Ryan Miller had 26 saves, Thomas Vanek scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres wrecked goalie Johan Hedberg's Devils' debut in a 6-1 victory over New Jersey on Saturday night.
Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta also scored in Buffalo's best offensive game of the season.
In some ways it was not surprising. The Sabres have had their only success this season on the road. They are 3-1 away from Buffalo, and 0-4-1 at home.
Zach Parise scored for the struggling Devils, who benched high-priced left wing Ilya Kovalchuk on the same night they tried to give Martin Brodeur his first night off this season.
New Jersey is winless at home (0-4-1) under new coach John MacLean and 2-5-1 overall.
Miller wasn't tested much in the first two periods, making a good save on Jason Arnott's blast in the opening frame and another on a shot from the left circle by David Clarkson in the second. Parise scored on a rebound with just over eight minutes to play.
Hedberg, signed in the offseason, had an awful night. He didn't last long while standing in for Brodeur, who recorded his NHL-best 112th career shutout against Montreal on Thursday.
The Devils gave Hedberg nothing to do for almost the first seven minutes, and then the veteran let them down on the Sabres' first shot. Stafford took a pass from Ennis and wristed a shot from the top of the right circle past Hedberg for a 1-0 lead at 6:57.
Hedberg didn't have a chance on Myers' goal a little less than 10 minutes later. Michael Grier made an excellent pass from the left corner, and the young defenseman beat Hedberg from between the circles.
Hedberg lasted only 8:17 into the second period, giving up goals to Ennis, Kaleta and Vanek before the angry crowd started chanting ''Marty.'' The fans then let out a roar when Brodeur left the bench and took over.
Ennis stretched the lead to 3-0 at 3:10, deflecting a pass from former Devils forward Rob Niedermayer while standing on the edge of the crease. The goal was set up when former Sabres' defenseman Henrik Tallinder lost the puck in his own end.
Kaleta scored on a big rebound at 8:17, and that was it for Hedberg, who gave up four goals on 13 shots.
Vanek had a tap-in goal on a power-play pass from Derek Roy late in the second period. He got his second of the game and third of the season shortly after Parise ended Miller's bid for his first shutout of the season.
Notes: Devils LW Rod Pelley broke his nose in the first period after being hit by a deflected shot by Arnott. He returned for the third period. ... Niedermayer, who played with the Devils last season, had two assists for his first points with Buffalo. ... LW Alexander Vasyunov was recalled by New Jersey from Albany (AHL) before the game. ... Sabres captain Craig Rivet was out with a shoulder injury.
