Newark, N.J. — The Buffalo Sabres picked up right where they left off before the break, riding a strong performance from Tage Thompson to secure a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
Thompson, recently returned from international competition, continued his impressive season by netting his 31st goal and adding an assist. The U.S. Olympian had just wrapped up a championship run in Milan, where he recorded three goals and one assist across six games for Team USA.
Peyton Krebs delivered a balanced effort with a goal and an assist of his own, while goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 27 shots to anchor the win. With the victory, Buffalo has now claimed seven wins in its last 10 games, improving to 33-19-6 on the season.
The Sabres are firmly in the Eastern Conference wild-card picture and continue to push toward what would be their first postseason appearance in 14 years.
Thompson opened the scoring in the second period, finishing off a key offensive sequence to give Buffalo the early edge. Krebs extended the lead to 2-0 midway through the third period, capitalizing on sustained pressure in the Devils’ zone.
New Jersey made things interesting late when Timo Meier cut the deficit to one with just 2:30 remaining in regulation. Jack Hughes — fresh off his own Olympic heroics — assisted on the play. Prior to puck drop, the Devils honored Hughes with a tribute video highlighting his overtime winner in Team USA’s gold-medal victory over Canada earlier in the week.
Jake Allen kept the Devils within striking distance throughout the night, stopping 28 shots. However, New Jersey fell to 28-28-2 with the loss.
Buffalo now heads to Florida for a Friday night matchup, while the Devils travel to Pittsburgh for their next contest on Thursday.
