The Devils’ skid gave the Sabers three hits after a crushing defeat

Victor Olofsson scored his sixth power-play goal, Linus Ulmark was superb in 41 saves and the Buffalo Sabers defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–1 on Tuesday night at Prudential Center in New Jersey.

Rasmus Asplund and Dylan Cogens broke the game early in the third round with goals in the interval of 1:34 which sent the Devils to a third straight defeat. Cody Ekin scored an empty goal, with less than a second to play.

The win was the Sabers’ second over the Devils in three days and their second in the last seven games (2-5-0). They lost to the islanders on Monday night.

McKenzie Blackwood had 33 saves for New Jersey, preventing Ullmark from their first shutdown since 2019 when Nikita Gusev scored with 28 seconds to play.

Ullmark made their fourth straight start, getting an early lead by New Jersey and some help from the post on a point made by PK Subban in the third period. He made two superb stops before scoring a goal in the final minute.

Sabers celebrate after a goal by Dylan Cozens in the third round of the Devils' 4–1 defeat.
Sabers celebrate after a goal by Dylan Cozens in the third round of the Devils’ 4–1 defeat.
Getty Images

The Sabers came into the game with the NHL’s third-best power play, and it was clicking in the second period. Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhardt hit the goalpost on the first Extra-Man advantage, and Olofsson scored his seventh goal of the season on the second, including another post by Eichel.

Asplund, who was ranked high on the roster the day before Tobias Ryder’s injury, removed a disoriented puck from the air to extend the margin to 2–0 at 5:16 of the third round. It was his first goal of the season and the second of his 32-game career.

Cozens closed out a great feed from Devil Taylor Hall.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*