New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres

Jake Allen stops 42 shots, Arseny Gritsyuk scores 2 in Devils' 5-0 win over Sabres

Nico Hischier, Brenden Dillon and Paul Cotter also scored, and the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils snapped a three-game road skid.

The shutout was Allen’s first since a 34-save outing in a 4-0 win at Montreal on Feb. 8. And the 35-year-old goalie improved to 8-4 this season while bouncing back from allowing six goals on 35 shots in a 6-3 loss at Philadelphia on Nov. 22.

The Sabres were shut out for the third time this season. Alex Lyon stopped 18 shots in his first appearance since being yanked after allowing two goals on three shots in an eventual 6-3 loss at Colorado on Nov. 13.

Hischier opened the scoring 12:07 into the first period. Timo Meier’s pass from behind Buffalo's net hit Sabres forward Alex Tuch, and the puck flipped into the air before landing in the crease, where Hischier tapped it in for his fifth goal and ninth point in four outings.

Gritsyuk scored 7:45 into the second period by converting Dawson Mercer’s pass from behind Buffalo's net. Dillon and Cotter, with a breakaway goal, sealed the win by scoring less than four minutes apart in the third period.

The game opened with Buffalo forward Tage Thompson seeking to settle any lingering differences he had with Stefan Noesen by engaging the Devils forward in a 30-second fight. They squared off during a faceoff 2 1/2 minutes in their first meeting since Noesen leveled Thompson with an elbow to the head in February.

Both received five-minute fighting majors.

Up next Devils: Return home, where they’re 9-0-1, to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.

Sabres: Travel to play the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

NJ leads series 1-0