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Devils Deflate After Jack Hughes Spark, Lose to Sabres
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- Devils Deflate After Jack Hughes Spark, Lose to Sabres
Thomas Salus-Imagn Images
The return of the New Jersey Devils ' (20-15-1) franchise face wasn't enough to halt the red-hot Buffalo Sabres (17-14-4) on home ice Sunday evening.
Coming into New Jersey , the Sabres rode a five-game win streak, defeating the New York Islanders as recently as Saturday in the shootout.
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The Devils entered Sunday with a huge boost with the returns of Jack Hughes , Timo Meier , and Arseny Gritsyuk.
Said returns gave Sheldon Keefe the healthiest lineup he's iced this season, nearly at full capacity, as the Devils await the returns of Johnathan Kovacevic and Simon Nemec .
It wasn't exactly the boost they were hoping for, dropping their 15th game of the season to the Sabres on home ice.
Who else but Mr. Jack Hughes himself to get the party going at the Prudential Center? Jack entered Buffalo's zone with puck possession and speed, and rifled a shot from the left circle past Sabres goaltender, Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead 08:51 into the opening frame.
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The Devils nearly doubled their lead a minute later, as Jack fed Gritsyuk on an odd-man rush. However, a sprawling save by Luukkonen maintained Buffalo's one-goal deficit.
Things took a turn for the worse in the second period.
Much like the Lindy Ruff-led Devils were a few seasons ago, the Sabres tilted the ice their way in the middle frame.
With heavy pressure on Jake Allen , Josh Norris scored the equalizer at the 02:26 mark of the second period, tying the game at one goal apiece.
The Sabres pressed on the gas and maintained offensive zone pressure through the majority of the second period.
At the 16:05 mark of the second, Zach Benson gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead, scoring on an odd-man rush five-hole against Allen.
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Nothing would fall for the Devils in the third period, pressuring Luukkonen on the rush, but failing to convert on their chances.
Consistent offensive zone time was scarce, as New Jersey struggled to maintain puck possession in the final frame.
Keefe even opted to front-load his top line, putting together Jack, Nico Hischier , and Jesper Bratt . Yet, the Devils top trio couldn't solve Luukkonen.
The Devils pulled Allen with under three minutes remaining in the third period.
Yet, the Devils' offensive woes continued during 6-on-5 play, turning the puck over in the offensive zone, which led to an empty netter for Peyton Krebs to spell the Devils' 15th loss of the season, 3-1.
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Allen made 22 saves on 24 shots faced, allowing .50 goals above expected.
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