Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-1 win against the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
It was the 40th multi-point game of Raymond’s career, making the forward the eighth Red Wings player age 22 or younger to reach the mark.
Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings (38-31-8, 84 points), who jumped into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, pending the Washington Capitals’ result later Sunday. Alex Lyon made 37 saves.
Tage Thompson scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves for the Sabres (37-36-5, 79 points), who dropped to five points behind the final playoff spot with four games remaining.
Raymond gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 53 seconds into the first period when he intercepted Buffalo winger Jack Quinn’s pass attempt and carried it up the middle before snapping a shot from above the slot that beat Luukkonen glove side.
Kane made it 2-0 at 4:24. Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry knocked a loose puck in the neutral zone up for Kane, who then split the defense and cut to the net, slipping the puck past a stretched Luukkonen’s right skate.
Larkin finished off some quick passing on the power play to push it to 3-0 at 7:37. David Perron sent a no-look pass from the half wall to Raymond below the goal line, and Raymond quickly dished off to Larkin, who snapped a one-timer from the inner edge of the left circle.
Thompson got Buffalo on the board with a power-play goal of his own at 13:16. Zach Benson picked up a rebound in the crease and took it below the goal line before sending it to Thompson for a one-timer from above the right circle to cut it to 3-1.
That gave the Sabres life, leading to a push late in the first. They continued that pressure in the second period as they outshot the Red Wings 6-0 and out-attempted them 10-0 just past the seven-minute mark.
Buffalo continued to push in the third period, outshooting Detroit 17-7 in the final frame, but Lyon kept the Sabres out of the net.
–Field Level Media