Sabres 5, Devils 2: Not sharp enough

With their season hanging in the balance, the Devils were unable to convert a multi-goal lead into points.

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By David Mudrak (@MuddyOpinions)

A few notes on a crippling 5-2 loss to Tage Thompson and the Sabres:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair

Last night’s game was quite the ride. As a flip to the expected norm, the Devils started out strong. New Jersey scored the opening goal in the first three minutes of the game, and it looked as if they would never turn back. 

During the first period, the Devils put everything to the net. They worked well to distribute pucks to players who had enough time to get a clean shot off and they backed up these shots with net front traffic. 

The first goal, by Max Willman, came from a Luke Hughe’s wrist shot. Luke received the puck at the point and wasted no time before threading the puck through traffic so that Willman could get a deflection that then redirected off of a Sabres’ defenseman and into the net. 

Maybe it was a lucky bounce. Maybe it was fated to go in. Ultimately, the Devils earned this goal by working to get pucks to the net when they had the space. 

That same hard-nosed and practical mentality also earned the Devils their second goal. With the puck finding its way behind the Sabres net, Timo Meier went to work using his strong frame to jostle the puck free to Nico Hischier. Without delay, the captain tossed the puck into empty space in the slot, where Jesper Bratt could quickly send it past Devon Levi. 

Hard and simple work earned the Devils their first two goals. Strong efforts by Chris Tierney and Timo Meier established the Devils’ possession for a quick chance opportunity. Unfortunately, they could not find a way to get a third goal. 

In the opening shift of the second period, Time Meier turned the puck over for a quick chance that Jake Allen could not stop. Normally, the Devils would let in another goal or two over the next three minutes as they could not fight back against a surging team. However, they impressed by stopping Buffalo’s surge. 

While the Sabres had another good look, they were mostly beaten back by the Devils' strong play. It truly looked as if New Jersey had taken a step forward as a team and was ready to dictate the game's momentum. 

That hope vanished along with the lead. The momentum shifted after the Devils gave up a late second-period goal that tied the game. The Devils had nothing to give in a game that New Jersey needed to win, coming into a third period with the score tied. 

While other factors were at play, controlling the momentum in this game was the deciding detail. The Devils could only get two shots on net through the first half of the third period. After seeing the success of getting pucks on the net, they just stopped. 

Even their advanced stats paint an interesting picture of the momentum, with the Devils earning a 50, 57, and 41 CF% in the first, second, and third periods, respectively. The Devils got some bounces in an evenly-matched first period, leading them to hold the momentum into the second period. But as soon as the Sabres got some bounces of their own, the Devils, unlike Buffalo, could not find a way to dig deep and fight for the win. 

The Devil is in the details