Red Wings Seize Opportunity with Fast Start in 3-1 Win over Buffalo

Detroit plays its way back into a playoff position with three goals in the opening eight minutes against the visiting Sabres

Detroit, MI—On Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena, as a game in hand became a game on the ice, the Red Wings wasted no time seizing their opportunity.  

Lucas Raymond put the home team ahead on the first shot of the game, and Detroit didn't stop there.  The Red Wings led 3-0 before eight minutes had been played, with Patrick Kane adding a second having forced his way through the Buffalo defense, then Dylan Larkin providing the third to cap a gorgeous sequence of power play passing.

It wasn't just offense that fueled Detroit's strong start though.  The Red Wings' third line of Christian Fischer, Andrew Copp, and J.T. Compher established an early tone for their game-long match-up with the Sabres top line, driven by their talisman Tage Thompson.  That Detroit trio generated some quality offensive looks of their own in the first but more pertinently denied Thompson and company the ability to play in the attacking third of the rink.

And, two days after the Red Wings struggled to contend with the visiting Rangers' physicality, Joe Veleno made clear Detroit wouldn't be pushed around Sunday when demonstrated his objection to a Bowen Byram hit from behind with a furious flurry of right hands two minutes after Larkin scored the Red Wings' third.

By the end of the first, Buffalo clawed one goal back, with Thompson scoring on the power play, and Jeff Petry and Dylan Cozens provided a second scrap, but the Red Wings held a 3-1 lead they would maintain through the remaining 40 minutes of hockey.

"I think it's a lot about mindset, that we come out and really play our game," said Raymond of the strong start.  "Because when we come out and really play our game, we can compete with any team in this league. Sometimes we've gotten starts where we've been kinda on our heels a bit, trying to feel the game out. I think tonight we came out guns blazing, so [we'll] try to replicate that."

"I liked our energy," said coach Derek Lalonde of the opening 10 minutes. "I liked our game on the whole against the Rangers. I think it's managing your emotions, staying in the fight, not getting too high, too low. And it's not easy to do." 

To get the game over the finish line required sacrifice in the defensive end of the rink from Detroit.  They would finish the evening with 27 blocked shots.  Moritz Seider led the way with 10 of them, more individually than the Sabres managed as a team (nine).

No Red Wing was busier than down the stretch than Alex Lyon, with Buffalo doubling up their hosts in shots on goal (28-14) over the final two periods of hockey.  "That was a goalie win," assessed Lalonde after the game.  "We shut 'em out five-on-five, but that's a high-end offensive team.  We blocked shots.  We did some good things around that hard scoring area, but they had their looks, so that was a really, really strong performance by [Lyon], and we needed it."

Lyon himself preferred to talk about the shot-blocking by his teammates rather than his own effort after the game.  "More than anything, it's an attitude, a mentality of we're gonna do whatever it takes to win the game," he said of those blocks.  "For me, it fires me up because it makes me wanna play for them...I understand how to block shots with a whole host of gear, and it hurts for those guys.  Mo always has multiple ice bags on him after every game, and I give him a lot of credit.  He's fearless, along with all the other guys."

The win was a massive one for Detroit's playoff ambitions, with the two points kicking the Red Wings up into the East's second wild card position pending the result of Capitals-Senators later this evening.  It took decisive finishing to race out to a 3-0 lead on just six shots, but it took sacrifice and suffering in the defensive zone to win, a dynamic that will have to recur to hold onto that playoff spot.  

Despite the lift of today's result, Lyon insists there isn't much time for celebration, saying "I think you gotta turn the page quickly—enjoy it for about an hour or two and then start worrying about the next one."  "I think it's imperative that we take it a day at a time," he continued, in reference to a massive week to come with enormous standings swings at stakes against fellow wild card aspirants Washington and Pittsburgh.  

As if to affirm his commitment to that mentality, Lyon added, "I honestly didn't know that we had the Capitals and Penguins coming up.  I knew that we had important games, but I think that living in the moment and staying day-by-day is absolutely crucial this time of year."

Meanwhile, Lalonde pointed out that, through all the season's turbulence, the Red Wings have played their way into the opportunity they've strived for all season. "We're gonna leave the rink above the playoff line with five games left," he said.  "This would've been a dream scenario for us going into this season, and now we're here."

Sunday was enough to keep those dreams alive, and now, Detroit will have to keep re-kindle that form in the five games remaining in the regular season to realize them.

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