The Detroit Red Wings remained hot in Buffalo, skating to a 5-3 victory over the Sabres. Detroit improves to 14-7-3 on the year with help on the way. Detroit is amid a mini three-game win streak, plus six of their last seven, and is expected to have star forward Patrick Kane debut on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks. That 6-1 record over their past seven games follows a disappointing trip to Sweden. Detroit’s captain, Dylan Larkin, usually a quiet leader, gave a subtle speech to the team following their 3-2 loss to Toronto. Since then, it’s been a much better Red Wings effort overall, so they’ve seemed to respond very well to their leader.
As you know, Kane, 35, chose to join the Detroit Red Wings after their hot start to the year and his desire to reunite with Alex DeBrincat. The two forwards built a ton of chemistry during their days in Chicago, and general manager Steve Yzerman hopes it won’t take long for it to reoccur with the Red Wings. Kane has worked hard over the past few months rehabbing from a severe hip resurfacing surgery, so this addition comes with many potential challenges, but the risk is worth the reward if you’re the Red Wings. Adding a player like Kane for a mere $2 million ($2.75 prorated) for the remainder of the year has the possibility of being a bargain. Kane recorded 21 goals and 57 points last season while playing injured. The year prior, Kane totaled 26 goals and 92 points; if he’s somewhere between those two seasons this year (points per game), the Detroit Red Wings will make a serious postseason push.
The Detroit Red Wings nearly squandered a four-goal lead but held on to beat the Sabres in Buffalo.
The Detroit Red Wings’ second power play unit looked extremely good on Tuesday in Buffalo. That group scored a power play goal thanks to a Moritz Seider blast from the point, his fourth goal of the season. Before the goal, the Red Wings controlled the offensive zone for quite some time; DeBrincat, Fabbri, Sprong, and Veleno, with Seider, made up that second group.
In addition to Seider, the Detroit Red Wings received goals from Dylan Larkin (2), Robby Fabbri, and Michael Rasmussen. It’s great to see Rasmussen get back in the goal column; he’s had a tough year offensively but continues to be a valuable defensive, shutdown forward who is usually found working the penalty kill with Larkin. Speaking of Larkin, he was forced to leave for a while after taking a hit from behind from Tyson Jost while the Red Wings were on the power play. No penalty was called on the play. Larkin returned in the third period and turned the puck over while on the penalty kill, which led to a Buffalo goal. The Sabres roared back and made it a game to ESPN’s liking, getting within a goal late. With just under two minutes left, Jake Walman took an ill-advised high sticking penalty with Detroit up 4-3, but luckily, Larkin was able to find some room in the neutral zone and scamper into the Buffalo zone and seal it 5-3 by hitting the empty net. Alex Lyon got the nod in goal and was brilliant once again. Lyon made 29 saves on 32 shots.
Following the game, Larkin sat on the bench with ESPN’s Emily Kaplin and talked about leaving the bench following the cross-check from Jost. Larkin mentioned that he needs to be more aware of his surroundings; he said he didn’t expect someone to come at him like that while on the power play. He finished the conversation by stating that he was okay and pleased with his team’s recent play.
We all had to endure that ESPN+ broadcast Tuesday night, which was incredibly Buffalo-heavy. It’s just a reminder of how good Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond are, and we need not take that tandem for granted.
The Detroit Red Wings nearly squandered a four-goal lead in Buffalo but held on to win thanks to a two-goal effort from Dylan Larkin.