Sometimes you forget how to win. For 18 games, the Buffalo Sabres had no idea how to win.
Brandon Montour had a goal for the Buffalo Sabres
Well, they now have points in five straight games after defeating the New Jersey Devils, 5-3, on Tuesday night.
“We don’t win that game without [Dahlin] rising to the level he can rise to,” Sabres head coach Don Granato said. “He made a couple of big plays to tip that game back our way. That play is exactly why we need him playing with confidence. When you’re not confident, you second guess the bounce of that puck, you hesitate, and then it’s a break going the other way.
“But when you’re in the zone, you react on instincts, and his instincts are incredible.”
Casey Mittelstadt potted a power play goal in the third period to snap a 3-3 tie and send the Sabres to the win.
“Obviously it’s been documented pretty well we had a tough stretch there, but it’s good to get rewarded,” Mittelstadt said. “I think we work hard and it’s good to get rewarded. It’s good to have the guys have smiles on their faces, see guys having fun. We have to remember the feeling and keep going.”
Linus Ullmark made 27 saves to get the win.
“I know there were some games there wasn’t results, but I go home, watch my shifts, and felt like I was making plays and making the right play and figured it’d be a matter of time,” Mittelstadt said. “I think I’ve learned from years past not to get comfortable and just keep pushing every day, sticking with your routine.”
Rasmus Dahlin scored for the Sabres.
“[Winning] is such a great feeling,” Dahlin said. “You see the guys smiling on the bench when we’re playing. People do make mistakes, but we just have to keep it going. Everyone has confidence and everyone wants to play with the puck now.”
Rasmus Asplund tied the game, 1-1, and Brandon Montour gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead.
Damon Severson scored for the Devils to give them an early 1-0 lead.
“It was crazy with emotions, excitement, nerves, but I thought the guys in the room did a good job of keeping me calm,” New Jersey’s Tyler Thompson (first NHL point) said. “Just kind of having fun out there. Too bad that we didn’t do enough to win.”
Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt also scored for New Jersey.
“We just didn’t play good enough today,” Bratt said. “I think we had some good looks but we need to be better as a group. It’s a hard division and you’ve got to compete. I think we have another gear and we need to get it fixed up for next game.”
The Devils have lost four in a row.
Rasmus Ristolainen added an empty-net goal to ice the game.
Scott Wedgewood made 13 saves for the Devils (13-18-6), who are 0-2-2 in their past four games.
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