THE SCOOP
The Devils head into Buffalo after a two-game stretch where they continued to build on their home dominance with victories against the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues. The game against the Sabres is the only away game for the club over the stretch of seven games leading into next weekend. New Jersey has been dominant at home with a 9-0-1 record, but head into Buffalo with a three-game losing streak on the road, having lots both games in Florida and in Philadelphia last week. The Devils away record currently stands at 6-7-0.
Heading into Thanksgiving, the Devils sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with their 31 points and rank third in the league behind the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
Both Nico Hischier and Timo Meier are starting to heat up, both players on three-game goal scoring streaks as they continue to carry the offensive load for the team. In net, Jacob Markstrom has started the past two games and has posted victories in both, and has three wins in his last four starts.
The Buffalo Sabres will likely be happy to return to their home rink against the Devils, where they have an 8-4-2 record, a far cry from their 1-6-2 record on the road this season. The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games and have just nine wins on the season to sit last in the Eastern Conference with 22 points.
Over the past two weeks, the Sabres have gone 4–3–1, averaging 3.25 goals per game while allowing 3.13, a slight uptick in overall goal differential compared to earlier stretches of the season.
The Sabres have been putting up 32+ shots against their opponents in five of their last eight games, while defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has been a force to reckon with on the Sabres’ power play over the last two weeks with eight man-advantage assists.