Copyright Getty Images/Gary Wiepert

Even without Thomas Vanek, the Sabres were able to win their third in a row. Led by Jason Pominville, they shot past the Devils 4-3. It was the first home win for interim coach Ron Rolston.
Pominville scored twice and his goal in the first round of the shootout was enough to send New Jersey to their fourth consecutive defeat. At least they got a point.

The Devils were boosted by the return of Ryan Carter, who missed the previous four games with a concussion. The waiver unsung hero from last year assisted on linemate Steve Bernier’s sixth and took 18 shifts (12:10) while reunited also with Stephen Gionta. The cohesive trio were their most consistent line.

In a game that didn’t lack intensity, Buffalo prevailed despite shoddy D which has been their Achilles heel. Tyler Myers struggled mightily. Despite sloppiness, the Sabres took advantage of Devil mistakes to score three on Johan Hedberg. Ryan Miller made 28 saves and blanked the Devils in the shootout to pick up his third straight win.

Pominville scored shorthanded to give them a 1-0 lead. The Devils came back with the next two, including a shorty from Adam Henrique that broke a goal drought. Pommer struck back with his second and Jochen Hecht put Buffalo ahead with his first of 2013. But ex-King Andrei Loktionov tied it less than two minutes later. He has been the latest steal for Lou Lamoriello, who only gave up a fifth round pick. Matt Moulson continues to excel for the Islanders. Another former King given away to a Battle (BONY) team.

The offense came to life after a dull first except for the edge. David Clarkson got into a tussle with Steve Ott 27 seconds in, knocking the former Star antagonist down after he missed with a right. The disdain intensified when Buffalo pest Patrick Kaleta drove Ilya Kovalchuk nuts. Somehow, Kovalchuk was called for a penalty following Kaleta’s shenanigans. It’s amazing what this guy gets away with. Though Rolston deserves credit for using him in a pseudo Sean Avery role. Believe it or not, Kaleta received over 15 minutes of ice-time. It’s still embarrassing how he challenges Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac and not Clarkson. Pete DeBoer didn’t dress Krys Barch. John Scott didn’t play either for Buffalo.

Following a scoreless first, the Devils and Sabres each tallied once in the second. Pominville got it started when he cashed in on a fortunate bounce to beat Hedberg shorthanded. Mike Weber’s dump in took a weird hop and Cody Hodgson set up Pominville for his eighth at 7:17. It took the Devs 2:17 to respond. Thanks to some stellar work from the Carter line, they got a bounce of their own when Mark Fayne’s point shot went off Bernier in front. It held up following a review. The Devils spent the second half of the period carrying the play. They dominated shifts down low with their forecheck. Despite 13 shots, they only beat Miller once.

At the start of the third, the Sabres had a power play thanks to a Carter cross check. It didn’t matter. A great effort from Henrique resulted in a shorthanded goal. He beat Miller upstairs for the unassisted marker. Their lead didn’t last. Less than a couple of minutes later, Hodgson and Pominville hooked up again to tie it. Ott added a helper. Hecht steered them in front on kind of an odd play. Off a solid cycle from No.1 pick Mikhail Grigorenko, he took advantage of a break when his soft backhand caromed off Bernier and past Hedberg.

A defensive breakdown led to Loktionov burying his third. Kovalchuk worked the puck to Matteau, who drew two Sabres and then made a brilliant no look pass across to Loktionov who did the rest. He patiently out waited a sliding Robyn Regehr and then tucked the puck around Miller for the equalizer. Carter nearly put the Devils up on the next shift. He was denied on a wrap around by a sprawling Miller, who made the biggest save of the game.

In overtime, Marek Zidlicky went to the box for knocking down Nathan Gerbe. Part of some mystifying calls from Steve Kozari and Gord Dwyer. Chico Resch didn’t understand a few penalties. The way the game is called doesn’t make sense. They call every little thing but ignore the obvious. By that, I mean Tyler Ennis’ cheap shot on Henrique at the conclusion of OT. Regehr also got away with a cross check on Kovalchuk near the end of regulation. The officiating is substandard throughout the league. When will it change?

Speaking of which, the shootout takes too damn long to start. I heard Rick Jeanneret complain about it last month. They have to go over the ice again following a five minute four-on-four. There has to be a way to speed it up. When it finally did, Pominville went in slowly on Hedberg and then went top shelf in Round One. Kovalchuk had Miller dead to rights but his shot grazed the crossbar. Ennis made it 2-0 when he went stick side, leaving it up to Henrique whose shot was gloved by Miller, who sticked it away and talked trash. Maybe he was just fired up. The teams meet again on Thursday 3/7. It might be worth watching.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Steve Bernier, NJD (goal-6th, 4 SOG, 3 hits in 13:11)
2nd Star-Ryan Miller, Buf (28 saves incl. 2/2 in shootout)
1st Star-Jason Pominville, Buf (2 foals-8, 9, shootout winner)