Tyler Toffoli Nets Two Goals as Devils Dominate Sabres with a 7-2 Victory

New Jersey’s Tyler Toffoli scored twice and Vitek Vanecek made just nine saves as the Devils dominated the Buffalo Sabres 7-2 on Saturday night, ending a three-game losing streak.

The Devils exploded for four goals in the first period after a disheartening 2-1 loss to Columbus the night before. This win marked their first victory at home since October 29 and just the second win in eight games overall.

Alexander Holtz, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, and Luke Hughes also contributed goals for New Jersey, with Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton each picking up two assists.

The Sabres, fresh off a home victory over Pittsburgh, struggled and suffered their fifth loss in seven games.

Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo had the lone goals for the Sabres.

Holtz started the scoring just 1:31 into the game, while Toffoli increased the lead to 2-0 on a delayed penalty against Buffalo. Hischier, who returned after missing 11 games due to injury, made it 3-0 at 15:20. The Devils added one more goal in the first period to take a 4-0 lead.

The Sabres replaced their goalie to start the second period, and Skinner managed to spoil Vanecek’s shutout at the beginning of the period. Toffoli then secured his second goal of the game just a minute later.

Two Sabres made their NHL debuts as well—Isak Rosen, a first-round pick in 2021, and 19-year-old Jiri Kulich, who were called up from the AHL to replace injured players.

Up Next:

Devils: Hosting Islanders on Tuesday.

Sabres: Visiting New York Rangers on Tuesday.