Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres used a four-goal opening period to help propel themselves to a convincing 7-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.
Alex Tuch used a nice defensive play inside his own zone to create a scoring chance at the other end of the ice for a 1-0 Buffalo lead. The forward was able to knock the puck out of his own zone, then win a race to a loose puck for his 18th goal of the season just over a minute into the game.
The Sabres thought they had opened up a 2-0 lead against Detroit, but an offside challenge by the Red Wings overturned a Tyson Jost goal and kept the Buffalo ;ead to one goal nearly three minutes into the game.
Bowen Byram was able to convert a second chance opportunity on a big rebound kicked out by Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon that doubled Buffalo's lead to 2-0. Byram scored his second goal as a member of the Sabres since being acquired last week Wednesday from the Colorado Avalanche.
Ben Chiarot answered quickly for the Red Wings, cutting the deficit to one goal, 2-1.
However, Zach Benson wasted little time converting and re-upping Buffalo's advantage to a pair. His second point of the night resulted in a 3-1 lead for the Sabres.
Less than two minutes later, Benson picked up another assist on Jeff Skinner's 21st goal of the year that ballooned the Sabres' advantage to 4-1.
The goal also forced Detroit to make a goaltender change, replacing Lyon with James Reimer.
Connor Clifton was able to score his second goal of the season early in the second period to extend Buffalo's lead to 5-1. Tage Thompson made the pass that helped create the goal.
Byram was able to pinch in from the blue line and had the puck right on his stick for his second goal of the game on a rebound opportunity. His second goal on Tuesday was created by a Thompson shot that Reimer could not handle initially.
Detroit was able to cut into the Buffalo lead thanks to a power play goal from Lucas Raymond just 24 seconds later.
However, JJ Peterka created a turnover in the neutral zone and picked the corner on Reimer for his 21st goal of the season a little more than four minutes later. His goal late in the middle frame extended Buffalo's lead to 7-2.
Jake Walman was able to score late in the third period to trim the Red Wings' deficit to four goals, but that was as close as the visitors would get.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 1:07 - Alex Tuch (18) (Unassisted); 10:09 - Bowen Byram (10) (Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway); 13:00 - Zach Benson (7) (Jordan Greenway, Rasmus Dahlin); 15:29 - Jeff Skinner (21) (Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens)
DET: 12:37 - Ben Chiarot (5) (Lucas Raymond, Jonathan Berggren)
Second Period:
BUF: 4:27 - Connor Clifton (2) (Tage Thompson); 9:05 - Bowen Byram (11) (Tage Thompson, Zemgus Girgensons); 13:49 - JJ Peterka (21) (Unassisted)
DET: 9:29 - Lucas Raymond (18) PPG (Robby Fabbri, Patrick Kane)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
DET: 17:32 - Jake Walman (12) (Shayne Gostisbehere, Olli Maatta)
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Bowen Byram - BUF
2.) Zach Benson - BUF
3.) Tage Thompson - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres remain home to complete their three game homestand by welcoming the New York Islanders to KeyBank Center. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sportsradio 550. Pregame coverage with Mike Schopp starts at 6:00 p.m.