NHL Global Series: Devils Dominate Sabres in Season Opener

Photo Credit: Andrew Maclean & New Jersey Devils

PRAGUE — The Devils, who are representing the National Hockey League in the NHL Global Series Czechia, opened up their 2024/25 season with an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Many new acquisitions from the off-season made an impact in their Devils debuts. In goal, Jacob Markstrom gave the Devils the goaltending that they were desperately missing last season. The former Calgary Flames goaltender made 30 saves on 31 shots, including this ridiculous robbery in broad daylight to take away a goal from with the paddle of his stick. We’re talking about the save of the season and this is just game one of 82.

“It’s just desperation. I got lucky and it hit my stick,” Markstrom said. “It’s a good time to get lucky.”

The new acquisitions also made an impact on the score sheet too, with Stefan Noesen (1 goal; 13:11 T.O.I), Johnathan Kovacevic (1 goal, 1 assist, +2; 20:27 T.O.I) and Paul Cotter (1 goal, 1 assist, +2; 10:13 T.O.I) all scoring their first goals for the Devils. In Noesen’s case, his first goal for the Devils since 2019. Captain Nico Hischier (1 goal, +2; 18:15 T.O.I) would be the other goal scorer at the O2 Arena in Prague.

Unfortunately for Markstrom, he wouldn’t be able to record his first shutout for the Devils thanks to Sabres defenseman Owen Power breaking up the shutout bid with just under ten minutes left in the game.

It was also the NHL debut of Seamus Casey (1 block, 2 hits; 13:14 T.O.I), who slotted into the lineup next to Simon Nemec (1 SOG, 3 blocks; 17:13 T.O.I) on the 3rd defensive pair for New Jersey. “I was thinking about (the rookie lap) more than the game,” Casey joked. “It was super exciting just getting out there. It all hits you. After that just try to win the game and have fun.”

This is the second time the Devils have opened up a season on the road in Europe. The first occurred back in 2018 when the team made the trip to Gothenburg, Sweden, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 with Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri both scoring twice.

The Devils came out the gate skating fast, and it paid off early leading to Stefan Noesen opening the scoring 8:39 into the first period.

Erik Haula (3 hits; 14:16 T.O.I) hounded the Buffalo defense with his forechecking, and it caused a mistake from Mattias Samuelsson who turned the puck over to Johnathan Kovacevic as the Sabres were attempting to exit the zone. Kovacevic with all the time in the world hit Noesen standing all alone in the slot, roofing his shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Devils the 1-0 lead.

Just seven minutes later, the Devils would double their lead. On what looked like a harmless shot from the blue line by Kovacevic, who was traded from Montreal to the Devils this offseason, the puck takes a re-direction off a Sabres player in the slot and past Luukkonen for a Devils 2-0 lead heading into the second period.

“I saw (Jonas) Siegenthaler on the left side, so I started moving to the middle when I got it,” Kovacevic said. “Got on my forehand, shot it, and, I hate to say it, I think it tipped off their guy and went in. Doesn’t matter.” For his stellar performance, Kovacevic received a new nickname from head coach Sheldon Keefe, “Kovechkin”.

In the middle frame, Buffalo would start to tilt the ice in their favor, out shooting the Devils 11-8, but it would be New Jersey who strikes again. Forcing the Sabres to scramble in their own zone, Nathan Bastian (2 assists, +2; 10:01 T.O.I) fortunately shot the puck from below the goal-line right to Nico Hischier, who buried his first goal of the season from the high slot.

With the score at 3-0 heading into the third period, Markstrom turned his game up to another level as the Sabres threw the kitchen sink at the Swedish native. Markstrom would see 13 shots on net in the final 20 minutes and he was able to stand up to the test until Owen Power ended his shutout streak with 9:53 left in the game.

That would be the only goal Buffalo would get in this game as Markstrom shut the door the rest of the way. The Sabres pulled their goalie for one last push late in the game, but a Paul Cotter empty net goal would be the dagger and put down any hope of a Buffalo comeback. Cotter was played into the zone by Bastian and was able to just slide the puck into the empty net to secure a Devils victory in the season opener.

After the game, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe was very pleased with the way his team performed. “We’ve been working hard,” Keefe said. “Like I said, it didn’t really come together for us in the preseason (the starting group finished 0-4-0), but the signs were there. We’ve had some really good practices since preseason concluded, and the guys were excited to play, and it showed.”

The Devils are back in action again Saturday October 5th as they wrap up their back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL Global Series Prague.

Box Score: Buffalo Sabres – New Jersey Devils – Oct 4, 2024 | NHL.com