Eichel scores in shootout, Sabres beat Devils 4-3

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Eichel scored in a shootout, Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Saturday.

Victor Olofsson, Tobias Rieder and Eric Staal also scored to help the Sabres improve to 3-0-2 in their last five games. Taylor Hall had two assists.

In the first of eight meetings this season between the East Division teams, Sabres coach Ralph Krueger was happy to see his team respond after trailing twice by one goal and squandering a one-goal lead in the third period.

“We are much calmer than last season, with ups and downs and draws,” Krueger said. “It’s good that we already had this adversity at the beginning of the season. It makes us more resilient for these kinds of games and allows us to understand that it will be like this every day.”

Stall said ability is a sign of a good team.

“When you’re not at your best, you keep accumulating points in the column,” he said.

Janne Kuokkanen, Ty Smith and Andreas Johnsson scored for New Jersey in former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff’s first trip to Buffalo since taking over the Devils this summer. Scott Wedgewood stopped 28 shots.

The teams meet again in Buffalo on Sunday.

Eichel returned to the game in the third period after being hit in the mouth by a puck and briefly leaving the locker room. He scored in the first round of the shootout, shooting from the left side of the slot off the far post.

Ullmark stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout. He’s now 6-3 with 30 saves on 33 shots he’s faced in the shootout, and his .857 career shootout save percentage ranks second all-time and first among active goalies who’ve faced at least 20 shots.

Kuokkanen scored his first NHL goal for the Devils to tie the score at 3 with just over nine minutes left in the third period.

“We’ve been struggling to score lately, so I’m really happy I could help the team,” Kuokkanen said. “But after the game I’m not too happy because it wasn’t enough.”

Kuokkanen stuck the puck inside the near post just outside the crease after receiving a pass from Michael McLeod.

Olofsson’s power-play goal gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead midway through the third period. Rasmus Dahlin set up Oloffson for a rising wrist shot from the right circle.

Rieder scored the tying goal for Buffalo 41 seconds after Johnsson gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead in the opening minutes of the third period. Cody Eakin created the scoring chance by battling behind the net for the puck and leaving a backhand pass in the left circle for Rieder,

Devils rookie center Jack Hughes scored his team-high eighth point of the season when he set up Johnsson for a rising wrist shot from the left circle.

Smith’s power-play goal late in the second period tied the game at 1-1. With Stall serving a hooking penalty in the offensive zone, Smith took a pass from PK Subban just inside the blue line and beat Ullmark with a direct slapshot.

“We created a lot of quality chances,” Ruff said. “The common thread in these first games is that we missed two good chances.”

Among those missed opportunities, the Devils failed to get a shot on goal during a five-on-three power play in the first period against the Sabres.

“If we can ever get back to playing five-on-three,” Devils forward Damon Severson said, “it’ll be huge for us to score against them.”

Staal gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead midway through the second period when he scored on a wrist shot from the top of the slot.

MISSING PIECES

New Jersey center Travis Zajac did not travel to Buffalo for the weekend series after entering the league’s COVID-19 protocol Friday. The Devils called up Nicholas Merkley from the taxi squad to replace Zajac in the lineup.

Sabres forward Sam Reinhart is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, snapping a 246-game hitting streak. Tage Thompson took Reinhart’s spot in the Sabres lineup.

RENEWED KNOWLEDGE

Sabres forward Taylor Hall played against his former team for the first time since the Devils traded him to Arizona on Dec. 16, 2019. Buffalo’s top free-agent acquisition contributed two goals, tying Eichel for the team lead with nine points in eight games.

THE RETURN OF RUFF

Ruff has been a Rangers assistant and Stars head coach since being fired by the Sabres in 2013. He coached the Sabres for 16 seasons after a nine-year playing career in Buffalo.

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