PRAGUE – The Buffalo Sabers entered their season opener against the New Jersey Devils full of optimism. New coach Lindy Ruff raved about the team’s energy in practice and the buy-in players showed appreciation for the new systems and coaching points. The Sabers had also been in Europe for nine full days before puck drop, so they had every reason to be ready for the start of the game.

The Sabers finished with a minus-30 goal differential in the first period last season, a problem they never fully understood. They began this season trailing 2-0 after one half.

“I wish I had an answer to that,” center Dylan Cozens said when asked about Buffalo’s slow start. “They came faster than us and we didn’t have an immediate answer. In the second two periods we picked ourselves up and got going, but we have to be ready to play as soon as the puck is dropped. We have to do better.”

Ruff said he believes some of the Sabers players had nerves that led to poor puck management. That may have been the case with the first goal of the game, when a loss of the ball by Mattias Samuelsson led to an easy goal by Stefan Noesen. Later in the half, the Sabers caught a bad break when Johnathan Kovacevic’s shot bounced off a Buffalo player’s skate and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

From then on, the Devils didn’t have much trouble winning the game. Jacob Markstrom made a sensational save towards the end of the first third by parrying the ball with his stick against Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Buffalo could have cut their deficit to 2-1 with a goal at that point, but it turned out to be a save that got Markstrom rolling. He stopped 30 of 31 shots and gave the Sabers no chance to get back into the game.

JACOB MARKSTROM IS SERIOUS?! 🤯 #NHLGlobalSeries

A save-of-the-year candidate in the first game of the season!

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The Sabers went 0-for-4 on the power play, botched numerous zone entries and missed several prime scoring opportunities. They still finished the game with a big lead in shot attempts, scoring chances and dangerous chances, but the execution of those chances left a lot to be desired.

“I thought they were a step quicker when it came to losing pucks and that they won more 50-50 battles early on,” Ruff said. “And I thought that was the difference in the game. When you get off to a quick start like that you get on your heels a little bit, but later in the first half I thought we missed a few good looks to get back in and didn’t perform at a high enough level. “

The Sabers don’t have much time to stew over this game. They play the Devils again on Saturday at 4 p.m. local time and will look to avoid a 2-0 return trip to Buffalo.

“There are 81 games left,” Cozens said. “We can’t stay here.”

Quick hits

1. The glaring problem for the Sabers in this game was the way the top line played. JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch were on the ice for two goals conceded and did not score a goal. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils scored 71 percent of expected goals when this line was on the ice at five-on-five. Peterka had eight shot attempts but only two found the net, while Thompson had seven shot attempts and only three found the net. Buffalo has added depth to its forward group this summer, but its top players will still have to carry the scoring load. That didn’t happen on Friday.

2. Nicolas Aube-Kubel left the game in the second period. After the game, he walked out of the Sabers locker room with a brace on his left leg. Ruff said it is unlikely he will play Saturday when the Sabers play their second Global Series game against the Devils. Aube-Kubel started the game with Sam Lafferty and Beck Malenstyn, but only played 5:45 before exiting due to injury. Peyton Krebs is the most likely candidate to replace Aube-Kubel on the fourth line, as that would only require a change to the ranks. Ruff could also bring Jiří Kulich into the lineup and move Jordan Greenway to the fourth line if he’s looking for a scorer.

3. Cozens had a promising start to the season with seven shots on goal, seven individual scoring chances and two high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. Early in the game, when the Sabers were sluggish, Cozens pushed the game forward. He was the one who sparked the Sabres’ second power play unit with three shots, while the first unit only put one shot on net total. This game was an encouraging start for Cozens. He, Zach Benson and Jack Quinn were not on the ice to score a goal in five-on-five play.

4. Devon Levi is expected to make his season debut on Saturday. After an inconsistent performance from Luukkonen, Levi has a chance to make a strong impression on Ruff early on. Luukkonen made just 18 saves on 21 shots, although the Sabers limited the Devils to two dangerous chances.

(Photo: Ben Ludeman / NHLI via Getty Images)