Tomas Tatar Breaks Tie In 3rd, Red Wings Beat Sabres
By Larry Lage
DETROIT (AP) — Tomas Tatar scored a go-ahead goal midway through third period and the Detroit Red Wings went on to beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Friday night.
Detroit's Luke Glendening broke a scoreless tie late in the second period. Ryan O'Reilly pulled Buffalo into a 1-all tie 5:50 into the third.
Dylan Larkin scored late in the game and Jimmy Howard had 19 saves for the Red Wings. They have won consecutive games at home for the first time this season.
Buffalo's Robin Lehner stopped the first 20 shots he faced and finished with 30 saves.
The Sabres have lost four straight, one away from their longest losing streak of the season, but were thankful they didn't lose more than a game in Detroit.
Jack Eichel went to the dressing room late in the second period after coming off the ice slowly, keeping weight off his right skate following a collision with Glendening, and making a brief stop on the bench. Buffalo's standout center was cleared to return at the start of the third period.
After a scoreless first period with a combined 14 shots, Detroit outshot Buffalo 13-4 in the second and took control without that translating to a big lead.
The Red Wings had a lot of chances to score, including a two-man advantage for 26 seconds, but scored only once over the first two periods.
O'Reilly took advantage of being down only a goal when he scored off a rebound early in the third.
Tatar, one of Detroit's players to miss on opportunities to score earlier in the game, sent a wrist shot from the high slot through traffic and past Lehner 8:36 into the final period. Larkin sealed the victory by scoring with 4:06 left in the game.
NOTES: The Sabres have an Eastern Conference-low 14 points, a total that puts them ahead of only Arizona in the NHL. ... Glendening has five goals in 20 games, scoring two more times than he did in 74 games last season.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night in a matchup of last-place teams.
Red Wings: Play the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at home.
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