Sabres survive to beat Red Wings in shootout

Buffalo blew a three-goal, third period lead, but found a way to earn a 5-4 win in Detroit
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Detroit, Mich. (WGR 550) - Despite holding a 4-1 edge with 13:09 to play, it took a shootout for the Buffalo Sabres to defeat the Red Wings on Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The home team opened the scoring just 80 seconds into this affair, as Red Wings rookie forward Jonatan Berggren netted his second-career goal to make it 1-0, Detroit.

The Sabres tied the game three-and-a-half minutes later when Dylan Cozens continued his strong start to the 2022-23 campaign. Cozens, with help from netminder Craig Anderson, potted a shorthanded goal to even the score at 1-1.

It was Cozens' seventh goal of the season.

The blue and gold made it two goals in-a-row 8:25 into the first period of play. A shot from defenseman Mattias Samuelsson leaked through Red Wings goalie Alex Nedelkjovic, marking a milestone moment for the young blue liner. In his 64th-career game, Samuelsson had goal No. 1 in the NHL.

The Sabres kept the line moving in the middle stanza, as their run of unanswered goals grew to four against Nedelkjovic and company.

At the 8:12 mark of the second period, Cozens struck for the second time in the game on a whale of a wrist shot under the bar.

Just two minutes later, Jeff Skinner pounded away at his own rebound chance and worked the puck under Nedelkjovic for the veteran's 11th goal of the campaign.

That ended up being the last Sabres goal of regulation, as the Red Wings took over the final 13 minutes of the third. Included in those 13 minutes of pressure were three goals in a span of 5:40 that tied the game at 4-4 and forced overtime.

Doing the scoring for Detroit were forwards David Perron and Oskar Sundqvist with two goals.

Neither team found the game-winner in the extra five-minutes of action, which then led to the first shootout of the season for Buffalo. It only took three rounds, and winger Jack Quinn ended it in slick fashion for the Sabres.

Quinn's game-winning tally was the only goal in the shootout, as Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka were stopped before him by Nedelkjovic.

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GAME RECAP

Scoring Summary:

First Period:
BUF: 4:53 - Dylan Cozens (7) SHG (Craig Anderson); 8:25 - Mattias Samuelsson (1) (Rasmus Dahlin)
DET: 1:20 - Jonatan Berggren (2) (Filip Hronek, Joe Veleno)

Second Period:
BUF: 8:12 - Dylan Cozens (8) (JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn); 10:17 - Jeff Skinner (11) PPG (Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin)
DET: NONE

Third Period:
BUF: NONE
DET: 6:51 - David Perron (7) (Dylan Larkin, Filip Hronek); 10:41 - Oskar Sundqvist (2) (Andrew Copp, Jordan Oesterle); 12:31 - Oskar Sundqvist (3) (Andrew Copp)

Overtime:
BUF: NONE
DET: NONE

Shootout:
DET: Lucas Raymond - MISS
BUF: Tage Thompson - MISS
DET: David Perron - MISS
BUF: JJ Peterka - MISS
DET: Dylan Larkin - MISS
BUF: Jack Quinn - GOAL

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Penalty Summary:

First Period:
BUF: 3:33 - Mattias Samuelsson (Tripping - 2 min.); 10:19 - Alex Tuch (High sticking - 2 min.)
DET: NONE

Second Period:
BUF: 11:21 - Zemgus Girgensons (Tripping - 2 min.); 15:24 - Owen Power (Slashing - 2 min.)
DET: 9:41 - Olli Maatta (Holding - 2 min.)

Third Period:
BUF: 14:35 - Henri Jokiharju (Tripping - 2 min.); 17:10 - Rasmus Dahlin (High sticking - 2 min.); 17:44 - Mattias Samuelsson (Tripping - 2 min.)
DET: 3:17 - Jake Walman (Delay of game, puck over glass - 2 min.)

Overtime:
BUF: NONE
DET: NONE

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STATS OF THE GAME:

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Photo credit Losi and Gangi

Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:

1.) Dylan Cozens - BUF
2.) Oskar Sundqvist - DET
3.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF

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What's next:

The Sabres return to Buffalo on Thursday night to host the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on The Bet 1520 starting at 6 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski - USA TODAY Sports