JK3
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NEW JERSEY DEVILS (28-18-6) vs. BUFFALO SABRES (20-26-5)
New Jersey begins a two-game road trip starting with a contest in Buffalo against the Sabres Sunday afternoon. The Devils won the previous two meetings, both taking place in Prague, Czechia as part of the NHL's Global Series.
The Devils are coming off an impressive 5-0 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night. The club scored two power-play goals while goaltender Jake Allen stopped all 24 shots against to pick up his third shutout of the season. They closed out January by winning three of its last four games, scoring 16 goals in those four games, including two five-goal efforts and remain in the third spot in the Metro Division.
The Devils are dealing with injuries to two major players on the team. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom is out until after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament with a sprained MCL in his right knee. Captain Nico Hischier is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Dawson Mercer has slotted in for Hischier and has three goals in his last four games. Jesper Bratt is on a four-game scoring streak with one goal and five points. Jack Hughes also has a four-game scoring streak with two goals and five points. Goalie Jake Allen is 2-1-0 since taking over for Markstrom.
Head coach Lindy Ruff returned to the bench for Buffalo, but the Sabres are struggling mightily this season. They currently sit dead last in the Eastern Conference and went through a stretch of going winless in 13 straight games (0-10-3) from Nov. 27 to Dec. 21.
The Sabres roster has a ton of potential with forwards Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn and Jason Zucker and defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. However, the club hasn’t been able to string together much success. While the Sabres offense is in the upper-tier in the NHL, Buffalo has allowed the third most goals per game (3.39) in the NHL this season. Thompson is still a major threat to score, the former 47-goal scorer has 25 tallies on the season and recently posted a hat trick against Boston on Monday night. He also paces the team with 45 points on the year. JJ Peterka is second at 40 points (14g-26a). Rasmus Dahlin leads the back end with 31 assists and 37 points.
INJURIES
Devils: Hischier (unknown, day-to-day), Markstrom (MCL sprain, out 4-6 weeks), Haula (ankle, day-to-day), Hatakka (shoulder, IR)
Sabres: Greenway (middle body, IR)
