Jake Allen made 42 saves for the shutout and Arseny Gritsyuk had two goals in the New Jersey Devils’ 5-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
The Devils are on a three-game winning streak and have the most points (33) of any team in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have lost their last two games and sit at the bottom of the East standings with 22 points.
Allen achieved his first shutout of the season, marking his third-highest save total among his 29 career NHL shutouts. He has been impressive this season, posting an 8-4-0 record over 13 games with a .919 save percentage and a 2.26 goals against average.
Brenden Dillon and Paul Cotter each had a goal and an assist for the Devils, and Connor Brown and Ondrej Palat each had two assists.
Nico Hischier recorded New Jersey’s other goal to extend his scoring streak to four games. Hischier has nine points (five goals, four assists) over that four-game stretch.
Gritsyuk recorded the first multi-goal game of his NHL rookie season and has six goals in 24 games with New Jersey.
The Sabres were held scoreless for the third time this season, despite a 42-23 edge in shots. Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon stopped only 18 of 23 shots.
Both teams generated solid offensive chances during the first period, but a somewhat fluky goal put New Jersey ahead at the 12:07 mark. From behind Buffalo’s net, Timo Meier sent the puck bouncing over the crossbar and over Lyon’s back, and Hischier was in position in front for the conversion.
Buffalo outshot New Jersey by a 15-8 margin in the second period, but Gritsyuk scored at the 7:45 mark for the only goal of the frame.
The Devils kept pouring on the offense in the third period, beginning with Dillon’s one-timer at the 1:39 mark. Cotter scored on a breakaway 5:22 into the third, and Gritsyuk added his second goal of the game late on a two-on-one rush with Ondrej Palat.
