The New Jersey Devils were unable to confirm their place in the playoffs tonight by losing 5-4 against the Buffalo Sabres, who benefited from two goals and an assist from ‘Alex Tuch.
With a victory, they could have become the third team to get their ticket to the Eastern Conference after the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes.
“We played a very good game and it’s a big step in the right direction,” Tuch said. kept our heads up and got to work”
They had a false start by allowing two goals to Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson in the space of 39 seconds in the first frame. The latter has already scored 44 goals this season.
Yegor Sharangovich closed the gap, but Jack Quinn restored a two-goal lead halfway through. All this in the first 11 minutes of play to end Akira Schmid’s evening of work prematurely after giving up three times on just seven shots.
Vitek Vanecek replaced him in net for the Devils, who got away with a 3-2 deficit by retreating to the locker room thanks to a goal from Kevin Bahl.
Alex Tuch, however, hit back-to-back in the second period to make it 5-2 in favor of the Sabers. His second of the game found himself in the back of the net by redirecting the shot from the blue line of Rasmus Dahlin on the power play.
Jack Hughes followed Tuch in third with a brace for the Devils, approaching the 40-goal mark with his 38th and 39th of the campaign.
“We weren’t mentally ready,” Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said. We weren’t physically ready. They passed by us, they entered alone. We left our keeper to himself. ”
The Sabers are six points behind the No. 2 draft team held by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East with a game in hand.
MacKinnon and Makar take care of the Coyotes
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar had three points apiece as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-1.
Makar had missed the Avalanche’s last two games with a lower-body injury. MacKinnon and Makar both had a goal and two assists.
MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 19 games, and he has at least one point in his last 11 games.
The Avalanche sit in third place in the Central Division with 90 points and have played one game less than the Stars and Wild, who have 92 and 91 points respectively.
MacKinnon opened the scoring first with his 31st goal of the season and Clayton Keller replied for the Coyotes with his 35th before the end of the period.
The Coyotes held off the Avalanche until the third, but goals from Makar and JT Compher put an end to their ambitions.
The Avalanche signs its eighth victory in nine games.
The Coyotes are winless in their last three games (0-2-1) after winning four straight.
