NEWARK, NJ – Erik Haula broke a tie with less than six minutes remaining with his second goal of the game to give the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabers on Friday .
This is the first time since the 1974-75 season that the Devils (then in Colorado) won their first four games of the campaign after trailing.
Buffalo, for its part, has already suffered a fifth loss in eight games at this young start to the season.
The game could, however, have serious consequences for the Devils since forward Nico Hischier did not finish the game after a series of contacts that forced him to leave the game twice.
In the first period, Hischier made contact with Connor Clifton, which caused him to miss the start of the second period during which he was again made contact with an opponent. He did not accompany his teammates for the third period.
The NHL Security Department announced late in the evening that it had summoned Clifton to a hearing so that he could explain his actions.
“That blow was to the head,” reacted veteran instructor Lindy Ruff. That’s what (the NHL) is trying to eliminate. She needs to look into this. It was a dangerous game. ”
For their part, the Sabers lost the services of their goaltender Eric Comrie, who was injured while traveling. In 29:45 of play, he allowed two goals on 18 shots.
Haula’s first goal was scored shorthanded. It was his eighth career short by a man.
Jack Hughes also hit the target. He has collected one point in his last seven games. Only Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings has done better so far with eight straight games with at least one point. The goal was first awarded to Tyler Toffoli.
Jesper Bratt and Alexander Holtz scored the other goals in the victory.
For the Sabres, JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens responded.
Teravainen takes on Sharks case
Teuvo Teravainen has decided that the San Jose Sharks will have to wait a little longer before getting their first win of the season.
Teravainen scored a hat trick to bring his total to seven goals this season and the Carolina Hurricanes prevailed 3-0 against the Sharks.
Teravainen first scored twice in the first period, before completing his hat trick in the third period. He scored one of his goals on the power play.
San Jose has now lost its first eight games of the season, including seven in regulation. The Sharks have now been shut out in their last two games and have only scored more than one goal once this season in eight outings.
Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis each had two assists in the Hurricanes’ triumph.
Thanks to his 20 save performance, Antti Raanta signed his second victory of the season. It is also the 20e shutout of his NHL career.
The goalkeepers made life difficult for the players
It took until the seventh round of shootouts to see the Washington Capitals escape with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
John Carlson, against goalkeeper Marc-André Fleury, was the only player from both teams to score in the play-off for the victory.
Special teams made the difference for the Capitals in the victory. Tom Wilson first scored his first of the campaign, shorthanded, his eighth in such a situation in his career, while Dylan Strome was the author of his fifth of the season during a massive attack.
Alex Ovechkin collected an assist, his fourth of the season. He thus obtained a point in a fifth game in a row, and this, for the 57th time in his career. Only Evgeni Malkin, with 58, has more five-game streaks than him.
Marco Rossi and Ryan Hartman provided the Wild’s response.
Darcy Kuemper was perfect in the shootout and previously made 39 saves for the Capitals. Fleury stopped 31 pucks for the Wild.
The Kings refuse to give up
The Los Angeles Kings scored four straight goals to erase a three-goal deficit and sign a 5-4 victory against the Arizona Coyotes.
Trailing 4-1 after the first period, the Kings began a comeback when Drew Doughty scored his second goal of the season with less than four minutes remaining in the second period.
Quinton Byfield and Anze Kopitar scored in the opening minutes of the third period to bring both teams back to square one, then Doughty played the heroes with 1:59 left in the game, with his second goal of the game.
Mikey Anderson also hit the mark in the Kings’ triumph. He finished the game with a goal and an assist, as did Byfield. Adrian Kempe had two assists.
Coyotes scorers were Matias Maccelli, JJ Moser, Jack McBain and Sean Durzi.
Cam Talbot came in to relieve Phoenix Copley after the latter allowed three goals on six shots. As a backup, Talbot blocked 16 of the 17 shots aimed at him.
The Kings will return to action on Saturday evening against the Golden Knights, while the Coyotes meet the Blackhawks on Monday.
The Blues taste their own medicine
The day after a shutout victory against the Calgary Flames, the St. Louis Blues suffered the same fate, losing 5 to 0 to the Vancouver Canucks.
Quinn Hughes scored his first two goals of the season, while JT Miller had a three-point night (1-2), including the Canucks’ first shorthanded goal this season.
Little used during the first half hour of play, Thatcher Demko made 22 saves to sign his fourth shutout in the NHL.
Ilya Mikeheyev also beat Jordan Binnington, who was automatically in the game after the shutout recorded by his teammate Joel Hofer the day before.
Binnington has been challenged 35 times by Vancouver (5-2-0), which has won its last three games.
The Blues (3-3-1) don’t play again until next Wednesday, when they visit the Colorado Avalanche.
For their part, the Canucks will return to action on Saturday, hosting the New York Rangers.
