Allen, Gritsyuk Lead Devils Past Sabres, Into First

If you’re having trouble remembering the last time the Devils won a laugher, it’s because it’s been awhile.

Twenty seven days to be exact.

So it was nice to finally spend a third period not waiting for a bad bounce or sketchy call or late goal against to set up an overtime or shootout that’s essentially a coin flip; even more so with a rematch with Metro Division rival Philly looming less than 24 hours away.

Arseny Gritsyuk scored twice, which was more than enough support for Devils goalie Jake Allen, who was razor sharp in a 42-save, 5-0 shutout on Friday afternoon at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Gritsyuk put the Devils up 2-0 on his fifth of the season 7 minutes, 45 seconds into the second period. It was a back-breaking goal for Buffalo, which had carried play to start the second. Shots in the period were 5-1 Buffalo when Gritsyuk buried a centering pass from Dawson Mercer.

The Devils got a pair of early third period goals from Brendan Dillon (a one-timer from the left circle set up by Connor Brown) and a breakaway from Paul Cotter (sprung by Brown in the neutral zone).

Gritsyuk would notch his second of the night and sixth of the season at 16:49 to ice the win. He scored off a give-and-go with Ondrej Palat, who scored as many points Friday (2) as he had in the first 23 games this season.

The Devils didn’t need five goals the way Allen was playing though.

It was redemption for the 35-year-old journeyman, coming off what might be his worst outing since coming over at the trade deadline in 2024. Last time out he gave up four first period goals to Philly, including three in just 26 seconds. He made amends Friday afternoon. His 42 saves were the most he’d made in a game since stopping 45 against Columbus late last season. It was his third 40-plus save game as a Devil.

He was at his best in the third period stopping 17 shots.

With the win, New Jersey improved to 16-7-1 and took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. They left Buffalo a point up on Tampa Bay in the conference standings and three ahead of Carolina in the Metro standings, which is something, considering the black cloud that seemed to hang over the Devils for the last month.

It was only the third time since beating the L.A. Kings 4-1 on Nov. 1 that the Devils didn’t need overtime/shootout to secure points. Five of November’s eight wins came in extra time, and Monday’s 4-3 win against the Red Wings was in doubt till the final seconds. They’re now 4-3 in the two weeks since Jack Hughes injured his hand at a team dinner in Chicago on Nov. 12 and have shown they can still bank points despite missing their franchise center.

Up Next

The Devils host the Flyers at 7 pm Saturday night. Philly, which has won two in a row, beat the Islanders in a shootout on Friday and sits third in the Metro, four points behind the Devils. They’ve been a much better home than road team. They’ll face Jacob Markstrom for the first time this season after torching Allen a week ago. Markstrom, who got off to a horrendous start this year, has looked much better his last two games.

Your Thoughts

So what did everyone think? The Devils have shown themselves to be really resilient, especially this past week. Things were looking pretty ugly a week ago after lifeless losses to Tampa, Florida, and Philly. They showed a ton of fight in the two wins at home this week though and then routed Buffalo despite the high shot total they allowed. With (hopefully) only a month to go before Hughes returns they’re banking points and staying at or near the top of the standings.