Red Wings score 3 in 1st, defeat Sabres to gain in Eastern wild-card race

BUFFALO -- John Gibson made 28 saves for the Detroit Red Wings, who gained ground in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and two assists, Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, and Moritz Seider had two assists for the Red Wings (39-25-8), who had lost two straight.

Detroit moved one point back of the New York Islanders, who have played one more game, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East.

“It was a great start,” Kane said. “I think we were really focused on the start tonight, and that obviously put us in a great position. Second period wasn't great, obviously, but (we) kind of held down the fort, only gave up one. ‘Gibby’ made some huge saves. He was unbelievable for us tonight, and a lot of bending but not breaking in the right moments in the game. ... Big team win.”

Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin scored, and Alex Lyon made 15 saves for the Sabres (44-21-8), who have lost three in a row (0-1-2) for the first time since Dec. 3-8 (0-3-0).

Buffalo remained two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have two games in hand, for first in the Atlantic Division.

“Frustrating first, for sure,” Lyon said. “I’ve been saying it all year, we’re going to hit adversity at some point, and we’ve had a long, sustained stretch of really excellent play, and now we’re hitting a little bit of adversity. The way we responded in the second was extremely positive. If I could’ve stopped a few more in the first, maybe it’s a different game. ... It is what it is. We have to move on. We can’t dwell on it.”

DeBrincat gave Detroit a 1-0 lead on a power play at 4:02 of the first period. He chipped the puck over Lyon's left pad after he deflected Seider's shot from the point.

Lucas Raymond made it 2-0 at 9:11 with another goal on the man-advantage. Seider gloved down Ryan McLeod's clearing attempt at the right point and passed across to Raymond, who skated the puck to the left face-off dot before scoring with a wrist shot that beat Lyon glove side.

“We just tried to keep it real simple,” Seider said. “We tried to force their 'D' into uncomfortable situations, and I thought that worked really well. ... I think that was a recipe for success.”

Marco Kasper extended the lead to 3-0 at 16:06 of the first. Emmitt Finnie was denied twice by Lyon from point-blank range, but he got his third rebound back and passed to Kasper, who spun around in the right circle for a quick wrist shot short side.

“It's unacceptable,” Dahlin said. “They came out really good and scored three early, and it's hard to come back from that. We need better first periods.”

Thompson cut it to 3-1 at 5:35 of the second period when he beat Gibson five-hole with a one-timer from the top of the left circle off a cross-ice feed from Peyton Krebs.

The Sabres outshot the Red Wings 12-3 in the second period.

“We've been behind before,” Thompson said. “We know we can score and find our way back in the game, just definitely not the position you want to be in. ... I thought that push in the second was really good, and then obviously in the third there, they get another couple of power plays, four minutes off mine (a double minor for high-sticking), and that gives them life.”

Jacob Bernard-Docker made it 4-1 at 15:46 of the third period, scoring his first goal of the season from the top of the left circle.

Dahlin quickly answered back for the Sabres at 16:25. Bowen Byram's one-timer from the point was blocked in front, but Dahlin found the loose puck and scored with a shot that just trickled over the goal line off the glove arm of Gibson to make it 4-2.

Kane scored an empty-net goal at 18:17 for the 5-2 final.

“There's ups and downs and ebbs and flows with the players, the way they feel,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “The opposition always has a say in the game. I talk about the wonders of sport, that's how it goes. Tomorrow we expect to come out and have energy and play like we did in the first, but there's always variables that come into play. We'll control as many of them as we can and we'll try and get off to a good start again.”

NOTES: DeBrincat has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) during an eight-game point streak. ... Seider played in his 400th NHL game and Bernard-Docker played in his 200th. … Seider’s first assist was his 50th point of the season. He is the third defenseman in Red Wings history to have multiple seasons with at least 50 points before the age of 25, joining Reed Larson (four) and Nicklas Lidstrom (two). ... Thompson’s goal was his 400th NHL point (213 goals, 187 assists in 521 games).