Buffalo’s longshot playoff chances were diminished by loss to the Red Wings
The Buffalo Sabres needed to continue to build on the momentum created by home victories against Detroit and the New York Islanders to continue climbing in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but after a promising start, the Sabres folded in a 4-1 loss to the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, falling five points behind Detroit in the race for the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot.
The Sabres took an early lead on Tage Thompson’s power-play goal, but tightened up in the must-win contest, allowing a pair of goals from Christian Fischer and Patrick Kane in the second period and two more in the third. Head coach Don Granato said earlier in the week that the club’s recent success had been due to them playing with fearlessness, something that abandoned them on Saturday.
"We played a little bit tense and a little bit tighter, some guys didn't look like themselves today, even though the first period was good," Granato said. "When you're passing up opportunities to put the puck to the net. You feel like you have to make a perfect play before you're going to score. You're missing that killer instinct. And I thought that was the case. You hear the chatter on the bench, you can tell the psyche on the bench. We slipped from where we've been playing the last little bit."
Despite their improved performance for almost two months, the Sabres have little room for error because of their early season struggles. Buffalo has played the most of the five teams competing for the second wildcard spot in the East (68 games) and now trails Detroit by five points and both Washington and the Islanders by four.
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