Red Wings Win Second Straight, Beat Buffalo 3-2 in OT

The Detroit Red Wings hadn’t seen the Buffalo Sabres since a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory in Buffalo. Would the Red Wings be able to replicate their winning ways against the struggling Sabres?

Two goals in 1:15 paced the Red Wings (10-9-3) through most of the third, but it took an overtime winner from Lucas Raymond to notch the 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Raymond did Raymond things, skating into the zone, hesitating, and then snapping a shot past Dustin Tokarski to extend Detroit’s winning streak to two.

The first period was nip and tuck, with both teams limiting chances offensively and slowing play down in the neutral zone.  Physical play with any type of entry kept shots to the outside. Things opened up a bit after Michael Rasmussen and Robert Hagg were sent off for matching minors for cross checking and slashing respectively. Then Detroit got a 4 on 3 power play after a Rasmus Dahlin interference call. The minors expired and the Red Wings would have the man advantage at the beginning of the second period.

Unfortunately for the Wings, they wouldn’t generate anything in the second off of that power play. The early parts of the second period felt similar to long stretches of the first period. The Red Wings got a good chance when Dylan Larkin had a great rebound chance off of a Tyler Bertuzzi redirection.

The shot banged off of Bertuzzi’s skate with Buffalo netminder Tokarski screened and out of position. Seconds later, Vlad Namestnikov had a two-on-one break but shot high and the Sabres zipped down the ice, and Dylan Cozens redirected a pass into the net to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead.

But the Wings would answer. Filip Zadina looked to have pushed one over the line after a pile up in the crease off of a Gustav Lindstrom wrister. Though it looked like either Lindstrom, Zadina or even Carter Rowney could have been credited with the goal, it would eventually be credited to Rowney.

Just over a minute later, Pius Suter jammed home a shot that was helped along by Givani Smith screening Tokarski and causing some more chaos. Interesting that Zadina and Smith, flipped to different lines, both impact the goals for Detroit.

The Red Wings would get another late power play chance after Filip Hronek was boarded. Detroit would have a Grade A chance but Bertuzzi shot just wide and nothing would come of the man advantage. As the second period expired, the Red Wings nursed a 2-1 lead.

The Red Wings would get yet another chance on the power play early in the third but like the first two, would not produce a goal.  It was another slow moving period, with both teams playing as to not make any mistakes but the Sabres would even it up late in the third, sending the game to overtime.

Raymond would score just 26 seconds in, sealing the victory for the Wings and getting them over .500 again.