DETROIT—At 10:23 local time Wednesday night, the Detroit Red Wings’ six-game losing streak officially ended, as the horn sounded on a sorely needed 7–3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. It would’ve ended sooner if it weren’t for a third period ground to a halt by a turn toward the extra-curricular with the game’s outcome no longer in reach, resulting in 73 penalty minutes each way in the third alone.
When the horn sounded at last, the Red Wings, or at least those of them that hadn’t been dismissed early thanks to the late-game carnage, streamed to the ice to congratulate goaltender Petr Mrazek (23 saves on 26 shots) on his first win in his first game back in Detroit.
Wednesday’s result doesn’t make the remaining schedule any easier, nor can it compensate for the ground given up in the standings during the skid, but it does precisely what Detroit had to take from the evening’s game: the weight of the losing streak off their backs.
“We needed the win,” said Patrick Kane after the game. “It didn’t matter how it came. Obviously, it’s nice to put up seven, but we needed the win tonight.”
According to coach Todd McLellan, Detroit hadn’t played as sound a game as it did two nights earlier in a losing effort in Ottawa, lauding his team’s work in attack while suggesting it had to be tighter defensively, before adding, “I remember some of my mentors telling me never critique a win, especially when you haven’t won much lately.” The biggest reason the Red Wings got to seven and got the win was Kane, who finished the night with his fourth career five-point game (two goals and three assists).
Detroit suffered an early wobble in the form of Tage Thompson’s opening goal 7:38 into the night, one Mrazek perhaps should have done better with and one which came after Alex DeBrincat appeared to score the game’s first goal only for it be ruled out for goaltender interference. Kane, back at his orchestral best, made sure that inauspicious start didn’t fester with two assists and then authoritative power play goal, skating downhill and wiring a shot over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s glove then dropping to a knee for an emphatic fist pump that conveyed the desperation of the Red Wings’ circumstances, before the end of the period.
“I think in my mind, that’s called leadership,” said McLellan of Kane’s performance. “That’s called experience: When you have the toolset that he has, and you bring it on a night where the team’s pretty desperate, and he delivers.”
Related Red Wings Stories
Red Wings Stymied by Ullmark in Ottawa, Fall 2–1 to Senators
Top Red Wings Prospect Sets SHL Record
Red Wings Announce Plans for Five Games to Air on FOX 2 Detroit
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
“Sometimes these kind of nights happen, and sometimes nights like Ottawa happen, where you have 49 shots and nothing goes in,” said a self-effacing Kane, when asked to describe his own role in the victory, but of course, “these kind of nights” don’t just happen for everybody the way they do for ‘Showtime’ Kane.
After Buffalo cut the Red Wings lead to 4–3 late in the second, Kane again made sure his team stopped the bleeding there with a power play goal 1:36 into the third. Detroit wasn’t done scoring either, with Marco Kasper netting his second of the game four minutes later (with another Kane assist) and Moritz Seider adding the extra point to the Red Wings’ touchdown nine minutes after that.
From there, the hockey gave way to something more reminiscent of professional wrestling. After the biggest scrum of the evening, referee Frederick L’Ecuyer saved time by streamlining the penalty announcement: “Detroit’s gonna have a minor for roughing, and all the other guys gonna have a misconduct,” he said, twirling his finger for emphasis.
Of the brawling, Kane said, “It’s great seeing everyone stick together.” It is that sort of togetherness the Red Wings will need if they are to persevere through the league’s most difficult schedule to reverse the results of their losing streak and return to the postseason.
Kane paved the path to victory Wednesday, but as McLellan alluded to, it will take more than individual heroics for Detroit to force its season to its desired conclusion. It will take a collective.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites.
