Buffalo Sabres display pressure, aggression in win over Devils

The Buffalo Sabres pulled off a major upset in a big win over the New Jersey Devils tonight, correcting many errors in the process. 

After losing four straight games and allowing opponents to outscore them 24-9 in the process, many of us predicted the New Jersey Devils would crush our Buffalo Sabres tonight. New Jersey came into this game with 98 points and just two points behind their division rival, the Carolina Hurricanes while the Blue and Gold just wanted to play more respectable hockey.

Well, Buffalo accomplished that feat. And while it wasn’t by any means a clean win, they at least looked better defensively, allowing substantially fewer breakaways and odd-man rushes. And when there was an odd-man rush, there was often a sound defensive play being made, with Owen Power and Dylan Cozens coming up big when the game hit its twilight phase.

The Sabres could have stood to have been more physical, logging just five hits. But don’t let their lack of finishing checks fool you: This team was far more aggressive tonight defensively. They got sticks on the puck at the right time, they took away the middle far more often, and they added some much-needed pressure, forcing the Devils to improvise.

Buffalo Sabres showed improvement defensively in win over Devils

When you allow four goals in a game, there is still work to be done. On New Jersey’s power play goal, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen should have snagged that one. Earlier in the game, the Devils scored thanks to the puck bouncing off Alex Tuch’s stick.

But hey, when you’ve allowed 24 goals over the past four games, an average of six goals per game, you’ll take an improved performance against one of the NHL’s best teams on your home ice, where the Sabres have struggled. So overall, it was a step in the right direction. Now, they need to do it again tomorrow night in Long Island against the New York Islanders and their dangerous forecheck.