The Detroit Red Wings had not scored a first-period goal since their victory over the New Jersey Devils on March 8, but they were able to remedy that drought on Friday evening.
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In fact, they did it three times.
First-period goals from Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, and Marco Kasper paced the Red Wings to a critical 5-2 road win over the Buffalo Sabres, enabling them to get back to within a point of the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
For the Red Wings, getting off to a big start was key.
“Everyone was asking me about the want or the need to score in the first period, so it was really big,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “We caught them maybe a little bit flat, and you could see when they took it up in the second (period) and it was a different game. But the lead was something we needed.”
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As McLellan noted, the Sabres upped their game in the contest’s middle frame, limiting the Red Wings to only three shots while also finally solving John Gibson with a Tage Thompson goal.
However, Detroit kept Buffalo at bay and secured an insurance tally from former Sabres defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker. Despite a Sabres goal from team captain Rasmus Dahlin soon afterward, Buffalo native and future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane sealed the victory with an empty net goal.
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Kane made sure to not only emphasize the importance of the fast start but also credit Gibson, who made 28 saves.
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“It was a great start, I think we were really focused on the start tonight, and that obviously put us in a great position. Second period wasn’t great, obviously, but kind of held down the fort, only gave up one. Gibby made some huge saves.”
Gibson returned to the form that made him one of the NHL’s best goaltenders since the beginning of December, turning aside several prime chances for the Sabres.
“He was unbelievable for us tonight, and a lot of bending but not breaking in the right moments in the game, and obviously the fourth goal was huge to give us a cushion,” Kane said. “So, big team win. Coming into Buffalo against a good team, we should feel good about that one, but got to get right back to it tomorrow.”
The Red Wings are back in action on Saturday evening against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
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