Red Wings Have Never Done That Before

The Detroit Red Wings joined the NHL in 1926. They were known as the Cougars and later became the Falcons before adopting their current handle in 1932.

Over nearly a century of play, the accomplishments and achievements of this franchise have been many. But until Monday afternoon, the Red Wings had never beaten a team three times in overtime during the same NHL regular season.

Detroit’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Buffalo was the fourth this season by the Red Wings over the Sabres. It was also the third that they’d worked extra time to earn.

Saturday’s 4-0 shutout of Buffalo by the Wings marked the only time in four meetings this season that the game didn’t go to overtime.

While on more than one occasion in the past the Wings had twice won in regular-season OT over the same team in a season, they’d never turned a hat-trick of OT successes at the expense of one club in a single campaign . . . until now.

November 6, 2021: Detroit Red Wings 4 at Buffalo Sabres 3

It was 3-1 Sabres with seven minutes left in regulation time. Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Wings at 13:24 and 14:54 of the frame to force OT.

At the 2:45 mark of the extra session, Bertuzzi fed rookie Moritz Seider for his first career NHL goal and the victory.

November 27, 2021: Buffalo 2 at Detroit 3

The Wings scored twice after Buffalo opened the scoring. Jeff Skinner talied for the Sabres with 1:37 left in regulation and Buffalo goalie Dustin Tokarski on the bench for an extra attacker.

However, Red Wings rookie forward Lucas Raymond went coast to coast and snapped a wrist shot through Tokarski’s legs for the winner just 26 seconds into OT.

January 17, 2022: Detroit 3 at Buffalo 2

Skinner’s goal 9:23 into the third period gave the Sabres a 2-0 advantage. To make matters worse, the Wings were penalized on the play when their coach’s challenge for goaltender interference was ruled invalid.

Bleak suddenly turned bright when Vladislav Namestnikov scored shorthanded while the Wings were killing off that penalty. Captain Dylan Larkin tied the count at 13:28, setting the stage for another OT.

At 2:07 of the extra frame, Larkin snapped a wrist shot from just above the hash marks past Sabres goalie Aaron Dell for the winner.

There could be a silver lining for Buffalo, though. The last team to be swept in a four-game season series by the Wings was the 2019-20 Montreal Canadiens.

Last season, Montreal went to the Stanley Cup final.