Late Goals Lift Red Wings Past Sabres

Ryan Miller was a wall in net for the Buffalo Sabres, with the Detroit Red Wings only able to solve him once in the first 57 minutes of play Saturday night.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, the Wings’ plan of wearing down Miller eventually worked as Mikael Samuelsson and Marian Hossa scored in the game’s final three minutes to give the Red Wings a 3-1 win over the Sabres.

“We were hoping to wear (Miller) down. We thought if we stayed at their net, we’d get our opportunities,” Red Wings’ coach Mike Babcock said. “He made some great saves early, but we stayed patient and were able to get the win.”

Samuelsson scored with 2:34 remaining in the third period to break the tie, flipping a backhander past Miller while cutting across the front of the net after taking a feed from Jiri Hudler.

Hossa scored with 1:35 left in the game, powering a shot off the underside of Miller’s arm, just sneaking through the netminder’s equipment and into the net.

Derek Roy had opened the scoring for Buffalo 5:03 into the first period, lifting a rebound chance over Detroit goalie Ty Conklin’s pad.

Hudler tied the game with three minutes remaining in the second period on a one-timer off a pass from Brett Lebda.

The Red Wings now have a six-game winning streak and have won seven games in a row at home. They’ll begin a six-game road trip on Monday in Dallas.

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The Red Wings were without defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who was a late scratch… Roy’s goal broke Conklin’s home shutout streak at 143 minutes and 49 seconds.