Devils' 5-4 Win vs. Sabres: 3 Takeaways
Erik Haula's big night helped lead the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres to move the team to 4-2-1 on the season.
It wasn't easy, but the New Jersey Devils found a way to defeat the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 5-4. The win moved them to 4-2-1 ahead of their final game of October against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday evening. Here are three takeaways from the victory.
Devils Got Off to a Better Start
Slow starts have been a problem for the Devils, but that wasn't the case last night against the Sabres. Yes, they trailed 1-0 for the seventh time in seven games, but that was an unfortunate play where Luke Hughes crossed himself up and lost his footing, giving J.J. Peterka a clear rush chance at Vitek Vanecek.
Otherwise, the Devils had their legs going in the first. They were the better team through the first media timeout, and their passing was much sharper than it was in the first period of their 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Soon after Peterka scored to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead, the line of Alex Holtz, Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian responded with one of the team's best shifts of the first, leading to Holtz's second goal of the season.
Even when the Sabres regained the lead, Jesper Bratt made a great play by forcing Mattias Samuelsson into a turnover at his own blue line. Bratt then flew into the offensive zone and opened up Eric Comrie for an easy goal to make it 2-2.
That's the kind of response the team lacked in the first period against the Capitals, and the Devils' solid play in the opening frame allowed them to head into the first intermission tied at 2-2. They'll need to build on it against the Wild, who are struggling to start this season.
Vanecek Solid Despite Shaky Moments
It was a weird game for Vanecek. He undeniably looked shaky in the first period and probably should've had one of the Sabres' firs two goals. But had it not been for his play in the second period, the Devils would've likely lost the game.
Though the Devils were mostly good defensively, there was about a 7-8 minute stretch in the second period where their defense stopped defending.
Luke Hughes turned the puck over at the blue line, leading to Alex Tuch getting in on Vanecek on a breakaway, but Vanecek made the stop to keep the game at 2-2.
Just moments later, the Sabres inexplicably had a 2-on-0 with Zemgus Girgensons having a clear path to Vanecek. But he denied Girgensons with his right pad, and then Victor Olofsson on the rebound. He also made a great post-to-post save on Jeff Skinner during that stretch.
Would Vanecek like to have the Sabres' fourth goal back? Absolutely, but I think he was generally solid. What was encouraging about his performance is that he once again did an excellent job of stopping high-danger shots, making nine saves on 10 high-danger shots. That's the second straight start where he's made high-danger saves, so that's encouraging.
Is there some concern about Vanecek in other areas? Maybe, but he had a .909 career save percentage heading into this season and across a decent sample of 131 games. Once the Devils' defense settles in, I'd expect his and Akira Schmid's save percentages to start improving.
Haula & Holtz Provide Scoring Depth
The Devils have been getting plenty of contributions from their top-six players to start this season, but something that was lacking was scoring from their bottom-six. That changed in a big way against the Sabres.
As mentioned, Holtz got the scoring started for the Devils when he tied the game at 1-1. That was his only point of the contest, but he played arguably his best game of the young season.
Holtz made good plays in the neutral zone and had a couple of rush chances, including getting a strong shot on Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen, who came in for an injured Eric Comrie. He also helped set up some quality chances, including one to Erik Haula in the third period. The finish just wasn't there on the opportunities he created.
Aside from Holtz, Haula had a big game and was a significant reason why the Devils came away with the 5-4 win. With Dawson Mercer applying pressure, Haula made a great read to intercept a Sabres pass, then spring himself on a breakaway for a shorthanded goal with a backhanded beauty.
Later, Haula redirected a Kevin Bahl point shot to give the Devils a 5-4 lead in the third period; it'd be the eventual game-winner. He was contributing defensively and sacrificing his body to block shots, something we've become accustomed to from him.
Haula would end up finishing with a Game Score of 3.34, which led all Devils skaters:
The Devils' top-six will always carry the team, but if players like Holtz and Haula contribute consistently enough, it only makes their offense that much more threatening.
Devils Quick Hits
For as leaky as the Devils' defense was in the second period, they locked it down in the third. They outshot the Sabres 18-4 at all strengths and gave up just 0.17 expected goals at five-on-five compared to 1.46 xG in the second. Now it's about finding more consistent defensive performances like they showed in the third period (and even the first).
Dawson Mercer has gotten off to a slow start, but I thought he played his best game of the season to date. He finished with a 57.57 expected goals percentage and seemed a little more comfortable at center. I'd expect Ruff to keep him down the middle with Haula and Curtis Lazar as his linemates.
Eventually, Luke Hughes will move up the lineup. The offensive game is there, as evidenced by his two-point night. But the defensive game still needs work, and he needs to cut some of the turnovers puckhandling at the blue line. Kevin Bahl has had some good moments, and he was as solid against the Sabres as he was against the Capitals. But Hughes' upside is tremendous, and it'll be hard to keep him on the third pair for too long.
The Devils return to the ice for a 5 p.m. tilt against the Wild tomorrow evening. The Wild are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals and are just 3-3-2 to start the season. Stay tuned to Devils on the Rush for the preview tomorrow morning.
* * *
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick