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BUFFALO, NY – The Detroit Red Wings played a great first period, and their goaltender, a great second.
The Wings started with the pace and energy befitting a team trying to get back inside the playoff picture as they took on the Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday, March 27. The Wings won the goaltending and special teams battle, and with that, naturally, the game: A much-needed 5-2 victory.
John Gibson, making his 10th straight start, made 11 saves in the second period (28 total) as the Sabres tried to downsize the Wings' three-goal lead. The Sabres continued to press in the third period, but were set back by multiple high-sticking penalties, including a double one on Tage Thompson after he butchered Simon Edvinsson in the face. The Wings finished 2-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-3 on penalty kills.
Patrick Kane's threading a pass to Jacob Bernard-Docker for a goal at 15:46 magnified in importance when Rasmus Dahlin scored on a wrist shot less than a minute later. Kane – a Buffalo native – finally shushed the crowd with an empty-net goal with 1:43 to play.
The two points put the Wings (39-25-8) within a point of the playoff picture.
The Wings don't have much time to revel in the victory, as they return home to host their fellow playoff hopeful, the Philadelphia Flyers (82 points, 11 games left), on Saturday (8 p.m., ABC) as part of a hockey doubleheader at Little Caesars Arena. The PWHL's Takeover Tour will play at 1 p.m. (Ion), with the New York Sirens facing the Montreal Victoire. Then there's a two-day break before the Wings begin a three-game road trip.
NET GAIN: Cam Talbot update: Detroit Red Wings goalie feels better than expected
The Senators (86 points, 10 games left) stayed ahead of the Wings in the standings by virtue of having 32 regulation victories, which is the first tiebreaker. The New York Islanders (87 points, nine games left) occupy the second wild-card spot and the Boston Bruins (88 points, 10 games left) are the first. The Montreal Canadians (90 points, 11 games left) sit in third place in the Atlantic.
The Wings went on a power play 3:57 into the game when Oxford's Josh Norris was called for high-sticking J.T. Compher. Dylan Larkin won the draw, with the puck sliding back to Moritz Seider. He fired and Alex DeBrincat scooped in the puck for a 1-0 lead at 4:02. That marked the first time the Wings scored first since March 8 at the New Jersey Devils, when Seider scored 3:20 into the first period.
The Wings were handed a second power play at 8:25 when Logan Stanley was called for interference. They converted on that one when Seider used his right hand to knock an attempted clearing pass out of the air and keeping the puck in Detroit's zone. Seider sent the puck to Raymond, who beat ex-Wings goalie Alex Lyon glove-side at 8:11.
The Wings made it 3-0 at 16:06. James van Riemsdyk, from beneath the goal line, centered a pass to Marco Kasper. He dropped the puck back to Emmitt Finnie, who was denied by a couple of terrific saves from Lyon on both the first shot and Finnie's own rebound. Finnie then spun the puck to Kasper, who scored on a shot from the bottom of the right circle while several Sabres skaters were caught watching.
The 6-foot-6 Thompson, who once put up six points on the Wings, cut Detroit's lead to 3-1 early in the second period. Given time and space in the slot, Thompson took a pass from Peyton Krebs an one-timed a shot that found its way through Gibson's five-hole and into the net. That was one of 12 shots the Sabres had in the second period, to three by the Wings.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings slice through Buffalo Sabres, 5-2
Continue reading...
The Wings started with the pace and energy befitting a team trying to get back inside the playoff picture as they took on the Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday, March 27. The Wings won the goaltending and special teams battle, and with that, naturally, the game: A much-needed 5-2 victory.
John Gibson, making his 10th straight start, made 11 saves in the second period (28 total) as the Sabres tried to downsize the Wings' three-goal lead. The Sabres continued to press in the third period, but were set back by multiple high-sticking penalties, including a double one on Tage Thompson after he butchered Simon Edvinsson in the face. The Wings finished 2-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-3 on penalty kills.
Patrick Kane's threading a pass to Jacob Bernard-Docker for a goal at 15:46 magnified in importance when Rasmus Dahlin scored on a wrist shot less than a minute later. Kane – a Buffalo native – finally shushed the crowd with an empty-net goal with 1:43 to play.
The two points put the Wings (39-25-8) within a point of the playoff picture.
Next up for the Red Wings
The Wings don't have much time to revel in the victory, as they return home to host their fellow playoff hopeful, the Philadelphia Flyers (82 points, 11 games left), on Saturday (8 p.m., ABC) as part of a hockey doubleheader at Little Caesars Arena. The PWHL's Takeover Tour will play at 1 p.m. (Ion), with the New York Sirens facing the Montreal Victoire. Then there's a two-day break before the Wings begin a three-game road trip.
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NET GAIN: Cam Talbot update: Detroit Red Wings goalie feels better than expected
Playoff picture
The Senators (86 points, 10 games left) stayed ahead of the Wings in the standings by virtue of having 32 regulation victories, which is the first tiebreaker. The New York Islanders (87 points, nine games left) occupy the second wild-card spot and the Boston Bruins (88 points, 10 games left) are the first. The Montreal Canadians (90 points, 11 games left) sit in third place in the Atlantic.
Powering up
The Wings went on a power play 3:57 into the game when Oxford's Josh Norris was called for high-sticking J.T. Compher. Dylan Larkin won the draw, with the puck sliding back to Moritz Seider. He fired and Alex DeBrincat scooped in the puck for a 1-0 lead at 4:02. That marked the first time the Wings scored first since March 8 at the New Jersey Devils, when Seider scored 3:20 into the first period.
The Wings were handed a second power play at 8:25 when Logan Stanley was called for interference. They converted on that one when Seider used his right hand to knock an attempted clearing pass out of the air and keeping the puck in Detroit's zone. Seider sent the puck to Raymond, who beat ex-Wings goalie Alex Lyon glove-side at 8:11.
First to three
The Wings made it 3-0 at 16:06. James van Riemsdyk, from beneath the goal line, centered a pass to Marco Kasper. He dropped the puck back to Emmitt Finnie, who was denied by a couple of terrific saves from Lyon on both the first shot and Finnie's own rebound. Finnie then spun the puck to Kasper, who scored on a shot from the bottom of the right circle while several Sabres skaters were caught watching.
Only a matter of time
The 6-foot-6 Thompson, who once put up six points on the Wings, cut Detroit's lead to 3-1 early in the second period. Given time and space in the slot, Thompson took a pass from Peyton Krebs an one-timed a shot that found its way through Gibson's five-hole and into the net. That was one of 12 shots the Sabres had in the second period, to three by the Wings.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings slice through Buffalo Sabres, 5-2
Continue reading...
