Devils Sweep Sabres in Prague With Dominant Effort in 3-1 Win

This weekend has been a great, vibe-boosting start to the season.

First Period

The New Jersey Devils started the game fending off a Buffalo Sabres attack, with a big chance coming against them when Erik Haula made a bad backhand pass to Paul Cotter in the neutral zone. It was picked off by Ryan McLeod, who went speeding down the middle, but had his rush shot blocked by Simon Nemec. Cotter was on the third line, as Ondrej Palat did not play due to his paternity leave.

Jack Hughes almost had his first goal of the season when he had the puck on his backhand with Devon Levi down, but Jack couldn’t get the shot off. A couple minutes later, a loose puck bounced out from the boards to Jesper Bratt in the high slot, but he missed the net as he shot the puck like a one-timer.

Brenden Dillon blew up JJ Peterka in the neutral zone with a stand-up hit when Peterka was skating at a high speed, leaving Peterka in a heap on the ice. Alex Tuch immediately dropped the gloves with Dillon, who obliged Tuch. Peterka was tended to by trainers, and a major was temporarily called to review the hit by Dillon. After a review, they gave Buffalo a two-minute power play for interference, with Dillon and Tuch getting five for fighting.

The penalty kill went by quickly, with the Sabres getting zero shots on goal. Jesper Bratt had a chance on a two-on-one, but his pass was deflected wide of goal by a backchecking Sabre. Play returned to five-on-five until Timo Meier was taken down by a trip, with Jiri Kulich going to the box just past the halfway point of the first period.

On the power play, Nico Hischier set up Jesper Bratt from behind the net, and Bratt dug away at the puck. Levi covered it for long enough to get a whistle, but Bratt put it into the net, leading to Jordan Greenway taking him into the boards. After play resumed, both Jack Hughes and Timo Meier had shots stopped by Levi. The second unit came on for the second minute of the power play, and Seamus Casey had a shot blocked high. The Devils got the puck back in their own end, but they couldn’t get a shot after regaining the zone.

Tage Thompson was about to have a two-on-one after a foot race to the Devils’ defensive zone for a puck that went down the ice. Thompson won the race, but Timo Meier deflected his pass away with a well-placed reach of the stick. A couple shifts later, Jake Allen made a big glove save on an Owen Power slap shot.

Peyton Krebs took a big whack at Dougie Hamilton in the middle of the ice after play was blown dead for an icing with 2:48 to play. No call was made, and both Dillon and Tuch returned to the game with the whistle for icing. The period wound down without many more chances for either side, though there were a couple scrums and hits.

Second Period

Alex Tuch quickly went to the box for tripping Nico Hischier, as Tuch took out his leg while skating by. Jack Hughes circled up and set up a shot attempt for Dougie Hamilton, but the Sabres cleared the loose puck away. After regaining the zone, Nico Hischier shot from the circle, and Levi gloved it as Jack Hughes tried to bat it past him. The second unit came on, and Stefan Noesen lost the draw, leading to another clearance of the puck. Seamus Casey set up a one-timer for Erik Haula that was stopped by Levi, and Tomas Tatar had a couple shots at the end of the power play, getting his own rebound.

Tage Thompson had another two-on-one chance — this time with Seamus Casey defending after an aggressive pass from Simon Nemec turned it over to the Sabres. Casey played the pass until Thompson went to shoot, diving down to deter the puck — and Jake Allen made the save.

After Timo Meier was denied by Devon Levi, Jack Hughes took the puck away from the Sabres and had a two-on-one with Jesper Bratt. Hughes was also stopped by Levi. The Sabres came back at it, and Tage Thompson led them to the net with a pass to his side to Jordan Greenway, who shot the puck on goal. The Sabres dug away at the loose puck and scored, and Keefe declined to challenge for goaltender interference, though it looked like he should have made the call. 1-0, Sabres.

Paul Cotter deked through his legs to beat Dylan Cozens to the net, but Devon Levi made a big-time stop past the halfway point of the period. Tage Thompson was called for goaltender interference on the other end when he knocked Jake Allen to the ice as a shot whizzed by.

Dougie Hamilton uncorked a one-timer to start the power play, and Devon Levi came up with the glove again. The first wave of the power play had a rough time moving the puck after that, and the second unit came on before a minute passed. Seamus Casey toe dragged around Alex Tuch after receiving a pass from Erik Haula, and he whipped the puck right past Levi to tie the game! 1-1, with eight minutes to go in the second period.

Brenden Dillon took a tripping call with under six and a half minutes to go in the period, as Jack Quinn was taken down with a stick between the legs. The penalty kill got off to a great start, and Jesper Bratt took a loose puck for a breakaway just 40 seconds into the two minutes. Levi read the shot well and sent it away with the right pad. Jake Allen, towards the end of the kill, sent the puck all the way down on goal to Devon Levi, who had to spin and backhand the puck away to keep it from Stefan Noesen, who was bearing down on him.

Right after play resumed, following a TV timeout, Sam Lafferty went to the box for tripping Brenden Dillon. With 3:53 to play in the period, the Devils went back to the power play. Dougie Hamilton put a great one-timer on goal at the end of the first unit’s time, but Levi just got a pad on it. The period ended with the score still tied at one apiece.

Third Period

The Devils crossed the 30-shot threshold early in the period, but the Sabres nearly took the lead on their 12th shot of the game, forcing Jake Allen to make a big arm and pad save on Krebs. On the other end, the Hughes line continued its shooting gallery, but Devon Levi kept on making saves. Jack Hughes nearly got a shot to trickle through his arm, and Timo Meier had a short-range chance, but the game stayed tied. Rushing back, Brenden Dillon blocked a rush shot attempt from Jack Quinn.

Jack Hughes got into a one-on-one situation, but he decided to circle back and wait for help. Paul Cotter came in, and Hughes put it right on his stick off his spin, and Cotter put the puck bar down! A 2-1 Devils lead with over 12 minutes to play.

Dawson Mercer was hit by Connor Clifton without the puck, losing his helmet, but the game continued on. A couple minutes later, Devon Levi made another huge save on Nico Hischier, who had a chance in the slot. The Devils kept coming, though, with Jack Hughes springing Jesper Bratt ahead. Bratt wrapped around the net, as Levi overplayed the rush, and the wraparound seemed to miss at first. But with Timo Meier charging in, the puck was put home! With under six minutes to play, the Devils led by two.

Jake Allen went to glove a loose puck, and Siegenthaler poked the puck away, giving the Sabres a golden chance to score with under three minutes to play. The shot from Tuch went off the bar, and the Sabres pulled Levi shortly after. The Devils iced the puck with 2:15 to play, and Allen froze play after stopping a shot off the draw.

Nico Hischier barely missed an empty net shot, leading to an icing with 59 seconds to play. Lindy Ruff did not call timeout, and the Sabrss took half the remaining time to get the puck back in the offensive zone. The clock ticked down, giving the Devils a sweep of their Prague series against Buffalo.

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

Highlights

The Devils Have Been Fast and Physical Under Sheldon Keefe

This was the most complete game I have seen the Devils play since Game 7 of the 2023 First Round. From the jump of the game, the Devils were looking to impose themselves on the Buffalo Sabres — both with hits and a barrage of shots. The top pair of Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton looked properly aggressive, with both players throwing the body early and often. This, of course, led to Dillon fighting Alex Tuch, while JJ Peterka had to leave the game with a concussion.

The speed of the team came into play on several occasions this morning. Sheldon Keefe has preached sprinting to open areas, and it looked like the team was listening today. Even when defensemen pinched hard in the offensive zone, a Devil always got back to fend off potential chances the other way. We saw this with Timo Meier and Tomas Tatar preventing chances from coming to pass after they raced from the offensive zone to loose pucks in the defensive zone. Jake Allen stood to benefit from this complete effort, as he only had to face 18 shots on goal.

Seamus Casey’s Quick Acclimation

With a power play goal today, Seamus Casey showed why he is on the team. His toe drag was a masterful stroke to take the game’s momentum back, and he held his own in the defensive zone, sporting a 50.90 xGF% at five-on-five. His partner, Simon Nemec, paid the price with four blocked shots, and they have a great building block to work from as a pairing with the game they played. For what it’s worth, Nemec had a 10.00 CF% and 8.53 xGF% in the 5:13 he played at even strength with defensemen other than Casey (2:58 with Hamilton and 0:58 with each of Dillon and Siegenthaler, plus some spare seconds with Kovacevic). Keefe will have tough decisions to make when Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes return, but for now, I enjoy watching Casey play the game. He does not let his size get the best of him around the net, and he made great plays today.

The Top Six Working as Intended

When a team has as good of a center duo as Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, they can afford one line getting a bit unlucky from time to time as long as the other trio takes care of business around the net. Today, Nico Hischier took 30 of the team’s 51 faceoffs, winning 21 of the draws he took, while his line sported a 71.30 xGF% and a 2-0 high-danger chance advantage. On a lot of days, Dawson Mercer might have departed with a goal to his name — or one of Tatar’s shots might have been put home on the rebound, but they could not light the lamp today. This was fine, as they held down Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, who completely dominated other lines with dangerous scoring chances. Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier took advantage of the situation and utterly demolished the Kulich-Cozens-Quinn line, sporting a 98.00 xGF% in their top matchup. With Jack Hughes creating a chance for Paul Cotter to get the game-winning goal from, and then helping the team extend the lead by connecting on a perfect pass to Jesper Bratt in the lead-up to the Meier goal, the Sabres were largely buried by the top six.

Noesen and Cotter Reshaping the Bottom Six

I love what Stefan Noesen brings to the table. He has a no-nonsense approach to the game — the same approach that he brought on a line with Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman six or seven years ago. When the team is trading turnovers with the opposition, Noesen wastes no time in the neutral zone and hammers the puck into the corner. But unlike ineffectual grinders, Noesen hounds the puck and often keeps possession. The Cotter-Haula-Noesen line had a 70.12 xGF% on the game, but Noesen had team-leading CF% and xGF% numbers at five-on-five, with the Devils getting 58.82 and 87.15 percent of attempts and expected goals with him on the ice. Noesen also tied Timo Meier for the team-lead in individual expected goals at even strength with 0.56, while Cotter was not far behind at 0.45.

Paul Cotter is an excellent tool for this Devils team with his blend of size, speed, intensity, and occasional hands. He played 16:42 today, and he was often right in the mix of things. I do think he belongs in his original role, though. The Cotter-Lazar-Bastian line held the Sabres down to a bunch of long-range missed shots in the few minutes they played together, while they continued to generate chances the other way. Still, part Cotter’s great value is his ability to step up to the third line and make the best of his situation, and he did just that in the absence of Palat.

The ultimate importance is in how these efforts set the tone for the team, as well as how they limit opponents from easily matching up lines. Stefan Noesen can shut down top players and bully his way around a net. Paul Cotter can come in flying and create chances with his legs. The Devils might be able to use their lines to get Jack Hughes plentiful time against inferior and less-skilled opponents, but other teams now have to worry about the two-sided attack of the Devils forwards, who can now grind it out and outshoot other teams.

Your Thoughts

What did you think of today’s game? Were you up in time to watch? What did you think of each team’s effort? How much confidence do you have in the depth of this team? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.