Red Wings use 3-goal first period to surge past Sabres 3-1

DETROIT - DETROIT (AP) — Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin all scored in the first period and Alex Lyon made 37 saves and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Sunday.

The win gives Detroit 84 points, moving them past idle Pittsburgh and Philadelphia into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Washington Capitals could pass them with a victory over the Ottawa Senators later Sunday as they have more regulation wins than the Red Wings.

Raymond opened the scoring 53 seconds into the game as he scored his 26th of the season. In 12 games against the Sabres, he has five goals and 10 assists.

DETROIT, MI - APRIL 07: Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings scores a goal on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen #1 of the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at Little Caesars Arena on April 7, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Ge

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Detroit won three of four games against Buffalo this season.

Kane beat Buffalo defenders Bowen Byram and Henri Jokiharju and tucked the puck past goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at 4:24, for his 19th of the season. He has 14 goals and 16 assists in 28 games against his hometown Sabres.

Larkin scored his 37th of the season on a power play at 7:37. Raymond had the primary assist. It’s the 40th multi-point game of Raymond’s career.

Tage Thompson scored his 29th of the season on the power play at 13:16 of the first, extending his goal streak to a season-best three games. Luukkonen had 21 saves for the Sabres.