Devils run out of gas against Sabres

December 13, 2008   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

Every team has schedule losses in the course of an 82-game season.  Some come during or just after a long road trip.  Many come on the back end of a three game in four night stretch. 

Such was the case for the Devils tonight, who after big wins against the Penguins and Rangers just couldn’t muster up enough juice to hold off a desperate Sabres team.  Truthfully I can’t fault the Devils tonight…hell even us fans are still drained from the roller coaster ride last night and a nice homecoming on Wednesday. 

Too bad for Kevin Weekes though, he can’t seem to catch a break.  He finally gets in a game and even plays decently, though he did allow four goals you can only really fault him on one, where his rust showed and he flopped around too much early in the first period when Sabres supersniper Thomas Vanek scored the first of his two goals tonight. 

Weekes did recover and had a solid game, making 30 saves.  He probably wasn’t able do enough to earn another start on Tuesday but that’s fine with me – for whatever reason we’ve been losing with Weekes and winning with Clemmensen so might as well ride the hot lucky hand, though odds are Weekes will get another start at some point next week with three games in four nights.

Down 1-0 after the first period, Patrik Elias struck again just 58 seconds into the second period, when he roofed a wrister that beat Sabres goalie Patrick Lalime.  Elias’s goal was his 13th of the year and he’s now on a three-game goalscoring streak.

Among the few Devils who had a good game was Bobby Holik, who played physical and even got his first goal of the season in the second period by going hard to the net just minutes after Elias scored, giving the Devils a lead that proved to be short-lived.

Perhaps almost as shocking as the eruption of an offense that has 41 goals in its last 10 games, penalty killing has suddenly become a problem for the Devils this year.  Strangely there were only two power plays given all night, both to the Sabres.  And Buffalo converted on both of them.  Drew Stafford scored to tie the game midway through the second period.  Then Derek Roy scored what proved to be the winner at 8:43 of the third, also on the power play.  Another slick Vanek wrist shot minutes later gave him his 24th goal of the season and sealed a loss for the Devils, just their second in the last 11 games.

Oh well, the boys go back at it next week with another three game in four night stretch - the Toronto/Buffalo road trip on Tuesday and Wednesday then home to a Senators team on Friday that suddenly has Martin Gerber playing well?!  Their offense still stinks though.    

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Thomas Vanek (2 goals, +1)
2. Derek Roy (goal, assist, +1)
3. Bobby Holik (goal, +1)