Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres earned a 5-2 preseason win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center. Tage Thompson and Josh Norris both had three points to lead the way for Buffalo in the victory.
Buffalo took the early 1-0 lead just 3:41 into the game on a beautiful one-timer by captain Rasmus Dahlin on the setup from defensive partner Bowen Byram.
Two top draft picks linked up to extend the Sabres' lead midway through the first period. 2024 first-round forward Konsta Helenius was able to feed 2025 first-round defenseman Radim Mrtka streaking in on goal to make it a 2-0 game.
Detroit got on the board late in the first period, as Patrick Kane cut the Sabres' lead to 2-1 with 1:33 left on the clock.
Just 14 seconds into second period, Thompson extended the Sabres lead right off a Norris faceoff win.
The Red Wings made it a 3-2 game later in the middle frame, as Red Wings forward Marco Kasper pounded home his own rebound at the side of the net with 6:23 remaining in the second.
The Sabres took advantage of starting the third period on the power play, as Thompson ripped home his second goal of the game to extend the Buffalo lead to 4-2 just 37 seconds into the final frame.
The score remained the same until the final minute of regulation, as Norris scored on an empty net to make it a 5-2 Sabres victory.
In goal, Sabres netminder Alex Lyon stopped 26 of 28 shots faced in the win.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 3:41 - Rasmus Dahlin (1) (Bowen Byram, Zach Benson); 12:17 - Radim Mrtka (1) (Konsta Helenius, Isak Rosen)
DET: 18:27 - Patrick Kane (1) (Alex DeBrincat)
Second Period:
BUF: 0:14 - Tage Thompsn (2) (Josh Norris)
DET: 13:36 - Marco Kasper (1) (Ben Chiarot, Alex DeBrincat)
Third Period:
BUF: 0:37 - Tage Thompson (3) PPG (Alex Tuch, Josh Norris); 19:47 - Josh Norris (1) ENG (Tage Thompson)
DET: NONE
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Tage Thompson - BUF
2.) Josh Norris - BUF
3.) Radim Mrtka - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to KeyBank Center on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. faceoff. Catch all of the action on WGR Sports Radio 550, starting with pregame coverage at 6 p.m. with Mike Schopp and The Bulldog.