Sabres meet the Devils for the first time: preview and TV info
The Buffalo Sabres will face their former head coach Lindy Ruff and the New Jersey Devils for the first time this season today. This is the first of eight matchups between the Devils and Sabres this season. The Devils (3-3-1) are only one point behind the Sabres (3-3-2) in the East Division standings early in the season.
Buffalo is coming off a pretty successful week as they went 2-0-1 over the last seven days. They won one game in a shootout, one in regulation, and dropped one in overtime. The Sabres will look to keep their point streak alive and hopefully get back into the win column today against New Jersey.
After starting the season 2-0-1, the Devils have dropped three of their last four games and are slowly dropping down the East Division standings. New Jersey was said by many to be the team most likely to finish last in the east this season, but it seems that Lindy Ruff has the Devils playing above expectations early on in 2021. It is a little early to say they are overachieving, but only time will tell.
Jack Hughes has gotten off to a hot start this season for New Jersey. He has three goals and four assists through the first seven games that the Devils have played. The 19-year-old center has shown incredible potential since he began his professional hockey career and he is someone that New Jersey hopes to build around for years to come.
After newly acquired free agent goalie Corey Crawford retired before the season even started for the Devils, that opened the door for 24-year-old netminder Mackenzie Blackwood to be the number one goalie in New Jersey. Blackwood made multiple appearances last year for the Devils and was impressive and showed promise. He has been impressive to start the season, with a 2-0-1 record and a save percentage (SV%) of .948 and only allowing 1.90 goals per game (GAA). But he is currently in the NHL’s COVID protocol and will not face the Sabres.
Instead of Blackwood, Buffalo will face Scott Wedgewood, who has been much less effective than Blackwood has been. Wedgewood is 1-3-0 with a .900 SV% and a 2.80 GAA. Buffalo will look to their goal scorers such as Jack Eichel and former New Jersey Devil Taylor Hall to take advantage of facing a struggling goaltender in Scott Wedgewood.
The Devils will likely also be without Nico Hischier as he is still recovering from injury. It is unclear exactly when he will be back, but rumor has it that it probably won’t be for multiple more weeks. Hischier has not played yet this season as he picked up an ankle injury in Switzerland before his return to the USA before the season started.
As for the Sabres, Sam Reinhart is currently listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and missed practice on Friday. Coach Ralph Krueger said that a decision on Reinhart will be made before the first game against the Devils. Tage Thompson skated in place of Reinhart in practice. Henri Jokiharju returned to practice and is expected to play.
Linus Ullmark is expected to get his fourth consecutive start for Buffalo. He will look to keep up the momentum he gained from a couple of great performances against the Rangers.
Date: January 30th
Time: 1:00 PM
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo NY
TV Broadcast: NHL Network
Radio: Sabres Radio Network (channels vary in different cities, check the list here)
Streaming: fuboTV
Next. Linus Ullmark’s stock is on the rise as of late. dark
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