Less than 24 hours after beating the Detroit Red Wings on the road 2-1, the Buffalo Sabres were on the ropes again. They were down 1-0 going into the third period in front of their home fans. Unfortunately for Buffalo, they did not get the same great ending as last night. Their offense was stifled the entire game by the New Jersey Devils who won 2-0.
Schneider Stands Tall
The Sabres could not find a way to get past Devils goalie Cory Schneider, who has found a way to keep New Jersey in every game they have played this year. As a result. the Sabres two game win streak was snapped on Tuesday. The Devils extended their Wild Card lead over Buffalo to five points with the win. Lee Stempniak broke the 0-0 tie for New Jersey late in the second period after crashing the net in between Zach Bogosian and Jake McCabe, who left Linus Ullmark all by himself in goal. Stempniak's goal was assisted by Mike Cammalleri and Adam Henrique. It was Stempniak’s 8th goal of the year and Cammalleri’s 20th assist.
Devils Add To Lead Late
In the third period, Bogosian and McCabe were on the ice again when things went south for Buffalo. Bogosian lost the puck in the corner and it found its way to the high slot where Jiri Tlusty was waiting for it. He spun and fired a slap shot low that got past Ullmark for an insurance goal that proved unnecessary. Bogosian, McCabe and Ryan O’Reilly were the only Sabres players on the ice for both Devils goals.
The Sabres power play which had been so terrific all season long, failed the Sabres tonight. Buffalo went 0-for-3 in the game with the man advantage. The Sabres never seemed to get in control on the power play and struggled to set up in the offensive zone. New Jersey stayed poised and controlled, while not chasing the puck. That led to few open shots for the Sabres at the point.
Final Notes
Rasmus Ristolainen led all players in the game with over 27 minutes of total ice time, which is not surprising considering his skill at both ends of the ice for Buffalo. Unfortunately only his defensive skill was on display tonight as the Buffalo offense was completely shut down for the entire 60 minutes. Buffalo will try to bounce back on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks, a team that has surprisingly struggled this year. Buffalo needs to figure out a way to get better play out of their offense at even strength. New Jersey heads back home to host the Florida Panthers, in an attempt to build off of this shutout victory.