Devils 5, Sabres 4: Winning ugly

The Devils weren't at their best – especially at 5v5 – but they did enough to get two points.

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By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

Here are a few thoughts from the New Jersey Devils’ barn-burner win against the Buffalo Sabres:

Holtz shines again

The fancies might not like Holtz last night as much as the eye test did (he had a 51.63% xGF% at 5v5 according to NaturalStatTrick), but I thought Friday was easily his best showing of the early season. He meshed well with Michael McLeod, and the duo were two of the Devils’ top three performers in terms of xGF%. 

Holtz led the team in 5v5 ixG (0.36), individual shot attempts (6), scoring chances (4), high danger scoring chances (2), and shots on goal (4). When he was on the ice, the Devils controlled over 64% of shot attempts, and the Devils had more shot attempts per 60 minutes with Holtz on the ice than with any other player. 

Oh, and he did all of that while receiving the third lowest 5v5 TOI of any Devils player. 

Vitek comes through in the 2nd

Vanecek did not have a good game, letting in 4 goals on 2.67 xG, according to MoneyPuck. However, his 2nd period was phenomenal. The Sabres easily could have took complete control of the game in the 2nd frame, controlling almost 80% of the expected goals (1.46) in the period at even strength. 

Vitek was particularly strong in the first ten minutes of the second, stopping two breakaways – one from Alex Tuch and the other from Zemgus Girgensons – and a couple high-danger flurries of shots. He made several game-saving stops on Alex Tuch in particular, who could be seen expressing his frustration after being stymied for the thousandth time in the frame. 

The stats might not be pretty, but he got the job done –  at least in the middle period.

Power play continues humming