Sabres get win on last second goal in OT

Evander Kane #9 of the Buffalo Sabres pounds gloves with teammates on the bench following his second period goal during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on February 22, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

A Red Wings comeback in the late stages of the third turned into defeat at Little Caesars Arena Thursday night. Marco Scandella pulled off a rare feat in overtime scoring the game winner with less than a second to go giving the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 win. They added a third consecutive loss to Detroit’s bottom line that did not have any strong responses.

Detroit had a two-game slide in the works with their loss at home Tuesday unable to hold back the Predators. With their series against their former division rivals over and done with, doing work against the Sabres would be a much-needed direction change. Buffalo is 0-2-1 in their last three games as well as being held to two goals or less in the past six of eleven matches. With Robin Lehner in net but without the services of Jack Eichel, it gave the Red Wings a chance to dictate on their home ice.

It did not go that way for them as the Sabres struck first on the scoreboard 3:39 into the first period. A drive from the far corner by Rasmus Ristolainen went through traffic where Detroit’s Jonathan Ericsson deflected the puck to hit the post to Jimmy Howard’s left and cross the goal line to give the Finn his sixth of the season. The momentum was majorly contained by the Sabres who had 13 shots with just 5:48 to go in the first. Their control and stability halted the Red Wings offense until they came alive with four to go, almost getting a goal on a Buffalo goaltending mistake.

Lehner avoided the end result keeping the Sabres up a goal after the end of 20 minutes holding Detroit to 10 shots. Detroit did not get the start they wanted despite doing well on beating Buffalo on the faceoff 61 percent of the time. The defense was a mess for them with Howard somehow handling the situation. Mantha took a puck to the face in the period and went straight to the locker room to be stitched up.

He came back ready to help his team get on the board and they got a chance 40 seconds in with their first power play. While it did not produce a goal, Detroit fired shots to create some strength on the sticks hunting for the tying goal. They got it done later in the period with Ericsson making up for his redirect of Buffalo’s goal to get one for Detroit. His shot parted ways of players near the net that went right in behind Lehner for his third.

Just when it looked as if Detroit had a handle on their problems, the Sabres made it difficult in the late stages. A power play helped Buffalo to the point of adding another on Evander Kane’s wraparound scoring chance that got through. Detroit challenged the goal due to goaltender interference by Jason Pominville who locked up the stick of Howard in the crease. Officials did not agree with the Red Wings bench as the goal stood giving the Kane his 20^th.

It took a lot out of the Red Wings who were fighting in the remaining minutes to make something happen. On a second power play chance, they could not tie it up as a minute of even strength hockey saw them still down a goal as the second finished up. While there was more of a fight from them after 40, Detroit knew that a push to compete had to be the sole mission to take control.

Very little was coming from them in the opening minutes and stayed that way to the halfway point. Though Buffalo had two shots, Detroit had not found one on the opposing net giving the look of futility with 11:48 remaining in regulation. Detroit recorded their first shot at 10:17 but it did not bring together more than that as they were running out of gas and out of answers to level the score.

Time soon became an issue for them as the minutes sped down but a power play with more than two minutes was Detroit’s third chance on the man advantage. Howard was pulled out to make it 6 on 4 which worked out for them on a push in the Buffalo zone. Frans Nielsen took a shot on the puck that got through the five hole of Lehner and loose in front of the net. It was there that Justin Abdelkader pulled off a slam dunk of it to tie the game with 1:25 left in regulation. It was Abdelkader’s tenth of the year which reenergized the crowd just before the two teams went into overtime.

It was a dramatic five minutes as the Red Wings were all over getting shots at Lehner who made big stops against them. The same was said of Howard who stopped two very close scoring chances but the end result was a moment that needed a double take. In a last-ditch effort Scandella fired one off on the final second that beat the horn by three tenths of a second.

Officials went to review the play but as the replay was shown to the fans in the arena the air was completely let out in heartbreak. Scandella earned his third of the season and one he would not forget as they avoided what could have been a bad run in a shootout. Their three-game slide came to a halt with Lehner earning his first win since Feb. 8 stopping 35 on Detroit for a .946 save percentage. While the Sabres celebrate a win on the road, the Red Wings would carry on to host the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday.