Top Notes
- The Sabres improved to 3-0 this season (46-38 all-time) in the shootout.
- With his 134th goal as a member of the Sabres, Jochen Hecht tied Jim Lorentz and Maxim Afinogenov for 18th-most in franchise history.
- Cody Hodgson has recorded 16 points (5+11) in his last 16 games.
- With his shorthanded goal, Jason Pominville took sole possession of sixth-most shorthanded goals in franchise history (10). Pominville trails Wayne Presley by one for fifth-most.
Top Quotes
Devils goaltender Johan Hedberg:
On earning a point in the standings: “It’s a point. We’ll take the positive out of that. I think we played well enough to win, so we’re moving in the right direction.”
On the officiating, particularly in overtime: “It’s a tough job to be the referee; I know I couldn’t do it. Sometimes you have it with you, sometimes you don’t, but I don’t think it was anything to do with the refs.”
On the Devils’ lack of success in shootouts this year: “We’re not making saves, and we’re not scoring. We have to get back on track on that. Some big points on the line, and it’s hard to lose them. We have to go and try better at that.”
Devils forward Adam Henrique:
On whether he feels that the Devils are getting back on track: “At times it did. We had lots of shots early, through the first two (periods). We gave up a shorthanded one but we got one back. I think we just need to get a bit more traffic in front.”
On whether getting a point in the standings is something to build off of: “I thought we played well last game, it just didn’t go our way. I thought we carried that into tonight. We were getting pucks to the net; we were keeping it simple, staying to our game plan. (We) battled back in the third there, took it to overtime, got a point, but we have to just try to find a way to get that extra one.”
On his goal: “We just created a turnover at the blue line or the red line — I’m not a hundred percent sure — but [Miller’s] a big guy. I just tried to get him moving a little bit and got one there, felt good.”
Devils forward Ryan Carter:
On whether the Devils took some steps in the right direction: “I think anytime you have these three-point games, you get a point, you have to find a way to take the positives, don’t dwell on it. We got some goals on the board, maybe clean a few things up defensively and you get two points, so I think we’re figuring it out again and things are going in the right direction.”
On the Devils’ shootout struggles after being so successful last year: “You win some, you lose some there. I think you can get on a streak and you can win five in a row, and you can get on a streak and lose five in a row. Like I said, you don’t dwell on it too much. You want the extra point but you take the positives and you move forward.”
On having an advantage in shots throughout the game: “I think we like the way we played. It’s a step in the right direction. If we tighten a few things up defensively and maybe find a way to stay out of the penalty box and not get frustrated, those are things I think we’ll work on.”
Sabres forward Tyler Ennis:
On the back-and-forth with Devils forward Adam Henrique: “He’s a really good player and I think he thought I was trying to shove him and I wasn’t, I was just trying to get to the net. He is a really good player and he plays hard. There was a lot of emotion but it was a good win. “
On the success in the past few games: “I think we’re not getting down on ourselves when the other team scores. That might be the biggest thing, when that happens we’re staying positive, working hard and doing the little things. We’re working hard for 60 minutes.”
On the team’s recent improvement: “We are improving every game. We are cleaning a lot of stuff up. There are certain areas we can improve, but it’s pretty exciting.”
Sabres forward Steve Ott:
On winning at home: “It’s a lot more fun; they make it a home game instead of a road game, that’s for sure. I thought, obviously, the building came alive during the third period. It’s an understatement how much energy you get from loud fans and fans that want to cheer for you. We’ve been waiting for this; we obviously haven’t shown them everything we have but its definitely a huge bonus when you have 19,070 on their feet.”
On his fight with Devils forward David Clarkson: “He’s a standup player; he plays extremely hard. He’s obviously a big part of their team. We play similar styles, but he has a little bit more points than me. It’s hockey; it’s a good battle. We both want to make an impact; we want to make this our home building, he wants to have a good road game. All in all it was a great hockey play”
On the Sabres showing passion in their play: “You look at Pat Kaleta getting Kovalchuk off his game and take a minor penalty and that’s just a huge hockey play. Obviously Nathan (Gerbe) with a big hit and their retaliatory penalty; we need that power play to click to make that momentum change to bury a team, and do the right things out there. When you get all those things and it gets pretty poisonous.”
On team success: “I really think that all of the guys are trying as hard as they can to clean up their games to continue improve every single night and I think it’s really making a difference towards a team aspect of things.”
Sabres forward Jason Pominville:
On the win: “It was nice to be able to get on a winning streak, get three in a row and get on a roll. Again, any time we get to overtime, if we can get through it, I like our chances in the shootout. Ryan practices them every day, he is one of the best in the league in the shootouts and he showed it again tonight.”
On contributing to the win: “It’s always nice to score. It is fun to get rewarded. As a line we have been working hard and early on had a lot of bounces. Lately we have to work a bit harder to get those bounces. Tonight, obviously, two great plays by Cody (Hodgson) and he just put them on my stick and I had to find a hole. We missed a couple of other ones but it is nice to get on the board and most importantly get some wins.”
On Hodgson’s play on the shorthanded goal: “I think it was a great effort by him (Hodgson) throughout the shift. He won a draw in our zone, I think Webby (Mike Weber) ended up clearing it and he (Hodgson) saw an opportunity to go and I think he got a second effort, I think he got a stick on it and got the puck and I was just creeping in, trying to find a hole and he put it right in the sweet spot.”
On having success with Thomas Vanek out of the lineup: “Obviously, we would like to have Thomas out there, he is an important part to the team but I think at the same time, it shows you that when you work as a team and you stick to the system, the system is built to support everyone. It’s not a one guy team and I think we showed it tonight with a gutsy effort by everyone.”
