PRAGUE—Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and Paul Cotter had an empty-netter and assist in their debuts with New Jersey as the Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Friday in the NHL regular-season opener that was played in the Czech Republic capital.
After former NHL great Jaromir Jagr, who still plays in the Czech league, dropped a ceremonial puck, Stefan Noesen became the first scorer of the season 8:39 in to put New Jersey up. Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, also making his Devils debut, made it 2-0, and then Nico Hischier scored early into the second before Owen Power got the Sabres on the scoreboard midway through the third. Cotter made it 4-1.
