Sabres Rookie Brings Red Wings Win Streak to a Halt

The Detroit Red Wings beat the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers. They swept a home-and-home with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time in 14 years. Detroit upended the Tampa Bay Lightning who went to the Stanley Cup Final three consecutive years from 2020-22.  The Red Wings handled Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

But they couldn’t conquer a 25-year-old Buffalo Sabres rookie making his NHL debut.

Colten Ellis made 27 saves to down the Red Wings 4-2 and end their five-game winning streak. Former Detroit goalie Alex Lyon started the Sabres first six games this season, but coach Lindy Ruff opted to give him his first day of rest this season.

Two of the Ellis saves were breakaway stops against Marco Kasper and Dylan Larkin.

“I thought we put some pressure in spurts, but not enough consistently,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan told the media after the game. “Yet down the stretch. Was it too late? I don’t know. We had some real good one timer looks on our scores sticks. So whether it was (Lucas Raymond) or (Alex DeBrincat). I think JVR was net front… That’s some pretty good pressure on a young goaltender. But he played a real good game.”

The Sabres have earned at least one point (7-1-5) in 12 of their last 13 home games against the Red Wings

Larkin set up rookie Emmitt Finnie for a goal to tie the game 2-2 late in the second period. That extended Larkin’s points streak to seven games

But the Sabres rendered that unimportant in the third period with goals by Jack Quinn and Josh Doan, son of former NHL standout Shane Doan. Quinn’s goal was a power play tally that ended Detroit’s streak of 14 consecutive penalty kills.

“I didn’t think it was our best night,” Finnie said.

The Red Wings were not as sharp as they were during their five-game winning streak. They were shorthanded twice in the first five minutes. The Sabres outshot Detroit 11-5 in the first 20 minutes.  McLellan said his team “wasted” the first period.

“The start was not good enough,” said Detroit forward JT Compher who scored early in the second period to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

McLellan preaches the need for consistency, stressing it is crucial for long-term success. He has basically said the Red Wings can’t take shifts off and expect to make the playoffs. Some inconsistency showed up in Buffalo.  There were coverage issues on Buffalo’s goals, and the Detroit offensive attack wasn’t as effective as it has been for the last five games. Detroit was 0-for-2 on the power play. The Red Wings didn’t look dangerous offensively until late in the third period, when it was too late.

“And 10 minutes of penalty kill isn’t going to cut it,” McLellan told the media afterward.

Detroit surrendered 31 shots, and goalie John Gibson had to be sharp in the first period to keep the game scoreless.

The Red Wings played without injured forward Patrick Kane. He also won’t be available tomorrow, either, when the Red Wings play another road game against the New York Islanders.