Detroit, Mich. (WGR 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres had a chance to sweep a most pivotal week against teams they were chasing in the Eastern Conference Wild Card hunt.
Unfortunately, the team couldn't get it going offensively.
After getting out to a lead in the opening period, the Sabres could not hold back the Detroit Red Wings, who scored four-unanswered goals on Saturday afternoon in a 4-1 loss at Little Caesars Arena.
The Sabres opened the scoring near the halfway point of the opening period.
With forward Patrick Kane in the penalty box for the Red Wings, Tage Thompson netted his 20th goal of the season to give the blue and gold the 1-0 edge.
The Sabres took that one-goal lead into the middle stanza, but were unable to emerge with that same advantage come the end of the frame.
The Red Wings owned the on-ice play in the second, and turned it into the team's first lead of the afternoon. Forwards Christian Fischer and Patrick Kane scored a goal each, in order, to give Detroit a 2-1 lead heading into a crucial third period for Buffalo.
Once again, though, the Red Wings took play to the Sabres and held the blue and gold off the scoreboard, while extending their lead.
Forward Daniel Sprong scored a back-breaker with just over six minutes left in the period, and then forward Lucas Raymond put the nail in Buffalo's coffin with an empty-net goal to bring the score to final at 4-1.
With Saturday's loss, the Sabres' playoff odds currently sit at 3.7% with 14 games remaining on the schedule.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 11:22 - Tage Thompson (20) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Alex Tuch)
DET: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
DET: 5:35 - Christian Fischer (3) (Andrew Copp, Moritz Seider); 17:40 - Patrick Kane (14) (J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
DET: 13:52 - Daniel Sprong (17) (Robby Fabbri); 18:53 - Lucas Raymond (20) ENG (Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp)
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Patrick Kane - DET
2.) Christian Fischer - DET
3.) Daniel Sprong - DET
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What's Next:
The Sabres head out West for a four-game stretch starting Monday night in Seattle against the Kraken. Puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena is set for 10 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 9 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton.