Red Wings-Sabres quick take: Sabres snag a last-second victory over struggling Wings

The Detroit Red Wings hoped to snap a two-game losing streak while hosting the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.

Detroit found a way to lose, again and again. Playing perimeter hockey, the Red Wings started slow, gave up the game’s first goal, tied things up, and went down on a disputed marker by Evander Kane…The Wings tied things up with 1:25 remaining in regulation…and Mario Scandella broke the hearts of the non-tankers, scoring a screened OT marker with 0.3 seconds remaining in overtime.

Ultimately, Detroit lost 3-2 in OT, and Detroit had a rough night–they fired 37 shots into Robin Lehner (Buffalo had 30), fired 23 into Sabres shin pads and 10 wide of the net on a night when Buffalo’s Tenacious Defense and disruptive hockey were too much for a passive team to overcome. Frustrating!

The Wings are now 0-2-and-1 over their last 3 games, and the Wings are 2-and-9 in OT.

The Sabres’ lineup was known before the game, as posted by BuffaloSabres.com’s Jourdon LaBarber:

9 Evander Kane – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart
28 Zemgus Girgensons – 71 Evan Rodrigues – 21 Kyle Okposo
20 Scott Wilson – 22 Johan Larsson – 29 Jason Pominville
67 Benoit Pouliot – 10 Jacob Josefson – 13 Nicholas Baptiste

82 Nathan Beaulieu – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
6 Marco Scandella – 8 Casey Nelson
4 Josh Gorges – 93 Victor Antipin

40 Robin Lehner
31 Chad Johnson

And the Wings posted their probable lineup as well:

The Sabres started Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart at forward, Marco Scandella and Casey Nelson on defense and Robin Lehner in goal;

The Red Wings started Darren Helm, Frans Nielsen and Darren Helm at forward, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley on defense and Jimmy Howard in goal.

Trevor Hanson and Ghislain Hebert refereed the game, with Scott Cherrey and Tim Nowak working the lines.

The 1st period

1st period observations:

  • Nielsen drew in for the opening faceoff opposite O’Reilly, and the Sabres won the draw, pulled the puck back into their zone, and chipped to center, where Trevor Daley flipped the puck out to center. Scandella and the Sabres dumped, chased, and ultimately chased the puck back into their own zone.
  • Buffalo’s Reinhart was repelled at the Wings’ blueline, Buffalo changed some 47 seconds into the 1st period, and Pominville dumped, DeKeyser and Jensen turned the puck over, and Wilson jammed the puck around the back boards, but Nyquist, Zetterberg and Mantha cleared the puck, DeKeyser found Nyquist and the Wings chipped and changed at 1:25.
  • Ericsson carried the puck out of the zone and the Wings sent the puck behind the Sabres’ net, where Lehner played the puck to his defensemen, and Detroit skated back in, held the puck in, and Ouellet got the first shot on Lehner just under 2 minutes into the 1st period.
  • Tatar, Larkin and Athanasiou jammed the puck out down low, and Kronwall was set up for a one-timer by Larkin, getting the Wings’ second shot on Lehner as Kronwall stepped into the right faceoff circle.
  • Abdelkader, Nielsen and Helm returned to the ice with DeKeyser and Jensen 2:25 into the 1st, and Jensen got a third shot on Lehner, who made a not-seeing stop.
  • Nielsen floated a fourth shot in on Lehner, he kicked it out, and Jensen held possession for a bit.
  • Buffalo raced up the other way, with O’Reilly, Reinhart and Kane attacking, but the Wings chose to relieve pressure by icing the puck.
  • At 3:15, Bertuzzi, Booth and Glendening took to the ice after the icing and surrendered a long shot at 3:32.
  • Glendening drew in for the faceoff in the defensive zone, he was kicked out…

Tyler Bertuzzi lost the faceoff, Buffalo blasted a shot around the back boards, and Rasmus Ristolainen’s shot was tipped past Howard by Tyler Bertuzzi, accidentally, and Johan Larsson was screening Howard as well.

 Buffalo scored the 1-0 goal at 3:39, Ristolainen got the goal from Beaulieu and Larsson.

  • Buffalo continued to attack the net as Howard gloved the puck off a point shot on the post-goal shift.
  • Tatar, Larkin and Athanasiou won a draw, pushed the puck into the Sabres’ zone, and the puck was pumped back to the blueline, where Jensen fired an un-screened shot in on Lehner at 4:42.
  • Detroit won the offensive zone draw and Ericsson sent a shot into Lehner, who goes down into his butterfly early, at 4:49.
  • Buffalo then chipped and chased, got the puck back to the point, Howard had to make THREE big stops while flopping on his back and Kane, Reinhart and O’Reilly all crashed the net, but Howard held his ground.
  • 5:30 into the 1st, Detroit dialed in for a defensive zone draw, and Howard had to stop a point shot as the Sabres won their third faceoff of the game.
  • Buffalo out-shot Detroit 6-5 and out-attempted Detroit 9-5.
  • The Wings were able to chip and chase with some success, but Buffalo raced in 3-on-2, Jensen made a good poke check, and the Sabres retained possession, forcing the Wings to chip the puck away down the ice.
  • The first TV timeout hit at 6:08, and Detroit was out-shot 8-5 and out-attempted 12-7; hits 2-2; giveaways 2-1 Detroit, takeaways 0-0; blocked shots 2-2; faceoffs 8-4 Detroit (67%).
  • The Red Wings returned to play working hard to get through the Sabres’ effective trap at center, and Detroit was playing messy hockey, getting some shots on Lehner but generally finding their shots and passes blocked by Sabres in front of Lehner.
  • Tatar tried to set up Athanasiou, but he was blocked;
  • 7:35 into the 1st, Detroit chipped the puck in, Buffalo flipped the puck laterally and then dumped the puck into the Wings’ zone, Jensen fed Zetterberg, he chipped a hard pass to the Sabres’ line, Nyquist held the puck in, and Wilson played it out to center…

And Luke Glendening was called for tripping because Jason Pominville fell over at 8:05.

  • Detroit set up on the PK with Nielsen and helm at forward and Daley and Ericsson on defense. Buffalo worked the points heavily and Howard made a big stop on O’Reilly.
  • Buffalo continued to work the perimeter, Howard made a nice stop on the right point man’s shot, Ristolainen sent the puck in for Okposo, he passed the puck laterally and Abdelkader and Larkin were able to clear the puck down ice.
  • With 10:45 remaining in the 1st and 1:05 left in the PK, Buffalo slowly worked its way up ice, Jensen and DeKeyser worked the puck to Larkin, and Jensen flipped the puck out of trouble.
  • Frans Nielsen was tripped in the Sabres’ zone sans penalty, and as the power play expired, Buffalo worked the puck in deep and Howard made TWO big stops, including a left toe save.
  • Helm and Antipin bumped, Buffalo dumped, Tatar swiped the puck and Athanasiou was held up as AA tried to skate into the Sabres’ zone.
  • Bertuzzi helped the Wings’ third line for a bit, working with Kronwall to push the puck deep and cycle, but the puck was flipped up over the goal and into Lehner’s glove.
  • At 11:12, Detroit was out-shot 12-5 and out-attempted 16-8; hits 4-4; giveaways 2-2; takeaways 0-0; blocked shots 3-2 Buffalo; faceoffs 9-5 Detroit (64%).
  • Zetterberg’s line took a draw and battled deep in the Sabres’ zone, Nyquist got away with a pick on Beaulieu, and the Sabres chipped the puck down ice…
  • Where it tended to live in the first period.
  • Nyquist got hacked and whacked by Evander Kane as he skated up ice, too, and there were no calls there, so the standard of officiating was…something.
  • Larkin, Athanasiou and Tatar took a deep offensive zone faceoff, they watched the Sabres skate up ice, set up down low, and cycle, with Tatar disrupting the cycle.
  • Larkin carried the puck up ice, Athanasiou fed Larkin, who circled the net, Jensen poked the puck to Larkin, and Buffalo cleared the zone.
  • Some 13:20 into the 1st, Buffalo led in shots 12-5, and Girgensons’ shot was blocked into the crowd…
  • Jensen got tripped making a superb pinch, and Abdelkader, Nielsen and Helm got a scoring chance on Lehner, who made a big stop.
  • Daley’s stick broke and he and Ericsson surrendered a scoring chance to Buffalo as well as Daley pretty much gave up defending after he threw his snapped stick.
  • At 14:12, Detroit was out-shot 13-6 and out-attempted 19-9; hits 6-4 Buffalo; giveaways 4-3 Detroit, takeaways 0-0; blocked shots 4-3 Detroit; faceoffs 11-7 Detroit (61%).
  • When play resumed, Bertuzzi turned the puck over, then DeKeyser turned the puck over, and Detroit had to hustle to chip and chase and Lehner nearly put a Glendening shot in his own net, but he got a little lucky.
  • Bertuzzi, Glendening and Athanasiou were working together as the 15-minute mark passed, and and the trio sauntered into the Sabres’ zone, pushed a puck to the point, and Buffalo chipped it out of play.
  • Zetterberg and Nyquist worked the puck to Jensen off a faceoff, and he ripped a slapper into Lehner’s glove;
  • Nyquist, Zetterberg and Tatar worked together as Mantha got dinged in the face with a puck, and Nyquist nearly shoveled the puck into the net off a Zetterberg feed…
  • Larkin, Athanasiou and Tatar then worked together, with ericsson and Daley, and Ericsson got a long shot off on lehner.
  • Howard made a really good save on one Sabre and nearly saw Okposo set up Rodrigues tuck a puck into an open net;
  • So the Wings’ fourth line battled Scott Wilson’s line, with Bertuzzi’s outlet pass blocked, Pominville worked with Wilson, and Detroit managed to clear the zone.
  • With under 2 minutes remaining in the 1st, Detroit was holding its own.
  • Buffalo’s Kane, O’Reilly and Reinhart stole a puck down low, worked the puck to their defense, and Antipin broke his stick firing a slapper, affording Detroit an easy clear and ultimately some zone time down low, with Jensen and DeKeyser helping Helm, Nielsen and Abdelkader buzz in front of Lehner.
  • Detroit chipped and chased in the final 10 seconds, Nyquist fed Zetterberg, he slid the puck to Glendening in front of the net, and Buffalo blocked the puck away, ending the period.

The 1st period in summary: The Red Wings had an awful start, surrendered a goal, got better, and generally played a mediocre first period. They also lost Mantha to an injury that may or may not yield a broken cheekbone. Jimmy Howard stopped 13 of 14 shots and Buffalo’s goal was one Howard had no chance to stop as it tipped off Bertuzzi. The Wings at least improved as the period went on.

Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 14-10 and out-attempted 20-15; hits were 9-6 Buffalo; giveaways 5-3 Detroit, takeaways 0-0 (possession changes 5-3 Buffalo); blocked shots 6-5 Detroit; faceoffs 14-9 Detroit (61%).

Individually, Jensen led the Wings with 3 shots; Ericsson had 2; Helm, Nielsen, Kronwall, Ouellet and DeKeyser had 1 shot; Nyquist and Ericsson had 2 hits, Bertuzzi and Larkin 1; Jensen and Tatar had 2 giveaways apiece; Kronwall and DeKeyser had 2 blocks apiece; Nielsen’s 5-and-2 (71%) led the Wings in terms of faceoff percentage; Detroit was -5; Jensen led the team with 7:59 played; DeKeyser played 7:49, Athanasiou 7:40, Daley 6:57, Ericsson 6;48, Larkin 6:11, Kronwall 5:53, Nielsen 5:39, Helm 5:36.

FSD had the scoring chances at 6-1 Buffalo on Buffalo’s 14-10 shot advantage.

The 2nd period

2nd period observations:

  • Anthony Mantha returned to the bench with a cage to protect his face.
  • Abdelkader, Nielsen and Helm won the opening faceoff and Helm swiped the puck from Nelson, cycled down low with Nielsen, and Helm fed Ericsson in front, but Lehner stopped the puck…

And Helm drew a penalty as Casey Nelson went for hooking Helm on the hands at 0:40.

  • Buffalo won the opening deep defensive zone draw, and Detroit executed the drop pass through center ice, but Buffalo let Nyquist skate all the way into their slot, where he fired a shot off Lehner.
  • Detroit did not keep the puck in the offensive zone off the rebound, and Detroit had to re-set and skate all the way up the ice.
  • Zetterberg, Nyquist, Tatar, Mantha and Daley cycled around the perimeter for a while, and Lehner stopped an easy un-screened point shot at 1:11 of the PP.
  • The Wings changed units and Daley, Athanasiou, Larkin, Abdelkader and Bertuzzi skated serpentine through center, Athanasiou fed Abdelkader, who could not finish, Daley blasted a point shot wide of the net and the Sabres cleared their zone.
  • Detroit returned to the offensive zone as the PP ended, Nelson raced in on Howard on a breakaway and Howard stopped the Sabres defender.
  • 3:22 into the 2nd period, Detroit had narrowed the shot deficit to 1, 15-14.

Luke Glendening negated an icing call, Robin Lehner f’ed up an exchange with his defensemen behind the net, and Frans Nielsen swiped the puck, pushing it to the blueline. Ericsson blasted a heavy shot through an un-ready Lehner at 3:42.

 Ericsson made it 1-1 at 3:42 of the 2nd.

  • On the post-goal shift, Ericsson was fed by Mantha for a shot coming off the point, too. This time, Lehner stopped him.
  • Detroit continued to buzz in the offensive zone, with Nyquist, Zetterberg and Mantha having a good shift with Kronwall.
  • Detroit swiped a loose puck and Tatar raced in 2-on-1 with Athanasiou, and they missed the exchange, yielding a Sabres 3-on-2, but Howard made a smart stop on Okposo.
  • 4:58 into the 2nd period, Detroit won a deep defensive zone faceoff, DeKeyser found Nielsen, but the Sabres raced into the Wings’ zone and DeKeyser blocked Rodrigues’ rush.
  • Detroit battled away in its own zone as Buffalo hemmed them in, and Booth, Glendening and Bertuzzi had to ice the puck to relieve pressure at 6:03.
  • Glendening drew in for the off-the-icing draw and won it, Booth raced up the left wing and into the Sabres’ zone he went, he fed Bertuzzi down low, the pair cycled, and Larkin joined the fray, swiping the puck and putting it OFF THE POST behind Lehner.
  • Detroit then allowed Johan Larsson to get a shot in on Howard…
  • Tatar and Larkin went the other way, and Tatar over-handled the puck severely, yielding a bunch of nothing.
  • Larkin remained on the ice for a while, working with his usual linemates and subbing for a pinching Trevor Daley for a moment.
  • Tatar had a rough shift, getting checked off the puck with ease by the Sabres’ defense.
  • Zetterberg, Nyquist and Mantha were at least able to clear their zone under some heavy Sabres pressure, and they raced up 3-on-2, with Zetterberg putting a backhand off Lehner’s toe.
  • At 8:02, Detroit was out-shooting Buffalo 17-16 but was out-attempted 26-24; hits 11-8 Buffalo; giveaways 7-4 Detroit; takeaways 1-1; blocked shots 7-5 Detroit; faceoffs 16-13 Detroit (55%).
  • The Wings drew in for the post-TV timeout faceoff and worked the puck back to the point, with Helm, Nielsen and Abdelkader working the puck back to Ouellet for a long shot.
  • Nielsen won the draw again and Helm fed Kronwall for an almost, and the Sabres dumped the puck down ice.
  • The Wings looked sharper, smarter and simpler in the 2nd period, skating more north-south and passing and shooting with more accuracy.
  • DeKeyser fed Larkin for a point shot that was blocked, Larkin was dumped by Okposo, Tatar cycled at 9:15, DeKeyser and Jensen fed AA, who could not withstand the pass, Tatar worked down low, Larkin, AA worked the puck to Jensen and he fired a hard shot on Lehner as the Red Wings were playing SUPERBLY in the offensive zone.
  • O’Reilly raced into the Wings’ zone and fired a heavy shot wide of the Wings’ net, Buffalo could not retain possession of the puck, and they re-set in their own zone, skated to center, and gave the puck to the Wings, surrendering a shot to Nyquist and icing the puck.
  • The fourth line took to the ice for the offensive zone faceoff, and Athanasiou gave the puck up to Kane, who skated in on Howard. Howard made a massive stop, and Jensen skated the other way, skating into too acute an angle to get a scoring chance.
  • At 10:40, Detroit out-shot Buffalo 10-2 in the 2nd period and 20-17 overall; attempts were 31-28; hits 11-8 Buffalo; giveaways 8-6 Detroit, takeaways 2-1 Buffalo; blocked shots 9-7 Buffalo; faceoffs 19-14 Detroit (58%).
  • The Red Wings returned to play with Nielsen’s line on ice, Detroit won the offensive zone faceoff, tried to cycle down low, and Ouellet held the puck in twice, but Pominville skated into the Wings’ zone instead, and Helm made a good backcheck.
  • Abdelkader gave the puck to Rodrigues, Howard made a MASSIVE stop…

And Niklas Kronwall took a hooking penalty at 11:32.

  • Larkin, Glendening, Ericsson and Daley lost the initial faceoff, Ristolainen blasted a shot wide, Glendening cleared the puck and Detroit tried to change.
  • Buffalo worked the puck to center ice, and into the Wings’ zone, but they flipped the puck into their own bench.
  • The Sabres won the next deep offensive zone draw, and they retained possession of the puck, worked it down low, and Larkin and Jensen cleared the zone.
  • Buffalo ramped up again with O’Reilly, Okposo and Reinhart setting up, Detroit cleared again, Buffalo set up again, Detroit cleared the zone again, and with 34 left in the PK, Buffalo tried to really get a rush chance off…

And Evander Kane’s wraparound went off Howard’s skate and into the net as Pominville was deep in the Wings’ crease. Kane scored the 2-1 goal at 13:09.

 

DETROIT CHALLENGED because Pominville was so deep in the goal crease, skating in of his own accord. The goal stood, however.

And Pominville and Ristolainen assisted at 13:09.

  • The post-goal shift consisted of Zetterberg’s line ultimately backing into its own zone and doing a lot of standing around, with Kronwall and Ouellet working very hard despite their turnover, and Howard made a big stop off Beaulieu with more Sabres in his crease.
  • At 14:17, Detroit was out-shooting Buffalo 11-7 in the 2nd and the shots were tied 21-21 overall; attempts 33-32 Buffalo; hits 14-8 Buffalo; giveaways 8-6 Detroit, takeaways 2-1 Buffalo; blocked shots 9-7 Buffalo; faceoffs 22-16 Detroit (58%).
  • Detroit got a great scoring chance off the hop after the TV timeout, with Glendening racing into the Sabres’ zone and firing a sneaky shot on Lehner, who poked the puck away, but Detroit otherwise played perimeter hockey, and Buffalo was being given too much leeway to defend.
  • Larkin, Tatar and Athanasiou also buzzed in the Sabres’ zone, along the wall, mostly, and Athanasiou stayed out long, working with Nielsen and Helm to sustain possession in the Sabres’ zone.
  • Lehner was making good stops on shots with traffic in front, and while the Wings were leading the game in shots…
  • Ultimately, the Wings weren’t giving Lehner the kind of trouble that Howard had to deal with.
  • Bertuzzi FED DALEY for a fine chance, and he passed to Zetterberg instead of shooting…Zetterberg was hooked a bit, but legally so, and Ristolainen stopped a goal from occurring…

But Nick Baptiste sat at 17:06, giving Detroit a power play.

  • Larkin, Bertuzzi and Abdelkader worked the puck to the point, Lehner made a stop and Ristolainen hacked and whacked Abdelkader for no real reason.
  • Larkin drew in for a second offensive zone draw, he got the puck to Athanasiou, and his shot was blocked, but AA and Daley worked the puck to Larkin on the right half wall, AA fed Larkin and Abdelkader tipped a puck wide, AA re-set, but he fumbled the puck and O’Reilly cleared the zone.
  • With 1:15 remaining in the PP, Detroit changed units.
  • Kronwall executed his usual drop pass, Nyquist skated in, Mantha and Zetterberg fed the puck to the slot, Tatar and Kronwall worked with Zetterberg, he shot wide, blocked, Zetterberg fed the puck to Tatar and he hit the GOALPOST.
  • Zetterberg, Mantha and Nyquist ground, Kronwall fed Tatar, he passed to Zetterberg, Kronwall’s shot went to Zetterberg, he passed, and up came Buffalo 3-on-1.
  • Howard made a big stop on Girgensons and he stopped a point shot as well.
  • Buffalo took over possession and control of the puck as the PP ended, and with only half a minute remaining in the 2nd, Glendening, Helm and Nielsen ground the puck out down low, Ristolainen hacked Glendening down, and DeKeyser sent a point shot tipped through and wide of Lehner.
  • That was the 2nd period.

The 2nd period in summary: Detroit out-shot the Sabres 16-10 in the 2nd period, but the Wings remained defensively leaky, Buffalo scored a disputed marker on THEIR power play, and the Wings were 0-for-2 on their PP because they were too “passy.” The Wings needed to play with the same kind of deliberate net front attack that Buffalo was using to make Howard’s night more difficult than Lehner’s.

Statistically, Detroit out-shot Buffalo 16-10 in the 2nd and 26-24 overall; attempts were 43-36 Detroit; hits 18-9 Buffalo; giveaways 9-7 Detroit, takeaways 3-1 Buffalo (possession changes 12-8 Buffalo); blocked shots 12-7 Buffalo; faceoffs 26-18 Detroit (59%).

Individually, Ericsson led the Wings with 5 shots, Jensen had 4, and Nyquist had 3; Nyquist, Ericsson and Larkin had 2 hits; Jensen, Tatar and DeKeyser had 2 giveaways; Helm had the team’s only takeaway; Kronwall and DeKeyser blocked 2 shots; Nielsen’s 8-and-5 (62%) led the Wings in the faceoff circle; Detroit was even in plus-minus; Daley played 14:04, Jensen played 13:51, DeKeyser 13:41, Kronwall 12:57, Zetterberg 12:47, Larkin 12:19, Athanasiou 12:05, Nielsen 11:53.

The scoring chances were 12-8 Buffalo after 2 periods, despite Detroit’s 26-24 shot advantage.

The 3rd period

3rd period observations:

  • Nielsen and O’Reilly drew in for the opening faceoff and Buffalo won the draw, chipped the puck into the Wings’ zone, and withstood a Detroit rush, taking the puck away from both Abdelkader and then Helm down low.
  • Kane was repelled by Jensen, who joined Mantha and Zetterberg, and the Wings’ 3-on-2 evaporated, but Detroit continued to pressure offensively, dealing with a couple of blocked shots.
  • Mantha did whiff on a shot at the blueline, and Zetterberg had to hook Scott Wilson to stop the Sabres from rushing into the Wings’ zone…
  • But Zetterberg came back to block off a Pominville shot in the slot, too.
  • The Wings wound up well but the Larkin line could not get through center…

And Dylan Larkin took a completely needless hooking penalty by tripping Okposo at center ice. The Sabres pressed on the delayed call but nothing came of it.

At 2:29, Larkin sat for hooking.

  • Glendening, Abdelkader, Ericsson and Daley set up on the PK and pushed them to the point, Ericsson swiped a Kane pass, and Detroit cleared the zone.
  • Buffalo re-set and skated into the Wings’ zone, where Scandella fed Pominville, he fed Kane, Antipin worked the puck to Kane on the right wing half boards, the Sabres worked the perimeter, and Kane sent a one-timer off Howard wide.
  • Detroit cleared at 1:06 of the penalty and Nielsen, Helm, DeKeyser and Jensen battled the Sabres’ second unit, with Ristoalinen, O’Reilly, Reinhart and Okposo sending a shot in that Howard stopped.
  • Buffalo was repelled as the power play ended, but they re-entered the zone, sent a point shot wide, sent a point shot into Okposo, and Abdelkader, Larkin and Tatar worked the puck into Buffalo’s zone.
  • Bertuzzi then helped Larkin and Tatar, but his shot attempts were blocked by Sabres sticks.
  • With 14:40 remaining in regulation, Detroit tried to press, but the Sabres were tenacious, attacking the Wings with discipline…
  • And Ouellet crashed into Girgensons with a bodycheck that rattled the end boards.
  • The Larkin line chipped and chased, Larkin worked the puck to Athanasiou and he fanned on the one-timer.
  • Buffalo was giving up 1 shot, 1 chance, and then they’d clear the zone–if not generate a rush into Detroit’s zone.
  • So Howard was seeing semi-regular work.
  • Buffalo was trying to put pucks on Howard at every opportunity, and the Wings were struggling to gain the offensive zone, going offside and having to re-set at center.
  • Mostly, when the Wings were on offense, they were working the perimeter, and they were getting hit. Hard.
  • As the Sabres cleared the puck down ice.
  • At 8:07, Detroit was out-shot 2-0 in the 3rd and shots were tied 26-26 overall; attempts 48-40 Detroit; hits 20-11 Buffalo; giveaways 10-10, takeaways 3-2 Buffalo; blocked shots 16-7 Buffalo; faceoffs 32-16 Detroit (63%).
  • After the TV timeout, Kane, O’Reilly and Reninhart were working against Mantha, Zetterberg and Nyquist, and the Sabres could not quite generate offense, but they were frustrating the Wings.
  • Nyquist fed Kronwall in tight, he fanned on the shot, and Kronwall had to re-take the puck in the Wings’ zone…
  • Larkin was stood up, Kronwall and Ouellet worked the puck up ice, and Lehner was able to flip a bump-in into Bertuzzi.
  • Tatar took over, cycled, and Bertuzzi fired a long shot on Lehner at 9:40, the Wings’ first shot of the period.
  • Abdelkader, Nielsen and Helm were arguably the best of the Wings’ 4 lines in terms of sustaining possession and control in the offensive zone, which isn’t necessarily good.
  • Buffalo was blocking a s***load of pucks, too.
  • Ultimately, time was ticking down on the Wings. Under 8 minutes remained, and under 7 minutes remained…
  • With Buffalo just playing disrupt-o-hockey.
  • Mantha got fed a perfect pass from Ouellet, and what did Mantha do? Drop pass it to no one. The Sabres took the puck up ice, but went offside.
  • With 6:24 remaining in the 3rd, Detroit was out-shot 2-1 in the 3rd and out-shot Buffalo 27-26 overall; attempts were 52-41 Detroit, but Detroit had 27 shots ON goal, 6 wide, and 21 into Sabres shin pads.
  • Detroit just looked like a team with little to no confidence as the Sabres continued to disrupt and disrupt.
  • Mantha did get a long shot into Lehner to push the Wings’ total to 28, and…
  • With 5:20 remaining, things looked bleak.
  • And boring. Buffalo was boring the hell out of the fans. They chanted, they cheered as they could, but there wasn’t much to cheer about.
  • With 4:35 remaining, Buffalo raced in 3-on-2, Kane and Reinhart fed O’Reilly for a hard shot wide, and they changed…
  • Abdelkader skated into the Sabres’ zone, got by Ristolainen, sent the puck to the point, and Detroit hugged the perimeter, affording Buffalo an icing call with 3:48 remaining.

THANKFULLY, Buffalo got called for tripping, with Larsson heading off at 17:04 for tripping Tatar.

  • Zetterberg won the deep offensive zone draw, Nyquist made a bad pass, made a worse pass, and the Wings had to re-set.
  • Nyquist set up, worked with Tatar and Mantha and Kronwall, Mantha worked the perimeter, got the puck to Tatar, he circled, went to Kronwall, he fed Zetterberg, Hoard went with 2:12 remaining…
  • Nielsen joined the fray…
  • Zetterberg sent the puck deep and the Sabres chipped it down the ice.
  • Nyquist found Mantha, he found Larkin at the point, to Daley it went as the Wings changed, AA found Nielsen, cycle, cycle, Lehner makes an easy stop with 33 seconds remaining in the PP.
  • With 1:28 left and the Wings skating 6-on-4…

Zetterberg won the faceoff, he pushed the puck to Nielsen, he slid the puck through Lehner’s legs and Abdelkader banged the puck home.

 Detroit scored with 1:25 remaining in regulation/at 18:45 of the 3rd to tie the game. Abdelkader from Nielsen and Zetterberg.

  • Buffalo attacked on the post-goal shift, and Detroit had to block shots as O’Reilly was blocked off by Glendening, Helm worked with Nielsen, and he sent a shot in on Lehner, who stopped the puck with 44.4 left in regulation.
  • The Sabres were still very motivated to win the game, working the puck around the perimeter in the Wings’ zone, and making the final seconds of regulation a mucky mess.
  • Nyquist and Zetterberg worked the puck into the slot and DeKeyser’s shot was blocked as regulation time expired.

The 3rd period in summary: In a low-event game, Detroit managed to score late, salvaging a 3rd period and point for themselves against a tenacious Sabres team.

Stats in the 3rd: Detroit out-shot Buffalo 7-2 in the 3rd, and 33-26 overall; attempts 64-43 Detroit; hits 23-13 Buffalo; giveaways 13-10 Detroit; takeaways 3-2 Buffalo; blocked shots 23-8 Buffalo; faceoffs 34-27 Detroit (56%).

IN OVERTIME…

  • Zetterberg won the draw with Nyquist and DeKeyser, the Wings worked the puck into Buffalo’s zone, O’Reilly fed Kane, 2-on-1 vs. DeKeyser, he blocked the pass, 3 on 1 and Zetterberg’s pass rolled over DeKeyer’s stick.
  • Detroit changed with 4:22 remaining, with Larkin and Tatar and Daley joining the fray, and Tatar fed Daley down low, the Sabres’ Lehner stopped the shot and the Sabres took over…
  • With 3:50 remaining, Reinhart and Tatar stole the puck…
  • TATAR DEKED AND DANGLED AND THE PUCK ROLLED OFF HIS STICK.
  • Rodrigues found Scandella, he fed Wilson, who battled Nielsen, Nielsen and Kronwall worked with Mantha with 3 minutes remaining in OT…
  • Mantha skated in, dropped to DeKeyser, mantha worked to Nielsen, he set up at center ice, DeKeyser spun back as Detroit changed with 2:35 remaining, AA and Helm skated up, Athanasiou whiffed wide, and up came the Sabres.
  • Larsson set up deep, rimmed the puck to Kane at center, Detroit changed…
  • Kane raced in and fired a shot that Howard stopped high, O’Reilly got past Helm, wrapped, and up came Detroit.
  • Athanasiou fed Daley and LEHNER STOPPED HIM…
  • 3-on-1, O’Reilly found Kane and Howard STONED O’Reilly via Antipin..
  • Howard blockered away an O’Reilly shot…
  • Zetterberg worked in with Nyquist, and Lehner stopped it, Zetterberg shot a puck wide, DeKeyser fed Zetterberg, Nyquist spun, DeKeyser pinched, stopped, found Zetterberg at the blueline, Nyquist took over, went to center, and the Wings changed with 39 left in OT.
  • Larkin raced in, skated and was hooked sans call, and Buffalo chugged up ice.
  • Reinhart re-set at center, shoveled the puck toward his bench, Scandella found Reinhart, Larsson was stopped, Larsson re-set, Tatar pushed the puck up for Larkin, Larsson took over instead and Scandella SCORED.

Mario Scandella took the puck from Johan Larsson, who swiped the Tatar turnover, and with Larsson screening Howard, Scandella beat Howard blocker side with 0.3 remaining in OT.

 Scandella scored at 4:59 from Larsson.

Statistics:

Here’s the Game Summary…

And the Event Summary: 

The final shot attempts were 70-47 Detroit. Detroit fired 37 shots ON net, 10 wide, and 23 into Sabres shin pads.

 

Published by

George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!