Kane Runs Wild in Motown
Score: Buffalo Sabres 3 | Detroit Red Wings 7
Shots: BUF 26 | DET 29
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Thompson (34) Norris (21) Benson (10)
Detroit Red Wings Goals : Kasper (11) DeBrincat (30) Kane (16) Tarasenko (9) Kane (17) Kasper (12) Seider (7)
Minus 1: Motor City Madness
If you like goals, this was the opening frame for you. Buffalo got on the board first and last in the opening period. Unfortunately for the Sabres, Detroit sandwiched in 3 goals of their own in between.
A little over 3 minutes into this one, the Wings scored a quick goal with some nice puck movement. But from the moment Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen slid awkwardly across the crease, it appeared there was some illegal contact. The referee wasted no time and signaled no goal on the spot for goalie interference. It was not egregious but the Detroit player’s skate did lock up with UPL in the blue paint, hindering him. Not long after, at the 7:38 mark, Tage Thompson ripped a wicked wrister past Petr Mrazek. The Detroit goalie got beat high for Tage’s 34th of the year. Bo Byram got the lone assist as he skated into the slot and left Thompson a nice drop pass.
Then the Motor City Madness exploded. Marco Kasper got his 11th of the year on a tipped blast that beat UPL. Alex DeBrincat ripped a shot past Luukkonen just a few minutes later. He skated in along the wall then cut to the middle to beat UPL clean. Suddenly it was 2-1 and things were looking shaky. Patrick Kane really put Buffalo in a bind when he scored with under a minute remaining. It was a power play goal where the Wings have been deadly. The Sabres could not clear it and the Buffalo native blew it past Luukkonen for a 3-1 lead. Kane had 3 points in the first period and things were looking grim. But new arrival Josh Norris finally halted the Red Wing’s momentum with a late goal. With just 35 seconds left, Norris chipped in a great pass from Zach Benson to give Buffalo some life. It was his first goal in a Buffalo uniform and his 21st of the season.
Plus/Minus 1: Even Steven
Both teams settled in for the 2nd period and both teams settled down. The goal scoring slowed as the chances for each team were minimal. But at the 10:54 mark, Vladimir Tarasenko’s roofed a slick shot over UPL’s shoulder for his 9th of the year. Tarasenko skated out from behind the net wide, spun and shot. Defender Own Power was backed into Luukkonen slightly and the goal was challenged by head coach Lindy Ruff. But that was a questionable challenge and the goal stood. Buffalo had to kill off the penalty for the failed challenge and they did. Detroit was 1 for 3 with the man advantage at this point while the Sabres still didn’t have a call. This happens all the time with Buffalo, not working hard enough to earn those calls. Later on, DeBrincat gifted the Sabres a double minor power play in a scrum for high sticking. Buffalo cashed in on the second half of that call when Zach Benson found a nice rebound and scored. It was his 10th goal of the year. Owen Power and Ryan McLeod picked up the assists. Very late in the period, Jason Zucker double hit a puck directly over the glass for a penalty. Then with just seconds to go, the Sabres were nailed with another call, leading to a two man advantage for Detroit. The 5 on 3 carried over to the 3rd and left Buffalo with a daunting challenge in the final frame.
It was 4-3 Red WIngs after two. Detroit had 20 shots to Buffalo’s 18. The Wings led in hits too, 13-10 but the Sabres were 57 percent in the face off circle.
Minus 2: Breakdowns and a Beat Down
That 5 on 3 man advantage I mentioned? Well the Sabres came oh so close to killing them both off. But after making a nice save, Luukkonen drifted out on his belly away from the far post trying to recover. Patrick Kane took his time and tucked in the loose puck into the open net. Marco Kasper later blasted one into the net on yet another Buffalo turnover. This was a rough game for the Buffalo defense. A few particularly I bet you can guess. Combine that with UPL not making enough big stops he needed to and this game got out of hand. Patrick Kane ended up with 5 points on the night.
Things got physical late in the game when Jacob Bryson got crunched on a clearing attempt. Alex Tuch got in a fight. Jordan Greenway got tossed after a scrum. Moritz Seider then scored after that to add insult to injury. Then with about 3 minutes left, Josh Norris, Tage Thompson and Bo Byram got into altercations as well. It was good to see the team sticking up for each other. It’s just too bad it happened in this colossal defensive mess of a game.
It goes without saying that the team defense in this match up was atrocious. So was the Buffalo goaltending. UPL should have stopped at least 3 of the goals he gave up tonight. Some might argue 4 or more goals. The Sabres missed having Peterka out there as well as he deals with his day to day injury. But the offense was hardly the main problem in this one. Terrible turnovers, sloppy play and just getting beat too often let to this beat down. Detroit just got too many good looks. Buffalo is in dire need of 2 physical shutdown defenders this off season and it was never more obvious than tonight.
After a hard fought 3-2 win over the high powered Edmonton Oilers, the Sabres plain stunk tonight. An embarrassing 7-3 loss to rival Detroit. They played like they forgot basic hockey fundamentals in this game. They played reckless and undisciplined. The coaching staff has done a piss-pour job this season with these players in my opinion. A complete house cleaning should be in order.
FInal Thoughts:
There were a few bad breaks in this game with the Sabres and the officials. Kasper’s third period goal came after a non call on Detroit moments earlier. Lindy Ruff was incensed. And UPL was called for a trip trying to make a save while doing the splits. That one was especially ridiculous. McLeod was called for tripping late, leading to the last power play goal when a Red Wing appeared to step on his stick. Detroit getting 3 power play goals was a killer. Once again the special teams let them down. But the defensive breakdowns and well below standard goaltending did them in too.
Side note: The Detroit Red Wings have won worst hockey helmet of the year.
Next up for us diehards, the Sabres host the Vegas Golden Knights in an early afternoon affair at Keybank Center. The game starts at 12:30 pm Eastern time.