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It will be a quick turnaround for the blue and gold, who will leave Buffalo and head to the concrete jungle for a meeting with the New York Rangers tomorrow night. Today's affair is a tad more difficult, as Brian Flynn will replace Thomas Vanek in the lineup. Vanek is out, according to head coach Ron Rolston.
Feel free to add your comments in the thread below. I will contribute my two cents, in addition to the scoring plays this afternoon. For more thoughts on the game, give me a follow on Twitter: @PatWGR. Also, while you are there give Brian Koziol a follow: @BrianWGR.
First Period
20:00 - Buffalo will start Steve Ott-Tyler Ennis-Nathan Gerbe at forward, with Mike Weber-Adam Pardy on the blue line, and Ryan Miller in goal.
The other forward line cominations are: Marcus Foligno-Cody Hodgson-Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford-Mikhail Grigorenko-Jochen Hecht, and Brian Flynn-Kevin Porter-Patrick Kaleta.
First Period
20:00 - Buffalo will start Steve Ott-Tyler Ennis-Nathan Gerbe at forward, with Mike Weber-Adam Pardy on the blue line, and Ryan Miller in goal.
The other forward line cominations are: Marcus Foligno-Cody Hodgson-Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford-Mikhail Grigorenko-Jochen Hecht, and Brian Flynn-Kevin Porter-Patrick Kaleta.
18:12 - Well, this one got off to a fiesty start as Ott and David Clarkson fought almost right off the jump.
14:10 - Buffalo will head to the power play for the first time tonight, thanks to a Steve Bernier tripping minor. He got his stick in the skates of Mike Weber, and the rear guard went down to the ice.
13:00 - So much for that. Christian Ehrhoff takes a hooking minor to negate the PP, and put the teams at 4-on-4 for about a minute and forty seconds.
9:53 - I have to say, this has been an entertaining game so far. Each team has had a few chances, and the early fight set a nice tone. There is a bit of an edge to both of these teams. I like it.
7:44 - Kaleta and Ilya Kovalchuk each take roughing minors for jousting after the whistle. I think it is safe to say the blue and gold get the better of that trade off.
4:36 - For the second time in the game Ehrhoff cancels out a PP with a penalty. This time he interfers with a Devils' forward to draw the interference penalty.
14:10 - Buffalo will head to the power play for the first time tonight, thanks to a Steve Bernier tripping minor. He got his stick in the skates of Mike Weber, and the rear guard went down to the ice.
13:00 - So much for that. Christian Ehrhoff takes a hooking minor to negate the PP, and put the teams at 4-on-4 for about a minute and forty seconds.
9:53 - I have to say, this has been an entertaining game so far. Each team has had a few chances, and the early fight set a nice tone. There is a bit of an edge to both of these teams. I like it.
7:44 - Kaleta and Ilya Kovalchuk each take roughing minors for jousting after the whistle. I think it is safe to say the blue and gold get the better of that trade off.
4:36 - For the second time in the game Ehrhoff cancels out a PP with a penalty. This time he interfers with a Devils' forward to draw the interference penalty.
1:42 - New Jersey leads in the shot total - 11-6. However, I think the teams have played an even period so far.
End of Period
BUF - 0, NJD - 0
Goal Summary
BUF: none
NJD: none
Shots On Goal
BUF - 6, NJD - 13
Second Period
18:07 - Marcus Foligno doing his best "human torpedo" impression in his first shift of the period. The forward ran into every Devils' player in sight, including Clarkson. It looked like the two might fight for a moment.
16:06 - No harm, no foul for Kevin Porter. The forward was called for a boarding minor, but Buffalo is able to kill it off with relative ease. I do not think there was a good scoring chance for New Jersey, save right at the start maybe.
14:47 - A couple of icing plays in a row by the Devils has forced head coach Peter DeBoer to call his one, and only, timeout of the game. The bench boss giving his players a quick breather.
12:43 - SABRES GOAL. Cody Hodgson outmuscles Ilya Kovalchuk in the right wing corner, makes a nice pass to Jason Pominville in the slot, and it is in the back of the net. That is a huge boost for the blue and gold, after Tyler Myers took a bad penalty at the end of a frustrating shift. 1-0 BUF.
10:36 - DEVILS GOAL. The puck went right off of Steve Bernier, and following a brief review the goal was confirmed. I thought there was little question of the "good goal." Ryan Miller never saw the puck until it had trickled across the goal line. 1-1 tie.
5:25 - As you would expect with so much power play time, the Devils hold a 13-5 edge in shots this period. The advantage is 26-11 overall right now.
3:45 - Drew Stafford used a good burst of speed to break in on goal, but Hedberg flopped and used the poke check to keep the puck out of the net. The forward used his wheels to create separation, but just could not close the deal.
1:49 - This period has felt like it had crawled along with the amount of whistles that have stopped play.
End of Period
BUF - 1, NJD - 1
Goal Summary
BUF: 7:17 - Jason Pominville (8) SHG. (Cody Hodgson, Mike Weber)
NJD: Steve Bernier (6). (Ryan Carter, Mark Fayne)
Shots On Goal
BUF - 8 (14), NJD - 13 (26)
Third Period
20:00 - Buffalo gets a power play to start the period, thanks to a Ryan Carter minor taken after the whistle last frame.
18:39 - DEVILS GOAL. Not the type of special teams play you may have been hoping for by Buffalo. Adam Henrique walked in all alone and beat Miller for the go-ahead score. This was just moments after Tyler Ennis missed a golden chance in tight. 2-1 NJD.
16:50 - SABRES GOAL. Well, that did not take long. Another perfect pass by Cody Hodgson to the tape of Jason Pominville leads to the equalizer. Hodgson fit the puck between three Devils' players to the captain, who did not miss the opportunity. 2-2 tie.
12:28 - Buffalo is on the power play again, but all of their shot attempts have been blocked one way or another. Ehrhoff had a couple of good looks, but had one stopped by a defender and the other went wide. Special teams have been an issue, since the Pominville shorthanded tally.
10:13 - SABRES GOAL. Jochen Hecht gets the "garbage goal" and Buffalo gets the lead again today. Hecht was camped out at the side of the net, and Hedberg simply had the puck bounce off of his pads and trickle in. Take it anyway you can get it. 3-2 BUF.
8:26 - DEVILS GOAL. The Buffalo defenders in front of Miller lost Andrei Loktionov and he is able to take a pass and deke his way to the game-tying goal. Not the best piece of defending by the blue and gold tonight. 3-3 tie.
1:49 - Hope you all are settled in for even more hockey. This one has all the makings of an overtime or shootout special.
End of Regulation
BUF - 3, NJD - 3
Goal Summary
BUF: 3:10 - Jason Pominville (9). (Cody Hodgson, Steve Ott). 9:47 - Jochen Hecht (1). (Mikhail Grigorenko)
NJD: 1:21 - Adam Henrique (5) SHG. (unassisted). 11:22 - Andrei Loktionov (3). (Stefan Matteau, Ilya Kovalchuk).
Shots On Goal
BUF - 7 (21), NJD - 5 (31)
Overtime
3:50 - Marek Zidlicky is in the box, but we all thought Nathan Gerbe was going to be the penalized player. Buffalo gets a gift PP from the officials.
2:06 - Despite a couple of really good looks, no goal for Buffalo and the teams will skate 4-aside now.
:24.5 - A hustle play to the net by Tyler Ennis results in another PP for Buffalo. Bryce Salvador is called for tripping.
3:50 - Marek Zidlicky is in the box, but we all thought Nathan Gerbe was going to be the penalized player. Buffalo gets a gift PP from the officials.
2:06 - Despite a couple of really good looks, no goal for Buffalo and the teams will skate 4-aside now.
:24.5 - A hustle play to the net by Tyler Ennis results in another PP for Buffalo. Bryce Salvador is called for tripping.
End of Overtime
BUF - 3, NJD - 3
Goal Summary
BUF: none
NJD: none
Shots On Goal
BUF - 1 (23), NJD - 0 (31)
Shootout
Jason Pominville gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead by scoring first, and Ilya Kovalchuk could not answer. Tyler Ennis also scored, and when Adam Henrique did not, the game ended in favor of the blue and gold. Ryan Miller demonstratively shot the puck at Henrique to draw some barbs back and forth. Now the team is riding a three-game high.
End of Game
Buffalo 4, New Jersey 3 / Shootout
Postgame
To say this game took a very long time would be a massive understatement. However, the home town fans go home happy and get a pretty nice rematch to look forward to in New Jersey on Thursday. Miller trash talking Henrique at the end adds another layer to this season series. You have to like the fight in Buffalo, even if it took WAAAAAAY too long to see this.