NEWARK, New Jersey. (AP) – Josh Norris and Zach Benson scored in the second period and the Buffalo Sabers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 on Sunday night for their sixth straight win.
Peyton Krebs also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 17 saves to help Buffalo earn its eighth win in 11 games.
Advertising
Jack Hughes scored for New Jersey in his first game after hand surgery. Jake Allen made 19 saves as the Devils had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Hughes, on a line with Dawson Mercer and rookie Arseni Gritsyuk, opened the scoring at 8:51 of the first, beating Luukkonen for his 11th goal, drawing loud applause from the Prudential Center.
Hughes missed New Jersey's previous 18 games with a hand injury following New Jersey's 4-3 overtime win over Chicago on Nov. 12. The 24-year-old center led the Devils in scoring at the time. This season he has 21 points. In his absence, New Jersey lost 10 of 18 games.
Norris tied the game at 2:26 of the second with his fourth goal, and Benson gave the Sabers the lead at 16:05 of the middle period by beating Allen for his third.
Advertising
Luukkonen was strong after Hughes' goal, making several excellent stops, including one on Devils forward Jesper Bratt midway through the third, to keep the margin at one goal.
Krebs scored into an empty Sabers net with 2:01 left in the match.
Devils forward Timo Meier is also back after taking time off for family reasons earlier this month. He missed five games.
Next
Sabres: At Ottawa on Tuesday night.
Devils: At New York Islanders Stadium on Tuesday night.
___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/NHL
