The New Jersey Devils fell 2-1 to the Buffalo Sabres in their first game back since the Olympic break. In their second game back, the team fell 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ahead of the Sabres game, Gold Medal Olympian Jack Hughes was honored in a ceremony featuring New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill.
Second-period and third-period goals by USA Olympian Tage Thompson and Sabres forward Peyton Krebs put the Sabres ahead 2-0.
A late goal from Timo Meier challenged the Sabres’ lead, but ultimately, the team was unable to complete the comeback.
On Wednesday, Meier shared his thoughts about the team’s performance with NJD.tv.
“Even I thought the start was good, and we had chances that just didn’t go in,” Meier said. “But especially in these games, you can’t fade away from defending the right way, and that’s what cost us the game tonight.”
Meier scored the Devils’ only goal, assisted by Hughes and Bratt. All three point earners competed at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Meier spoke about what it was like to return to playing with the Devils after the break.
“When you haven’t played with each other for a while, you’ve got to simplify things,” Meier said. “We’re familiar with each other. There’s no adjustment. But tonight we could’ve kept it simpler.”
For those who didn’t compete in the Olympics, it was an adjustment as well, returning to playing NHL games. Goaltender Jake Allen, who stopped 28 of 30 shots, described the impact of the long break.
“This is the length of time not a lot of us have had off during our careers,” Allen said. “We knew there was going to be a little rust in certain areas.”
The team aimed to rebound on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe summarized the team’s performance.
“I thought the game went a lot of the same way these games went most of the season,” Keefe said. “We played well, especially early in the game. But you’ve got to score in order to take hold of it. Their best player had one clean look and made it. That’s the difference in the game.”
During the second game of the back-to-back games for the Devils, Paul Cotter was the lone scorer.
An early power play goal from Tommy Novak and three unanswered goals in the third period for the Penguins handed the Devils their second loss since returning to play.
Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about his team’s performance.
“It’s the same story,” Keefe said to NJD.tv. “Our third periods have just been unacceptable. Maybe tonight it’s a little bit of a fatigue factor in there, when the stakes of the game get higher and the other team pushes, we just haven’t been able to dig in and find another level.”
Brett Pesce felt similarly to his coach.
“Same story, right?” Pesce said. “I don’t have many words to say, it’s tough, if feels lke we’re in every game, we’re a bounce away and it just doesn’t seem to go our way. It’s tough right now.”
Jacob Markstrom got the start for the Devils since returning from the Olympics, stopping 33 of the 36 shots he faced.
The team will now look to bounce back as they take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Make sure you bookmark THN’s New Jersey Devils site for THN’s latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Hockey News