*Photo from Sportsnet*
The Buffalo Sabres have reached a point in their season where they need to get wins by any means possible if they want to have a shot at the playoffs. Tonight, Linus Ullmark sure helped with that. Ullmark stopped 41 shots, 4 different Sabres scored, and the Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils with a 4-1 win on Tuesday night.
The scoring didn't start until the 10:20 mark of the second period, when Victor Olofsson scored on the power play to give Buffalo the lead. In the 3rd, Rasmus Asplund and Dylan Cozens scored to extend the Sabres lead to 3-1. That's when Nikita Gusev finally got the Devils on the board, making it a 3-1 game. With just one second left, Cody Eakin scored for the Sabres to put it on ice, securing the 4-1 win.
Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said of the atmosphere that "It was a playoff feel coming into this game today. The meetings today, this morning, this afternoon, everybody was really edgy and focused. We're just happy the team responded to that kind of pressure we put on them today. You could feel a surge and just a battle and compete level that was impressive when you look at how disappointing the trip had been until now, the quick turnover from yesterday and that very painful loss."
Ullmark was fantastic in net for the Sabres, stopping 41 shots out of the 42 that came his way, the only hiccup being the goal by Gusev at the 19:32 mark of the 3rd period. Ullmark's record improved to 5-4-2 on the season with the win, while the Sabres moved to 6-8-2 this season, still sitting at 8th place, last in the NHL's East Division.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff talked about the team's scoring chances during the game, saying that "I think actually if you look at the first period, I think we had somewhere between seven and ten scoring opportunities. I think we could have done a better job with the second opportunities but we got inside that area, created those opportunities and didn't finish. Some of those opportunities could have been better if we would have got people there."
Mackenzie Blackwood was the goalie in net for the Devils today, taking the loss. Blackwood stopped 33 shots out of 36 that came his way, still having a good night despite the loss. Blackwood's record fell to 4-2-1 this season after the loss, with the Devils sitting at 6-6-2, 7th place in the East Division, only ahead of the Sabres.
Devils forward Pavel Zacha was looking ahead to their next game, saying that "A good thing about it is that we have a game in two days again, we can learn from it, we play the same team. We have to find a way to win and it's gonna be a hard game again with Buffalo, but that's what's good about this season, you have a chance to bounce back right away."
Indeed, the Devils and Sabres have a rematch on Thursday in Buffalo, with Blackwood and Ullmark slated to be the starting goalies once again.
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