Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #2 Tweetcap: Buffalo’s ‘A Team’ outworks Detroit’s ‘B+ Team’

The Detroit Red Wings played their 3rd game over the course of 3 days on Saturday, taking on a stacked Buffalo Sabres lineup with the Kasper line and Copp lines up front, the Chiarot-Johansson pair on defense, and Sebastian Cossa in goal.

Buffalo would win 5-2. This one was a real head-scratcher, because the DeBrincat-Kasper-Kane line was excellent, generating both Red Wings’ goals (Kane from DeBrincat and Kasper form Chiarot and DeBrincat), the Rasmussen-Copp-Appleton line was good defensively, Albert Johansson had a hell of a game, working with Ben Chiarot, Axel Sandin Pellikka was good…

Did it come down to goaltending? Sort of. Sebastian Cossa was not at his best at times, surrendering 4 goals on 20 shots against, while Alex Lyon was better, stopping 26 of 28, but the Wings also gave up a tremendous number of scoring chances via odd-man rushes and plain old territorial advantage as the Sabres cycled, regrouped, and cycled in Detroit’s zone over and over again.

To me, given that most of the team didn’t play in Pittsburgh the previous evening, coach Todd McLellan is likely to discuss why the Wings dropped a 2-0 lead to Buffalo in the first 12:17 of the game, and why the Wings could not stop Tage Thompson (2 goals, 1 assist) or Josh Norris (1 goal, 2 assists) from there on out. Preparation was an issue here, and execution was another.

For everybody, from Cossa on out.

1st period: The teams started the following players:

Buffalo roared out to a tremendous start, and the Red Wings spent a significant amount of time pinned in their zone as the Sabres cycled with possession and control. As a result…

GOAL: Not surprisingly, Zach Benson won a faceoff from Marco Kasper at the right faceoff dot, Bowen Byram lateralled the puck to Rasmus Dahlin, and with Tage Thompson in the slot, Buffalo’s Dahlin was able to blast a high, hard shot through Cossa at 3:41. Buffalo 1, Detroit 0.

Detroit’s “A Team” hadn’t really played over the last three days, but the Wings looked mentally and physically “out of it” as they played their 3rd game in 3 nights.

Maybe it was because it was a mixed, new lineup, save the Copp and Kane lines, and perhaps everybody was thrown off by the 3 PM start. But it’s still not acceptable for the Wings to come out as flat as a pancake, and that’s where you’re grateful that it’s an exhibition game.

Alex DeBrincat got the Wings’ first scoring chance about 10:20 into the 1st as Kasper found DeBrincat unattended out in the slot, and DeBrincat shot the puck right into Lyon.

GOAL: Regrettably, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard laid out a Sabre with a hard hit at the Sabres’ line, but that sprung Buffalo for a 2-on-2, and Konsta Helenius found Radim Mrtka for a mini breakaway and a semi-soft goal on Sebastian Cossa. Buffalo 2, Detroit 0 at 12:17.

Regrettably, 14:32 in, Alex DeBrincat battled his way into the Sabres’ zone, he found the puck loose at the side of the Sabres’ net with Lyon behind the goal, and Bowen Byram made two huge stops diving through the crease to stop the Wings’ scoring chance.

Penalty: Buffalo’s Ryan Johnson gave Ian Mitchell two shoves without a stick, and Mitchell fell down twice. The referee called Johnson for the 2nd dump, calling a holding penalty on Buffalo’s Johnson at 15:18. Detroit went to the power play.

DeBrincat, Kasper, Kane, Brandsegg-Nygard and Sandin Pellikka were the first PP unit.

Copp, Lombardi, Mazur, Mitchell and Becher were PP #2.

The power play did not connect, but…

GOAL: Patrick Kane scored an odd goal from Alex DeBrincat at 18:27, with DeBrincat winning a battle behind the net against the bigger Radim Mrtka, and the puck sort of rolled off Kane’s stick on the pass from DeBrincat, but the puck rolled past Lyon at the right goalpost, with Marco Kasper driving the slot–beating Rasmus Dahlin back to Lyon’s crease–to occupy the other Sabres defenders. Kane from DeBrincat at 18:27, Buffalo 2, Detroit 1.

Sebastian Cossa also made a nice save off the Winged Wheel on his chest, and kept the rebound out of the net despite not knowing that the puck had bounced down to his toe, off a mini-breakaway to stifle the Sabres and keep the score 2-1 Buffalo.

2nd period:

GOAL: Marco Kasper was tossed out of the right faceoff circle, and Josh Norris won the draw vs. Alex DeBrincat to Tage Thompson. Thompson ripped a heavy shot over Sebastian Cossa’s shoulder at 14 seconds. Thompson from Norris at 0:14 2nd. Buffalo 3, Detroit 1.

At one end, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard chipped a shot in on Lyon, and when the puck went the other way, Albert Johansson was the last man back, and his stick check broke up the Sabres’ rush.

Even better, Johansson nearly deked and dangled his way to a Kent Nilsson/Peter Forsberg move on Lyon, off a really good forecheck, but Lyon got his toe out to stop Johansson:

Notice whose forecheck facilitated the Johansson play:

Cossa also made a big stop as the Kasper line got caught out long and Buffalo got 2 shifts’ worth of cycling play in the Red Wings’ defensive zone, with Chiarot and Sandin Pellikka taking equally long shifts…All just short of the 10:00 mark of the 2nd.

GOAL: Alex DeBrincat was chugging up the right wing side, he sent the puck across to Ben Chiarot, and Lyon stopped the shot, but Marco Kasper got two whacks at the puck vs. Rasmus Dahlin, and the second shot went through Lyon and into the Sabres’ goal. Marco Kasper from Chiarot and DeBrincat, at 13:36. Buffalo 3, Detroit 2.

Penalty: Connor Timmins cross-checked Amadeus Lombardi at the goal line as the puck was rimming around the corner boards, and Timmns sat at 15:31 of the 2nd.

The Red Wings’ power play got some good chances, but they were unable to convert…

Penalty: Sebastian Cossa was called for playing the puck outside the trapezoid at 19:05, and Ian Mitchell served the penalty for him. Cossa, delay of game, 19:05 2nd.

Detroit killed the first 55 seconds of the PK with good work from Michael Rasmussen, Marco Kasper, Ben Chiarot and Axel Sandin Pellikka.

3rd period:

GOAL: Josh Norris took a pass down low to Sebastian Cossa’s left, Cossa flopped over while Norris flubbed the puck, but Norris reversed the puck to Alex Tuch, and he sent the puck across to Tage Thompson at the right faceoff circle. Cossa was still swimming, so Thompson scored an easy goal at 37 seconds of the 3rd. Not Cossa’s brightest moment. Thompson from Tuch and Norris at 37 seconds of the 3rd, PPG. Buffalo 4, Detroit 2.

The Red Wings really played a lackluster first half of the 3rd period, standing and watching Buffalo cycle in the offensive zone. It was only when Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat charged up ice with a 2-on-1 on Lyon–in which Lyon stopped both players, and Marco Kasper was then roughed up by the Sabres’ defenders–that the Red Wings even looked like they had a pulse.

Mostly, Detroit was chipping the puck away and kind of “dicking around,” to quote my late father, the Detroit probation officer.

The DeBrincat-Kasper-Kane line sure as hell woke the Wings up just short of halfway through the period, as did Albert Johansson, who was great all game long, but the Wings were just weren’t on the same page of the playbook.

Penalty: As Josh Norris raced into the Wings’ zone, he deked around Albert Johansson, who didn’t recover well, and Sebastian Cossa made a shaky save, but Johansson tripped Norris in the corner. Penalty to Johansson for tripping at 14:02.

Pull the goalie: With about 3:30 left in the 3rd, the Red Wings pulled Sebastian Cossa.

The Wings went with Alex DeBrincat, Marco Kasper, Patrick Kane, Carter Mazur, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin Pellikka as their first six…

Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, Mason Appleton, Albert Johansson, Amadeus Lombardi and one more guy were the second six, and they barely touched the ice before the top line was back out there.

GOAL: Josh Norris sent the 6th or 7th Sabres attempt to score on the Red Wings’ empty net into the empty net to give Buffalo a 5-2 lead. Norris from Thompson with 12.5 seconds left in the 3rd, Buffalo 5, Detroit 2.

Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:

Highlights: From Sportsnet:

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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!

One thought on “Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #2 Tweetcap: Buffalo’s ‘A Team’ outworks Detroit’s ‘B+ Team’”

  1. I thought important faceoffs were lost. Accounted for 2 goals. Sabres seemed like a much heavier team, they played heavy, out hit our guys (who were smaller). Enabled them to keep possession in the zone by winning most board battles.

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