Plotlines to keep an eye on between Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils
We’ve got an early showdown between the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils to look forward to today.
It is another busy day in the National Hockey League with a buffet of 12 games, and the Buffalo Sabres against the New Jersey Devils will get us started. It is a compelling matchup between two teams in close proximity geography wise, and they are also very close to each other in a stacked and ultra competitive East Division.
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Prior to today’s first game (1:00 p.m. ET), the Sabres are currently fifth in the East with eight points while the Devils are sixth with seven points. Buffalo is 3-3-2 on the year and have showed signs of progress after a rough start to the season, although they did drop a tough loss in Overtime to the New York Rangers on Thursday.
On the other hand, the Devils are 3-3-1 after getting off to a blistering hot start this year, although they have cooled down somewhat as of late having dropped two straight games to the Philadelphia Flyers. So, with today marking the start of back-to-back games between the Sabres and the Devils at KeyBank Center, we are going to take a look at some storylines to keep an eye on during today’s matinee showdown between the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils
Plotlines to follow between the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres
3. Bouncing Back
Both the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils dropped losses on Thursday night, with the Sabres losing 3-2 in Overtime to the New York Rangers thanks to Alexis Lafreniere’s first career NHL goal, while the Devils lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers after dropping a 5-3 decision to the same opponent on Tuesday.
It is fair to say, then, that both teams will be out to get back to winning ways and there should be plenty of spice featured in today’s contest for a number of reasons. Firstly, this is the first game of a back-to-back which will mean that any snarl that develops today will carry over to tomorrow, while these two teams are neck-and-neck in an ultra-competitive East Division.
The Sabres are one place and one point above the Devils and they are just behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, so a win today and tomorrow could really elevate Buffalo and put them in a superb position as we enter February. However, New Jersey could also climb up the table with a big win today and they will be extra motivated to start a four-game road trip with a W given that they don’t want to drop three straight that would slightly eradicate what was a hugely positive start to the 2020-21 season.
2. Can Linus Ullmark stay hot?
Goaltending was a problem for the Buffalo Sabres in the opening week or so of the 2020-21 NHL season, and it didn’t help that Linus Ullmark missed a couple of games due to personal reasons. However, since returning to the fold, he has been pretty, pretty good between the pipes and he will need to be at his best should he get the start today.
Currently boasting a 2.51 Goals Against Average and a .915 Save Percentage, Ullmark is stopping General Manager Kevyn Adams from going out and acquiring a new netminder for now, but he will need to tighten up on a few things and show a lot of consistency to his game if he is to establish himself as a true No. 1 goalie for the Sabres.
We did see some signs of it on Thursday night when Ullmark stood on his head against the New York Rangers, stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced and saving all 10 shots he faced while the Sabres were shorthanded. He was the lone reason why Buffalo made it to Overtime after producing a sublime save to deny Alexis Lafreniere, although he was eventually beaten by the rookie in OT.
However, Linus Ullmark could not be faulted for that loss but he will face a tough task today given some of the weapons that the New Jersey Devils have at their disposal. For instance, Jack Hughes has been a revelation in his sophomore season with three goals and four assists for seven points in seven games, while rookie defenseman Ty Smith has been outstanding with six points (1 G, 5 A) in seven games. With the likes of Miles Wood and Kyle Palmieri on the roster, the Devils have plenty of players who provide a scoring punch and Linus Ullmark will need to be hot once again if the Buffalo Sabres are to take game one of this back-to-back set.
1. Firepower Vs. Firepower
There is going to be a hell of a lot of firepower on show today between the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres. As we mentioned in the previous slide, Jack Hughes is proving why he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft with seven points (3 G, 4 A) in seven games, and he will be one to watch today as he looks to spearhead a return to winning ways for his team.
Hughes looked especially dangerous with Jesper Bratt and Andreas Johnsson on a new-look top line on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers and, having had some extra time to properly mesh together, that trio could pose a significant threat to the Buffalo Sabres this afternoon, while the likes of Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev are probably due a breakout game too.
However, the Sabres are awash with offensive talent and potent weapons, including Taylor Hall who will go up against his former team today for the first time since being traded to the Arizona Coyotes at last year’s Trade Deadline. Hall signed a one-year, $8 million contract with Buffalo during the offseason and is hoping to boost his value and repair his reputation somewhat by playing with elite center Jack Eichel for the season, while he will no doubt be extra motivated to impress against the Devils today.
It has been a pretty decent start for Hall in Buffalo with the forward recording seven points (1 G, 6 A) in eight games so far, although he could be on a line with veteran pivot Eric Staal for today’s game with Sam Reinhart day-to-day with an upper-body injury. If Reinhart isn’t good to go for this afternoon, then it would be somewhat of a blow given that the winger has six points (3 G, 3 A) in eight games, including two points against the New York Rangers on Thursday.
However, while the Buffalo Sabres will be weaker for not having Reinhart in the lineup, they could actually spread more depth throughout the lineup by moving Hall down to Staal’s line, while reuniting Eichel with Victor Olofsson could pay dividends. After all, Eichel and Olofsson have already established lethal chemistry together and the duo could really go to town on a Devils team who will once again be without No. 1 goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who remains on the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol list.
Eichel has two goals and seven assists for nine points in eight games and he will no doubt be looking for a strong bounce-back after being at fault for the goal the Rangers scored in Overtime on Thursday, while Olofsson has three goals and four assists for seven points and he will thrive on receiving saucer passes from Eichel this afternoon.
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Overall, both the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils have players who can be real elite game-changers and put up huge offense, and that should only make for a mouthwatering game of hockey this afternoon. I mean, Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall going up against Jack Hughes and Kyle Palmieri is going to be a lot of fun to watch, and this game should be played with real urgency given what is at stake for both teams who are looking to keep pace in a stacked East Division.