Kane gets 5 points, Red Wings top Sabres to snap 6-game skid

DETROIT -- Patrick Kane had two goals and three assists to help the Detroit Red Wings end a six-game losing streak with a 7-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.

The Red Wings had 49 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

“We wanted to focus on playing the same way we did in Ottawa,” Kane said. “I thought we got some timely goals and the power play had a good night. There are nights when the puck goes in and nights it doesn’t. It was nice to see it go in tonight.”

Alex DeBrincat added his 30th goal and matched a career-best with three assists, Marco Kasper had two goals and an assist and Dylan Larkin had three assists. The Red Wings scored three power-play goals.

“There’s relief, obviously – the losing streak is over and we got rewarded for some of the things we did,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “Hockey is an odd game – I thought we played a better game in Ottawa and lost 2-1.”

Petr Mrazek made 23 saves in his first win for the Red Wings (31-28-6) since a 3-1 victory against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 17, 2018. Mrazek, who played five-plus seasons with the Red Wings after they drafted him in the fifth round (No. 141) of the 2010 NHL Draft, was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

“He got us a win, made some timely saves and made some big saves,” McLellan said. “That gives us some confidence, which is big right now.”

Tage Thompson and Zach Benson each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo (25-33-6), which has lost seven of eight. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves.

“That’s a very dangerous group, and they don’t need a whole lot to put the puck in the back of the net,” Thompson said of the Red Wings. “We had a couple defensive breakdowns that gave them clean looks and they capitalized.”

Thompson gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 7:38, taking a pass from Bowen Byram and beating Mrazek blocker side with a long wrist shot for his 34th goal.

Kasper tied the game at 12:36, tipping Simon Edvinsson’s shot past Luukkonen, and DeBrincat made it 2-1 at 15:40.

Kane gave Detroit a 3-1 lead at 19:07, beating Luukkonen on the stick side from the left face-off circle for a power-play goal.

Josh Norris scored 18 seconds later to cut Detroit’s lead to 3-2. It was his first goal since the Sabres acquired him from the Ottawa Senators on Friday.

Detroit took a 4-2 lead on Vladimir Tarasenko’s ninth goal at 10:54 of the second period.

Benson cut the margin to 4-3 at 18:12, putting home a rebound for a power-play goal.

Kane made it 5-3 with his second power-play goal of the game at 1:36 of the third period, putting in the rebound after Luukkonen made a spectacular skate save on his initial shot.

“We killed off a 5-on-3, but (Jason Zucker) came out of the box and he isn’t a penalty killer,” Ruff said. “He got a little out of position and they took advantage.”

Kasper gave the Red Wings a 6-3 lead at 5:39, recording his second career two-goal game, and Moritz Seider made it 7-3 with a power-play goal at 14:31.

“I thought we played a really good game, just like we did in Ottawa,” Kasper said. “We played a very good defensive game and we created some opportunities.”

The teams combined for 150 penalty minutes, including 136 in the third period.

“There was a lot of emotion out there,” Thompson said. “And we had a lot of frustration with how things had gone during the game.”

NOTES: Due to confusion over the penalties called late in the game, Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson played two shifts totaling 70 seconds after receiving a 10-minute misconduct with 3:09 to play. … Thompson has 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 19 career games against the Red Wings, while Norris has scored eight goals against Detroit in 11 games. … It was the fourth five-point game of Kane's career, tied for sixth most by a United States-born player. … Buffalo forward JJ Peterka missed the game with a lower-body injury.