The New Jersey Devils came back from a 3-0 deficit on Wednesday and took a 4-3 lead. All of that effort was wasted just to end up losing to the Washington Capitals in the end. It was a terrible game as they fell to 3-2-1.
The Devils can’t keep having these horrible starts if they want to live up to the contender status that they entered the season with. Going down multiple goals early is how you end up with losses in the end.
Coming into Friday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey knew that they needed a big first period. Well, they allowed the first goal of the game because Luke Hughes blew a tire and the Sabres took advantage.
However, the Devils had their best first period of the season otherwise. Luke Hughes made a great play to make up for falling down as he set up a very nice goal for Alexander Holtz to tie it.
Eventually, the Devils won the game by a score of 6-5. Jack Hughes had a goal and his brother Luke had a couple of assists. Erik Haula m had a two-goal performance which played a big role in the win as well. At the end of the day, this was a huge team effort to walk away with two points.
The New Jersey Devils lost Nico Hischier in the win over the Buffalo Sabres.
During the game, Connor Clifton hit Nico Hischier on the head and was given a match penalty. Hischier eventually left the game and did not return. It is said to be precautionary but it is never a good thing to go out after a blow to the head.
Clifton is going to have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for this action. He will almost certainly receive some supplementary discipline for this hit and will be out for some time.
The New Jersey Devils will be back in action on Sunday when they take on the Minnesota Wild. It will be interesting to see if Hischier is able to go in this one. The Devils would really like to have him as he is obviously one of their best players.
As for Buffalo, they will move on to host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. At 3-5-0, they have some work to do and they are drawing a very good opponent next. We’ll see how they handle things going forward.