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 in the NHL regular-season opener that was played in the Czech Republic capital.

While a vast majority of the 1,312 NHL games through June will take place in North America, the spotlight this season is on international play.

Devils captain Nico Hischier had two goals and an assist, including the second-fastest goal to start an outdoor game, and New Jersey never looked back in beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 before 70,328 fans at MetLife Stadium.

The NHL has suspended Buffalo Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton for two games without pay for what it determined was an illegal check to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier on Friday night.

Jack Hughes scored two goals, set up two more and had a near fight as the New Jersey Devils began the task of digging out of another hole with a 8-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday.

Filip Chytil scored 2:15 into overtime and the New York Rangers rallied to beat New Jersey 4-3, snapping the Devils’ 11-game road win streak.

Nico Hischier had three assists and the no-name New Jersey Devils beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 to tie a franchise record with their 13th consecutive win.

Jesper Boqvist scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the New Jersey Devils beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 Saturday night for their ninth straight win.

Washington Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) scores a goal past New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)NEWARK, N.J. – Based on recent results, the Washington Capitals are getting used to coach Peter Laviolette's new system. Lars Eller, who added the third goal in a big opening period, thinks Washington is hitting its stride in a 5-1-1 run that followed a four-game losing streak. AdNico Hischier and Pavel Zacha each scored for the second consecutive game for New Jersey, which has lost four of five. Ad“I believe it hit the shield and pushed the shield into his face so that that actually is a good thing,” Ruff said. So we still have a lot to learn, a lot to clean up and a lot we can improve on.

FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford kisses the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Chicago. The past few weeks have seen several recent Stanley Cup winners get rid of members of their championship core. The Blackhawks moved on from Corey Crawford, the Washington Capitals did the same with Braden Holtby, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded fellow goalie Matt Murray and forward Patric Hornqvist and the St. Louis Blues signing Torey Krug means captain Alex Pietrangelo will sign elsewhere. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford kisses the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Chicago. The past few weeks have seen several recent Stanley Cup winners get rid of members of their championship core. Hornqvist was “blindsided” the Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to trade him. The past several weeks have featured several recent Stanley Cup winners breaking up their championship core by saying goodbye to a key player with his name on the trophy. The agitating, go-to-the-net winger helped Pittsburgh win the Cup in 2016 and 2017.