Devils snip Sabres 5-3

   Michael McLeod scored two goals ( 2 and 3) and Myles Wood added two more goals (4 and 5) and New Jersey needed all of them to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 and salvage a split from their two games in Buffalo.

Andreas Johnsson scored the other New Jersey goal (2) and spot starter Eric Comrie made thirty saves in the win.

New Jersey stops a three-game losing streak and will travel to Pittsburgh for a Tuesday game against the Penguins.

Hell Raisers

1) Eric Comrie was a pleasant surprise in goal with thirty saves and none of the three goals allowed were awful to hang on Comrie. 

Comrie's play was a pleasant surprise and although I still wouldn't feel comfortable with him as the second goalie in the organization, he would be more than fine as the top netminder in Binghamton and as the guy to call up in case of injury.

2) The Devils have received adequate play from Comrie and Scott Wedgewood with Mackenzie Blackwood sidelined, the sudden retirement of Corey Crawford, and the wait for Aaron Dell to clear protocol and it's suddenly become very possible that the Devils will lose either Comrie or Wedgewood.

The Devils will have to slide one through waivers when Aaron Dell is ready to be placed on the roster and it's going to be an interesting choice for the team to make.

3) Michael McLeod took quite a while to score his first NHL goal, and McLeod's two goals in this one on the same line as Myles Wood and Nathan Bastian was a surprise, but the complete domination of a game by a fourth game is a complete stunner.

It's not every game that one line dominates a game, but when it's the fourth line it comes along as often as a comet.

4) I mentioned recently about Myles Wood beginning to harness his play and turn it from recklessness to aggressiveness.

That transition, should it continue, might be moving Wood to the next level of player.

Wood's two goals, six shots, and narrowly missing a hat trick is making me believe that it could be developing in that direction.

5)  Buffalo began to swing play towards their end when Pavel Zacha missed an open net for a goal that would have made the Devils lead 3-0.

It almost never fails in hockey that when a team has an opportunity that they should take advantage of that the opponent will battle back and within a minute, Buffalo scored their first goal of the game from Curtis Lazar.

6) Of all the places that the Devils have played without fans thus far, I liked Buffalo the best.

The royal blue stands out well with the tapestries around the arena and it seems as if the cameras are able to get closer to the ice than at Newark or the other places that I've seen thus far.