Facing the New Jersey Devils for the second time in as many days didn’t go as well this time, as the Sabres dropped a 5-3 decision on Sunday afternoon at KeyBank Center.
Miles Wood was the best player in this game, creating turnovers and chances, and scoring a pair of goals including an empty-netter to seal New Jersey’s win.
| Per. | Time | EV | Goal | Assist | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0:20 |  Michael McLeod (2) | P.K. Subban (3) | Ryan Murray (2) | |
| 1 | 19:43 | Andreas Johnsson (2) | Jesper Bratt (1) | Ty Smith (6) | |
| 2 | 14:11 |  Curtis Lazar (3) | Rasmus Ristolainen (4) | Jake McCabe (2) | |
| 2 | 15:23 | PPG | Rasmus Dahlin (1) | Victor Olofsson (5) | Jack Eichel (8) |
| 2 | 19:59 | Miles Wood (4) | Janne Kuokkanen (2) | --- | |
| 3 | 3:53 | PPG | Rasmus Ristolainen (2) | Victor Olofsson (6) | Jack Eichel (9) |
| 3 | 10:40 | Michael McLeod (3) | Miles Wood (3) | Nathan Bastian (3) | |
| 3 | 19:52 | EN | Miles Wood (5) | Pavel Zacha (2) | Damon Severson (3) |
Michael McLeod also provided a strong effort for the Devils as he registered two goals.
For Buffalo, they never held a lead, but they did battle back from two goals down and after they trailed 3-2.
Curtis Lazar and Rasmus Dahlin each scored within a minute and 12-second span to bring Buffalo right back in the game.
Rasmus Dahlin loads up the bazooka, 2-2 PPG #LetsGoBuffalo #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/jPvH2KtlKK
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) January 31, 2021
The Sabres were able to provide some pressure at times, but they could not sustain that. Although they managed to get three goals, goaltender Eric Comrie was able to hang on for his first win since the 2017-18 season.
This was easily one of the Sabres worst played games of the season so far. They were outplayed, outworked, and lucky to be in the game until the final minute.
“we had a lot of mistakes out there, we didn’t play simple, they had their chances and they scored on them…we need to manage the puck better and be tougher to play against” – Dahlin
The loss snaps the five-game point streak for Buffalo, and after 10 games, they sit at 4-4-2. That won’t be good enough moving forward, so they’ll need to start putting together better efforts.
The Sabres had moved into a playoff spot after Saturday’s win, but they have quickly fallen out, which just goes to show how important points are going to be when every game is against your own division.
Buffalo will head to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders for a pair of games. The first will be on Tuesday evening, and that will be a 6 p.m. start.