The hard work finally paid off for Buffalo as they defeated the New Jersey Devils for the second time in four days. Tonight, they were the better team and they got great goaltending and a handful of goals in a 4-1 win at the Prudential Center.
Ralph Kreuger said that Monday’s loss to the New York Islanders was the most painful loss of the season, and it was nice to see the team rebound in this one.
| Per. | Time | EV | Goal | Assist | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10:20 | PPG |  Victor Olofsson (7) | Rasmus Dahiln (6) | Sam Reinhart (6) |
| 3 | 5:16 | Rasmus Asplund (1) | Sam Reinhart (7) | Jack Eichel (12) | |
| 3 | 6:50 | Dylan Cozens (3) | Taylor Hall (10) | Eric Staal (4) | |
| 3 | 19:32 |  Nikita Gusev (2) | P.K. Subban (5) | Pavel Zacha (5) | |
| 3 | 19:59 | EN | Cody Eakin (1) | Kyle Okposo (1) | --- |
The Sabres had all kinds of chances tonight and they hit the goal post five times in the first 40 minutes of play, including a couple from Jack Eichel.
Eichel and Taylor Hall didn’t break their scoring slumps, but both chipped in on the scoresheet with an assist each.
Power play specialist Victor Olofsson cashed in AGAIN on the power play with another quick blast into the net. On multiple occasions, the Sabres had the 1st power-play unit on the ice for the entire penalty, and they were rewarded on one of them (and nearly another).
Rasmus Asplund and Dylan Cozens scored about a minute and a half apart, which gave the Sabres a couple of insurance goals early in the third period.
Rasmus Asplund bats the puck in out of midair, 2-0 #LetsGoBuffalo #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/KlJTRWmqfc
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) February 24, 2021
Dylan Cozens! 3-0 #LetsGoBuffalo #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/ee6J8L8Jly
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) February 24, 2021
Linus Ullmark got the nod, which may be a little surprising since it was a back-to-back, but his play has been superior to Carter Hutton’s, and it showed again tonight. Ullmark was excellent and he had to make some real tough stops. It seemed to allow the Sabres to keep up their tempo and offensive chances.
If he ever deserved a shutout, it was tonight, but he came up just seconds shy of getting it as Nikita Gusev put home a rebound after numerous big saves. Ullmark finished the night with 41 saves, including this one:
Ullmark save on Gusev #LetsGoBuffalo #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/e7LAq2R92Y
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) February 24, 2021
Jacob Bryson made his NHL debut and he held his own, not only staying with the opposition but looking like a strong force on the backend. That would be a huge plus if he can prove to be a solid dman this early in his career.
Jeff Skinner watched this one from the press box as he was a healthy scratch.
That's just the 2nd time this season that the #Sabres have scored more than 3 goals in regulation.
— 🏒 Kevin ⚾️ (@kmf418) February 24, 2021
The Sabres have a day off on Wednesday and will take on the Devils again on Thursday at KeyBank Center. They’ll be debuting their Reverse Retro jerseys for the first of six games this season. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.