Red Wings Ride Three-goal First Period to 4-1 Win over Sabres

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13 years ago

The Detroit Red Wings scored three times in the first period and never looked back, cruising to a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres Friday night.

Jakub Kindl, Johan Franzen, and Valtteri Filppula provided the offense in the game’s opening frame, continuing a trend that sees the Red Wings undefeated when either Franzen or Filppula scores.

Kindl opened the game’s scoring 8:50 in. After the Sabres failed to clear their zone, Kindl threw a shot from the left point on net, handcuffing Buffalo goalie Jhonas Enroth for his first goal of the season.

Franzen made it 2-0 with 6:22 left in the first. With Detroit on a power play, Franzen got the puck in the slot and put a wrister past Enroth.

Just 1:03 later, Henrik Zetterberg took the puck away from Jochen Hecht at the Buffalo blue line and fed a streaking Filppula, who jumped up into the slot and snapped a shot by Enroth to make it 3-0.

Hecht would eventually atone for his giveaway, getting the Sabres on the board with 6:13 left in regulation. Hecht raced down the ice with Jason Pominville on a two-on-one, taking a pass from Pominville to beat Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard stick-side.

Hecht’s goal would not be the start of a Buffalo comeback, however. Pavel Datsyuk rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal from center ice.

Franzen’s goal was the lone power play goal of the night. Detroit had five tries with the extra attacker while Buffalo had four.

Howard made 27 saves on 28 shots in earning the win. Enroth stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced.

The Red Wings continue their three-game road trip on Monday when they visit the Colorado Avalanche.

Detroit forward Chris Conner made his first appearance of the season, skating on the third line with Darren Helm and Danny Cleary after having been called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday night… Fabian Brunnstrom is not travelling with the team, as they’ve allowed him to spend time with his wife and newborn son before he will be sent back to the Griffins… Cory Emmerton and Mike Commodore were healthy scratches… Justin Abdelkader left the game in the third period after taking a high hit but later said he would be fine.