At the Horn | Red Wings 5 - Sabres 3

Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist in the third period, but the Buffalo Sabres’ comeback effort fell short in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings inside KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

The Sabres trailed 4-0 before Rasmus Dahlin put them on the board with a power-play goal late in the second period. Skinner and Casey Mittelstadt added goals during the third period to cut the deficit to one, but Dylan Larkin ended the comeback bid with an empty-net goal with 45.4 seconds remaining.

Larkin also scored the first goal for the Red Wings, who also received goals from Robby Fabbri, Mortiz Seider, and Michael Rasmussen. Alex Lyon made 29 saves.

Eric Comrie started in goal and made 22 saves with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sidelined due to an illness. Devon Levi was recalled from Rochester to serve as Comrie’s back up.

Tage Thompson returned to the lineup for the Sabres after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. He tallied an assist and four shots in 18:41.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 3:40 – Dylan Larkin from Lucas Raymond (1-0, DET)

Raymond was the first player to locate a clearing attempt that went off the boards and high into the air before falling deep into the Buffalo zone. Raymond made a quick pass to Larkin, who dropped to his knee and buried a one-timer from the slot.

Period 1, 8:25 – Robby Fabbri from Andrew Copp and David Perron (2-0, DET)

The Red Wings won a faceoff in the Buffalo end and worked the puck around the zone until Copp found Fabbri in the slot. The goal gave the Red Wings a 7-1 edge in shots, but the Sabres rebounded to finish the period trailing 10-9.

Period 2, 5:43 (PP) – Moritz Seider from Robby Fabbri and Alex DeBrincat (3-0, DET)

Detroit worked the puck around the offensive zone on its first power play of the night until finding Seider for a slap shot from the point, which passed through layers of traffic on its way to the net.

Period 2, 13:55 – Michael Rasmussen from Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry (4-0, DET)

Rasmussen found a seam behind the Buffalo defense to score on a breakaway after Detroit broke the puck out from behind its own net.

Period 2, 18:57 (PP) – Rasmus Dahlin from Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens (4-1, DET)

Dahlin put the Sabres on the board on their third power play of the night, scoring on a one-timer from the blue line.

Period 3, 8:20 – Casey Mittelstadt from Jeff Skinner and JJ Peterka (4-2, DET)

Peterka dug the puck out from low in the offensive zone and found Skinner, who passed across the net to set up Mittelstadt at the back door.

Period 3, 11:37 (PP) – Jeff Skinner unassisted (4-3, DET)

Skinner stole the puck from Larkin in front of the Detroit net and skated past Lyon before roofing a shot off his backhand for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Period 3, 19:14 (SH, EN) – Dylan Larkin unassisted (5-3, DET)

The Sabres earned a 6-on-4 advantage after Skinner drew a high-sticking penalty and Comrie was pulled for the extra attacker. They produced a flurry of chances – including a put-back by Skinner that hit the side of the post – before Larkin went the other way for the empty netter.

UP NEXT

The Sabres visit the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday. The pregame show on MSG/**MSG+** begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.