New player Paul Cotter showed his importance by scoring again in Prague as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Saturday, completing a sweep of their season-opening series in the Czech capital.
Cotter, one of New Jersey’s new players, also scored in a 4-1 victory on Friday and contributed an assist.
“He’s got more to offer to our group than he’s shown in the league previously,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He obviously scored a huge goal for us and I thought he played a good game.”
The international games were part of the NHL global series, with nearly 17,000 fans attending each match. Two more games will take place in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2, featuring the defending Stanley Cup champions, Florida, against the Dallas Stars.
Defenseman Seamus Casey and Timo Meier also scored, and Jack Hughes had two assists for the Devils, who outshot the Sabres 37-18.
“It was tight and I was glad to see our guys stay with it and find a way,” Keefe said.
Buffalo’s Tage Thompson scored first 8:18 into the second period, slipping the puck under the pads of Jake Allen. Casey tied the game a few minutes later on a power play in his second NHL game.
Jack Hughes passed to Cotter across the ice, allowing the open forward to score against Devon Levi in the third period.
Allen made 17 saves for the Devils, while Levi had 34 saves for the Sabres.
At 6:02 of the first period, Buffalo forward JJ Peterka took a hit from defenseman Brenden Dillon, needed help off the ice, and didn’t return due to an upper body injury.
Coach Lindy Ruff mentioned that Peterka, who led the team last season with 28 goals, had a concussion.
Ruff said he had to change his power-play unit after Peterka’s injury, and “we didn’t look very good on the power play.”
