Detroit Red Wings slash through Buffalo Sabres with 3-goal 1st period
Detroit Red Wings score: Alex DeBrincat started the scoring less than 5 minutes in, in Buffalo as the Wings beat the Sabres, 5-2, on Friday.
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.
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.