Josh Norris continued his offensive tear and the Buffalo Sabres extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Sunday.
The winning streak is the Sabres’ longest since they won six straight from Dec. 13 to 31, 2022. They improved their record to a season-best three games above .500 at 17-14-4 and moved within three points of Tampa Bay for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Norris scored his fourth goal in nine games this season to erase a 1-0 deficit during the second period. He’s tallied at least one point in seven of eight games since returning from injury on Dec. 1. His lone game without a point was Saturday’s win over the Islanders, when he had a goal waved off during regulation and later netted the shootout winner.
Zach Benson squeezed a no-look shot inside the near post on an odd-man rush to put the Sabres ahead late in the second period. Peyton Krebs made a hustle play to score into an empty net for his first goal late in the third.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started for the first time since Dec. 8 and made 26 saves, including a sprawling glove stop to rob Arseny Gritsyk on a 2-on-1 rush while the Sabres were trailing 1-0 during the first period.
Buffalo has one game remaining ahead of the holiday break, at Ottawa on Tuesday night.