Tomas Tatar breaks tie in third, Red Wings beat Sabres
DETROIT: 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.
BLUE JACKETS 2, RANGERS 0
Zach Werenski and Artemi Panarin each scored a goal, Sergei Bobrovsky posted his second shutout of the season and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the New York Rangers 2-0 at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets (12-7-1) won their third straight game and Bobrovsky has been in goal for all three, allowing a combined two goals. Bobrovsky finished with 36 saves against the Rangers for his 11th win of the season. Henrik Lundqvist made 40 stops for New York. Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand each had an assist for the Blue Jackets. —Agencies