National Hockey League
New Jersey 5, Buffalo 3
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 31, 2021
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Chris Rooney, Furman South
Linesmen: Kory Nagy, James Tobias
Attendance: N/A

Michael McLeod and Miles Wood each scored twice as the visiting New Jersey Devils snapped a three-game skid with their 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon.

McLeod, who had one goal in his previous 41 career NHL games, muscled the puck past Carter Hutton (32 saves) with 9:20 left in the third period to give New Jersey a 4-3 lead.

Wood, a Buffalo native who also recorded an assist, added an empty-net goal as the Devils rebounded from Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Sabres by halting an 0-2-1 slide.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen had a goal with an assist while captain Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson each recorded two assists for Buffalo, which had earned at least one point in five straight contests (3-0-2).

Ristolainen tied the game at 3 early in the third period when he tucked home his own rebound past Eric Comrie (30 saves), who was making his first NHL appearance since December 2019. It was the ninth power-play goal in five games for the Sabres.

After Buffalo scored twice in a span of 1:12 in the second to tie the game at 2, Wood put New Jersey back ahead with 0.9 seconds left in the period. Off a clear from Janne Kuokkanen, Wood skated in and put a shot on Hutton, who made the initial save. However, Wood corralled the rebound and went top shelf to convert.

Just 20 seconds into the contest, McLeod accepted a stretch pass from defenseman P.K. Subban at the blue line and raced in alone and beat Hutton. Then with 16.1 seconds left in the opening frame, the Devils doubled the advantage when Andreas Johnsson was credited with the goal after the puck ricocheted in traffic and past Hutton.

Buffalo halved the deficit with 5:49 left in the middle period on Curtis Lazar's redirection of Ristolainen's slap shot. Shortly after, the Sabres tied things on defenseman Rasmus Dahlin's power-play goal from the point.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Jersey   Buffalo
Miles Wood 3 Points Rasmus Ristolainen 2
Miles Wood 2 Goals Rasmus Ristolainen 1
Miles Wood 1 Assists Jack Eichel 2
N/A Power Play Goals Rasmus Ristolainen 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Eric Comrie .909 Save Percentage Carter Hutton .889
Eric Comrie 30 Saves Carter Hutton 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
New Jersey 37 5 0-3 2-4 8 26
Buffalo 33 3 2-4 3-3 6 36
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Sabres have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • New Jersey will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Devils have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .600 after a loss.