PRAGUE — Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and Paul Cotter had an empty-netter and assist in their debuts with New Jersey as the Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Friday in the NHL regular-season opener that was played in the Czech Republic capital.
After former NHL great Jaromir Jagr, who still plays in the Czech league, dropped a ceremonial puck, Stefan Noesen became the first scorer of the season 8:39 in to put New Jersey up. Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, also making his Devils debut, made it 2-0, and then Nico Hischier scored early into the second before Owen Power got the Sabres on the scoreboard midway through the third. Cotter made it 4-1.
“Ultimately, the group just pulled together and wanted to compete at the high level tonight, and I think they got after it right from the start,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “From the opening face off we were all over the net within 10 seconds.”
The teams’ series of games on Friday and Saturday is part of the NHL global series. Two more international games will be played in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2 when defending Stanley Cup champion Florida faces the Dallas Stars.
This is the 11th season the NHL has played in Europe as part of its efforts to grow the fan base in hockey-mad countries like the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and others.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves for Buffalo.
The Sabres hope to end a 13-season playoff drought this year. Coach Lindy Ruff, who guided them to their last postseason in 2011, is back after he was fired by New Jersey. During his previous stint from 1997-2012, Buffalo advanced eight times and reached the Stanley Cup final in 1999.
“The start was probably the biggest difference in the hockey game,” Ruff said. “They were a step faster to loose pucks, they won more 50-50 battles early on and I thought that was the difference in the game.”
Devils: After failing to make the playoffs for the 10th time in 12 seasons, New Jersey had valuable contributions from newcomers. Keefe was hired in May after being fired by Toronto; Noesen was signed to the team after previously playing for New Jersey in 2016-19; Kovacevic was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, Cotter a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights and Markstrom a trade with the Calgary Flames.
Sabres: Buffalo was unable to take advantage of four power-play opportunities.
Before the puck dropped, players and spectators observed 13 seconds of silence to honor Johnny Gaudreau. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward was killed along with his brother Matthew on Aug. 29 while bicycling in New Jersey.
New Jersey gave up 283 goals last season, which was 27th out of 32 teams. The Devils believe Markstrom will help them in that category, and could be last year’s missing piece to a playoff run.
“He’s come here for a reason, he wants to win,” Keefe said. “But also he’s an incredible person, a great character and personality.”
The teams will complete their series in Prague on Saturday.
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