New Jersey Devils remain winless at home with shootout loss to Buffalo Sabres
There are often times when even playing at your home rink can’t guarantee you a win, and no one knows that better than the New Jersey Devils. The hapless squad fell to 0-5-2 at home on
the season as they dropped a 5-4 decision to the visiting Buffalo Sabres in a shootout.
How it happened
The home team got the ball rolling in the first period, with Jason Arnott’s wrist shot beating Jhonas Enroth of the Sabres at 10:12. It was the only goal that was scored in the opening
period.
Both teams experienced an offensive explosion in the second period. Jason Pominville struck first at 5:22, using a wrist shot to put the puck behind Johan Hedberg. Derek Roy would add
his eighth goal of the season 13 seconds later at 5:35. The Devils tied the game at two goals apiece with a David Clarkson tally at 7:58, and took a 3-2 lead when Arnott notched his second goal of the game on the power play at 12:01. Tyler Myers then tied
the game again at 13:50, but Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner gave his team another lead at 18:01.
Coming into the third frame, the Sabres were behind by a goal, but that changed when Tyler Ennis scored his fourth goal of the season to make it a 4-4 game. No further goals were scored
in regulation or in overtime, which meant that the game would be decided in a shootout.
In the shootout, goals from Thomas Vanek and Roy were all the Sabres needed to earn the victory. Enroth made 28 saves on 32 shots, while Devils counterpart Hedberg turned aside 38 of 42
shots to take the loss.
What they’re saying
There are many players, coaches, analysts, and fans that despise the shootout, but chalk Jhonas Enroth up as a supporter of the sudden-death tiebreaker, after he forced a miss from Ilya
Kovalchuk to seal the win.
“I like shootouts; I’m pretty good at it,” Enroth said to reporters after the game. “I wasn’t nervous and just tried to enjoy the moment. I know this is my chance to prove that I can help
this team. I just wanted to take care of the moment and stay sharp.”
Derek Roy, who scored in regulation and in the shootout, was impressed with Enroth’s play. The rookie goaltender was replacing Ryan Miller, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury.
“Whenever injuries happen, especially an injury to a Vezina Trophy winner, you need guys to step up and Jhonas came up big,” Roy said of Enroth.
Buffalo returns to the ice on Thursday, 11 November to face the New York Rangers, while New Jersey will take on the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, 12 November.
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