Detroit, MI- A little bit of luck is all you need sometimes, and the Buffalo Sabers needed that luck to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout Sunday night. Chris Stewart scored his first goal of the season for Buffalo, mostly because the Red Wings defenders could not find the puck in the crease. Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk was able to net his fifth goal of the season off an assist from Justin Abdelkader that gave Detroit a 2-1 advantage early in the third period. Detroit was able to outshoot the Sabers 38-21 but Buffalo was able to keep the puck in the Red wing’s zone long enough to make the right play to score. Datsyuk was able to log two more points and is second in the league to only Sidney Crosby by averaging 1.94 points per game.
Detroit looked as though they’ve won the game in overtime when Henrik Zetterberg’s shot went in with 2:30 left in overtime, but Johan Franzen’s foot appeared to be in the crease when the shot went in and the goal was waved off. While the Wings did not protest the call, they were clearly disappointed after the outcome of the game. “We want to win it in regulation, that’s the whole thing,” Smith said. “We should’ve put more points on the board.” Goalie Jimmy Howard was able to make 21 saves for Detroit but was unable to make a stop in the shootout as Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons were able to score in the shootout for Buffalo. Gustav Nyquist scored the only goal for the Wings in the shootout. Sabers goalie Michael Neuvirth made 38 saves and was playing very conservative, not allowing Detroit to grab any rebounds or attempt any second chance shots on goal.
Next up for the Red Wings is another road test, this time at the New York Rangers, and then they return home Friday against the New Jersey Devils. This was Buffalo’s first home win this season and now have a record of 3-9-1 and the Red Wings fall to 6-2-3. Detroit is now third in the Atlantic Division while Buffalo remains last in the same division.
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