Sabres blow three-goal lead in third, get past Red Wings in shootout

The Buffalo Sabres blew a three-goal, third-period lead but recovered to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 in the shootout at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday.

Dylan Cozens scored twice, and Jack Quinn had the only goal of the shootout for the Sabres (10-12-1), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games after losing eight straight. Craig Anderson made 41 saves on the 20th anniversary of his NHL debut.
"I think every team in the League is going to lose leads in the third period," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "I liked the response and the way we battled back."
Oskar Sundqvist scored twice, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves in his first start since Nov. 12 for the Red Wings (11-6-5).
Detroit had a 5-on-3 power-play for 1:27 of the final 2:16 of the third, finished the game 0-for-7 with the man-advantage and allowed a short-handed goal.
"You're supposed to be happy after coming back the way we did, but this still stinks right now," Red Wings forward Andrew Copp said. "We had too many chances on the power play to not get two points out of this game."

Detroit tied it with three goals in 5:40.
David Perron made it 4-2 at 6:51 with a shot between Anderson's legs, and Sundqvist cut it to 4-3 at 10:41.
Sundqvist tied it 4-4 with his second of the game at 12:31, beating Anderson through traffic from the right circle after a face-off win by Copp.
"I'm really proud of this team," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "You just don't come back from down three goals in this league."

Cozens hit the crossbar seven seconds into overtime. Perron and Detroit center Dylan Larkin each hit the post in the shootout.
Jonatan Berggren
gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 1:20, beating Anderson through traffic for his second NHL goal.
Cozens tied it 1-1 with a short-handed goal at 4:53, with Anderson getting the 20th assist of his NHL career.
"When you are out there on the kill, that's always the main focus," Cozens said. "You aren't looking for a goal, but if an opportunity comes, you are going to take it."
Mattias Samuelsson scored his first NHL goal in his 64th game to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 8:25.
"That's a moment I'm never going to forget," he said. "It was great to come back to the bench and see how happy the guys were for me."
Cozens scored his second of the game to put Buffalo ahead 3-1 at 8:12 of the second period.

Jeff Skinner pushed the lead to 4-1 at 10:17, scoring on a wraparound while Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider was down on the ice after being hit in the leg with a Tage Thompson slap shot.
"I was worried about [Seider] more than anything. I didn't expect to have him for at least the rest of the game," Lalonde said. "But he was back on the bench within a few minutes and the trainer said he was good to go."
Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi left the game late in the third after being hit on the left hand with a shot. Bertuzzi, who missed 13 games earlier this season with a broken right hand, returned to the bench but Lalonde said he wasn't available for overtime.
"We'll know more tomorrow," Lalonde said.
NOTES: Anderson made four saves in his NHL debut, relieving Jocelyn Thibault for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. … Buffalo has outscored Detroit 13-7 in their two games against each other this season. The Sabres won 8-3 at home Oct. 31. Thompson, who had six points (three goals, three assists) in that game, had an assist Wednesday. … Skinner has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past five games. … Defenseman Filip Hronek had two assists for Detroit, giving him 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past eight games.