Hurricanes, but outstanding play from Erik Staal and Alexander Semin along with stellar goaltending from third string Justin Peters helped deny the Sabres from picking up at least one point in their fifth straight game. Cody Hodgson was a definite stand out for the Sabres, picking up his 9th and 10th goals of the season.
A major key for Buffalo’s success this evening and for that matter the rest of the season, is getting their anemic power play on track. Sitting dead last in the league and only scoring on 10 of 87 man advantage opportunities, working out the flaws is definitely on top of the list for the Sabres coaching staff.
The New Jersey Devils are in the midst of working out some problems of their own. Currently on a six game losing streak and winners of only one game out of their last nine, the Devils are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Falling behind 4-0, New Jersey picked up two late goals by Adam Henrique and Patrick Elias to make the score somewhat respectable, but poor defensive play and suspect goaltending did the Devils in once again. Johan Hedberg again got the start for New Jersey in place of the injured Martin Brodeur, but after giving up three goals on fourteen shots, he was pulled for back up Keith Kinkaid.
This will be the second meeting in less than a week between the two clubs with the Sabres coming away with a 4-3 shoot out victory Saturday afternoon. Jason Pominville’s 8th and 9th goals of the season along with Ryan Miller’s 28 saves were enough to push the Sabres to the win.
The game can be seen on MSG with a 7:05 puck drop.