Josh Doan scored a goal and assisted on a second, but the Buffalo Sabres dropped a 5-2 preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings in preseason game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Doan scored one of the Sabres’ two power-play goals but the Red Wings scored three second-period goals, including Andrew Copp’s 4-on-4 goal, in a span of less than nine minutes to break a 2-2 tie.
Playing with a lineup constructed of NHL players and AHL-level players in their third preseason game, the Sabres finished with 17 shots on goal, including only nine through the first two periods, and went 2 for 5 on the power play.
Alexandar Georgiev made 35 saves for the Sabres, who are 2-1 in preseason games.
How it happened
First period: With the Red Wings penalized for too many men on the ice, Noah Ostlund’s power play goal tied the game at 1-1 at 6:23, less than a minute after Mason Appleton’s shorthanded goal.
The Red Wings got their second special-teams goal less than three minutes later, when Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scored from the left circle, with Doan penalized for slashing at 7:59. The Red Wings also held the Sabres to three shots on goalie Cam Talbot (six saves) in the first 15 minutes and outshot the Sabres 15-4 in the first.
Second period: The Sabres didn’t register their first shot on goal of the second until more than six minutes in, on Owen Power’s wrist shot, but Doan tied the game at 2-2 on a power-play goal at 6:59. Doan followed Jack Quinn’s initial shot and tucked the puck into an open net behind Talbot, the Sabres’ third shot of the second period.
Dylan Larkin gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead 10 minutes in when he picked up the puck in front of the Sabres goal and beat Georgiev. Moritz Seider was credited with the Red Wings’ fourth goal 2 1/2 minutes later when his pass attempt from behind the net bounced off Jack Rathbone and went into the Sabres goal. Then, with 1:37 left in the second and the two teams at 4-on-4, Andrew Copp, in coverage, deflected a bouncing rebound in front of the net past Georgiev to open the lead to 5-2.
Third period: The Sabres went on their fifth power play midway about 12 minutes into the third, when Marco Kasper was called for holding, but were unable to score on their final two power plays and finished with eight shots on goal in the third period.
What’s next
The Sabres play their fourth preseason game when they host the Red Wings at 3 p.m. Saturday at KeyBank Center.
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Rachel Lenzi
News sports reporter
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