Raymond: Red Wings “Didn’t Quite Reach Our Level” vs. Sabres

On Thursday, Red Wings forward Patrick Kane had the game on his stick and delivered a game-winning power play goal against the New Jersey Devils.

Today, Kane had another opportunity, with less than a minute left in regulation, to earn the Red Wings at least a point against the Buffalo Sabres. Instead of Kane’s shot finding the net, it rang off the post. The carom ended up on on the stick of Sabres forward Jack Quinn. The young sniper drove the puck the length of the ice to find the center of the empty net. It seals Buffalo’s fourth consecutive win and halts Detroit’s three-game winning streak.

The 5-3 Sabres’ win was yet another reminder that the difference between success and failure in the NHL can come down to a single play or two. In a post-game interview on FanDuel Sports Network, coach Derek Lalonde was asked about puck luck.

The network ran replays of some bad-luck events that hurt the Red Wings, particularly a Bowen Byram shot that hit Alex Lyon and then Detroit defenseman Jeff Petry and deflected into the net. That gave Buffalo a 4-3 lead.

Is Puck Luck Determination?

“Puck luck for them,” Lalonde said. “That’s why you go to the net. I know it’s a bad bounce for us. It goes off our D-man’s back and goes in. But that was created by them going to the net.”

The Red Wings had chances. Alex DeBrincat shot over an empty net. Before hitting the post, Kane had the puck in a high danger shooting area. But the Sabres defended well and left him nowhere to shoot. Several seconds later, he would have tied the game if his shot was three inches to the right.

“We had our looks,” Lalonde said. “We executed on the power play, we had our backdoor look, executed six-on-five. Had our open-door look. Just didn’t execute. Probably the difference today.”

The Red Wings’ take on this game, after video review, will be that they didn’t do enough to earn this win. They weren’t good enough in the first period, letting Buffalo be in charge. Lalonde’s players didn’t play well enough along the boards. They didn’t get enough zone time early. They made it hard on themselves by not battling relentlessly in the first 20 minutes. Detroit was out-shot 39-25. That’s starting to get old, even if all of those shots are not dangerous scoring chances. Volume does tire goalies.

Too Much Thompson

Over 60 minutes, the quality scoring chances were 18-14 in Buffalo’s favor. Tage Thompson, always good against Detroit, posted two goals and an assist.

“I mean obviously we would’ve liked to have had some bounces with us,” said Detroit’s Lucas Raymond who had a goal and an assist. “At the same time, I didn’t think we quite reached our level tonight and maybe didn’t earn those bounces.”

The Red Wings return home to play the Edmonton Oilers Sunday with a 6:08 p.m. start time at Little Caesars Arena.