The Buffalo Sabres faced off against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, one night after losing their 11th straight game on Monday against the Washington Capitals, a 6-0 loss and their second shutout loss in as many games. Still at the bottom of the division and league standings, the Sabres desperately needed a win.
Defensemen Brandon Davidson and Henri Jokiharju drew back into the lineup after spending a few games on the team’s taxi squad, while d-man Jacob Bryson and forward Rasmus Asplund were re-assigned to the taxi squad. Jonas Johansson started in goal after Carter Hutton played Monday.
| Per. | Time | EV | Goal | Assist | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17:40 |  Yegor Sharangovich (6) | Damon Severson (8) | Travis Zajac (8) | |
| 2 | 6:13 |  Tobias Rieder (5) | --- | --- | |
| 2 | 7:10 | Jeff Skinner (2) | Casey Mittelstadt (4) | --- | |
| 2 | 10:39 | Sami Vatanen (1) | Janne Kuokkanen (7) | Ryan Murray (4) | |
| 3 | 4:52 | PPG | Miles Wood (9) | Jesper Bratt (10) | P.K. Subban (11) |
The Sabres started the first period in decent fashion, as both teams played at a pretty even pace throughout the opening frame. They looked good by almost all measures, as they ended up outshooting the Devils 12-5 at the end of the first.
They were unable to escape the first period unscathed, though, as Yegor Sharangovich scored his sixth goal of the year with just over two minutes left to put the Devils up 1-0 heading into the second.
The Devils came out stronger in the second period, and would end up outshooting the Sabres 15-12 in the middle frame. The Sabres would score the first goal of the period, though, as Tobias Rieder scored his fifth goal of the season, thanks to assists from Brandon Montour and Okposo.
Jeff Skinner would score his second marker of the season soon after, giving the Sabres their first lead of the game. Casey Mittelstadt assisted with a nice dish to put Skinner in front of the net, and Skinner finished it off with a nice backhand goal to go top shelf. Montour picked up his second assist on the goal.
Sami Vatanen tied the game for the Devils 2-2 mid-way through the second period, and the score stayed the same entering the third and final frame.
About five minutes into the third period, the Devils’ Miles Wood scored to give his team the lead, and the Sabres would not be able to recover from that point on. All the Sabres’ efforts proved futile, despite a couple of golden chances for Eric Staal right in front of the net with the goalie pulled.
The Sabres dropped this one, 3-2, extending their losing streak to 12 games. They have been outscored 44-19 during the streak, and fall to 6-18-4 on the season. They play again versus the Boston Bruins on Thursday, their first meeting with the Bruins all season. They’ll then play the Bruins again Saturday afternoon.