BUFFALO, N.Y. _ With apologies to Sabres' greats Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert, the famed French Connection line of the 1970s, the Devils may have found a 21st century Swedish Connection in veteran Marcus Johansson and so-far superlative rookie Jesper Bratt.
Each had two goals and an assist as the Devils continued their torrid goal-scoring pace with a 6-2 win over the Sabres at KeyBank Center on Monday afternoon in their first road game of the season. The Devils, who finished last in the Eastern Conference and scored a conference-low 183 goals last season, opened the season with a 4-1 win over the Avalanche on Saturday at Prudential Center.
Bratt, 19, a sixth-round pick in 2016, is a big reason why as he set a franchise record with five points in his first two NHL games. That includes a short-handed goal against the Sabres and a short-handed assist against the Avalanche.
"It's only two games but it's encouraging that the whole training camp, the whole preseason, it's led into this," said goalie Cory Schneider, strong for a second straight game in stopping 23 shots. "They haven't been fluky games the last two games, it's the result of the identity we're trying to create and I think the people we brought in here to help us execute our vision, the young guys to the old guys, everybody is buying in and playing well.
"We have to make sure to turn this into something sustainable," Schneider added. "But I think the way we are playing, it is more sustainable perhaps than years past."
The Devils, who have missed the playoffs the past five seasons, were without top-six right wings, Kyle Palmieri and Drew Stafford, both who suffered lower-body injuries on Saturday. So coach John Hynes dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen and successfully juggled his personnel up front to maximum efficiency.
Bratt, who played on Adam Henrique's third line on Saturday, was elevated to 20-year-old Pavel Zacha's right wing in Palmieri's spot along with Taylor Hall. Johansson remained on 18-year-old No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier's left wing on the second line. But the two did take shifts together, culminating in Bratt feeding Johansson on an odd-man rush to give the Devils a 6-1 lead at 18:56 of the second period.
"I guess we're both just Swedes," Johansson said of the chemistry the two show. "We see the game the same way and think it the same way and we grew up playing the same type of game. He's a really good hockey player. He's so young, he just got over here. It's fun to watch, I think everyone can agree on that. If he keeps going on this pace, it's going to be pretty impressive."
"Of course I enjoyed it, to play with him," Bratt, in his first season playing in North American, said of the 27-year-old Johansson. "He's a great player and a great guy. He knows exactly when I want the puck. There's some good chemistry."
Perhaps when the Devils regain their full strength with personnel, Hynes will consider making the two linemates on a more regular basis.
For now, Hynes is enjoying watching what his talented younger players have brought to the team.
"It is infectious," Hynes said. "To be good in this league, you have to have strong veteran leadership, which we do. We have a great group of older players who are impacts players on our team. But to get good in the league, you have to draft well and develop well and the fact that we have some younger guys coming into our lineup that can play the way we want to play and are having major impacts on the game brings energy to everybody."
Brian Gibbons helped the Devils through a so-so first period with a goal and an assist.
But Bratt provided the game's turning point after Evander Kane, who scored both Sabres' goals, cut the Devils' lead to 2-1 at 5:02 of the second period with a power-play goal and the Sabres went right back on the man advantage with defenseman Steven Santini slashing Kane as he rushed to the crease.
But Henrique fed Bratt for a short-handed goal and a 3-1 lead on a two-on-one rush at 5:23 and the Devils, who have yet to trail this season, quickly regained control of the game.
"When I play on the power play, I play against penalty killing guys that attack and try to do offensive things with the puck. I just try to be that guy (on the penalty kill), to be an attacking forward who likes to try to make some offensive plays."
Johansson's two goals and Bratt's second goal helped the Devils build a 6-1 lead after two periods on goalie Chad Johnson, who was relieved by Robin Lehner to start the final period.
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