Buffalo Sabres host the New Jersey Devils as both teams look to get back on winning track
Both the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils have struggled early this season and each team will look to turn it around as the Sabres host the Devils at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo on Wednesday night.
Previous Meetings
The Sabres and Devils split their season series last season as each went on to win their respective divisions before losing in the opening round of the playoffs. The most recent meeting was won by the
Devils in bizarre fashion in their last game of the regular season. Looking to leapfrog into second place overall in the conference with a win, the Buffalo Sabres pulled their goalie with the score tied 1-1 only for the Devils to score into an empty net and
get the victory on 11 April.
How they match up
After an impressive outing in his season opener, Vezina trophy winner Ryan Miller has given up nine goals in his last two games. Martin Brodeur, a four-time Vezina trophy winner and a shoe-in for the Hall
of Fame, has been a shade of his old self giving up 11 goals in three games while posting a 4.13 goals against average and a .859 save percentage.
Up front, Buffalo Sabres forward Derek Roy has been one of the hottest players in the NHL and is currently the league leader in goals(4) and points(5).
Devils linemates Jason Arnott and Patrick Elias have found some chemistry and have points in each of the team's three games. Ilya Kovalchuk, who signed the largest contract in NHL history over the off-season
with the Devils, has yet to get a goal, and has only two assists, in his first three games so far this season.
That enormous contract signed by Kovalchuk has caused the Devils some headaches as, because of salary constraints, a suspension to Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, and injuries to Brian Rolston and Anton
Volchenkov, the Devils played with only 15 skaters when they took on the Pittsburgh Penguins, and lost 3-1, on Monday.
Jason Pominville will be out of the lineup for Buffalo as he recovers from a concussion sustained on Monday night in the Sabres 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Pominville's head was slammed into the
boards when he was blindsided by Niklas Hjalmarsson late in the first period.
When asked to comment on his condition Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told the media:
"He's doing OK. We seemed a little stunned for a little while. Pommer's really been our ironman. That this is somebody laying there, you're just thinking and praying that everything's going to be OK."
What to expect
Going into the season, one would have expected this to be a goaltending duel, but given their early season form the outlook for a low scoring affair seems unlikely. But these are two teams looking to get
back to basics and the type of hockey that has made them successful in the past. Despite their poor goaltending performances so far you should still expect this to be a tight checking affair with few goals. The Devils guns have to get going and the Sabres
haven't won on home ice yet.
Devils win 3-2 in a shootout.
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