Red Wings find 'relief' with win against Sabres, trying to avoid repeat of last season

DETROIT -- When the horn sounded, the Detroit Red Wings could exhale. After six straight losses in regulation, they finally had won again, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 7-3 at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.

“There’s relief,” coach Todd McLellan said. “Obviously, the losing streak’s over.”

The pressure isn’t, though. That will only intensify.

The Red Wings have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for eight straight seasons, the longest drought in their storied history, and now they’re one of five teams fighting for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, all within two points of the spot.

This was a game they desperately needed to win. It also was a game they were supposed to win, considering the Sabres are last in the East, and it was the last game they will play against a team currently behind them in the NHL standings.

Detroit has the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL with 17 games to go.

Even before the Red Wings played the Sabres, the average points percentage of their remaining opponents was .599, highest in the League, according to NHL Stats. They have 13 games left against teams in playoff spots, most in the League. They have 11 games left on the road, tied for most in the League with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Look at their next few games: at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, home against Vegas on Sunday, at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, at Vegas on March 22 …

Then again, don’t look.

“I think sometimes you start thinking ahead, maybe like we were before our six-game slide,” said veteran forward Patrick Kane, who led Detroit with five points (two goals, three assists) against Buffalo. “You start thinking about playoffs and all this talk about playoffs. I mean, we still have a bunch of games left. No matter who you play in this League, I mean, it’s going to be a tough night.”

It's going to be tough if the Red Wings repeat -- or at least echo -- what they did last season.

Last season, Detroit went 16-4-2 from Jan. 2 to Feb. 27. The Red Wings had the second-best record in the NHL over that stretch -- with a .773 points percentage that trailed only the Floria Panthers (.783), the eventual Stanley Cup champions -- and held the first wild card in the East.

Then they lost seven straight in regulation from Feb. 29 to March 14 and fell out of the playoff picture. They finished the season tied in points (91) with the Capitals, only to see Washington earn the second wild card in the East due to the regulation wins tiebreaker (32-27).

This season, Detroit went 17-4-2 from Dec. 29 to Feb. 25. The Red Wings had the best record in the NHL over that stretch (.783) and held the first wild card in the East.

Then they lost six straight in regulation from Feb. 27 to March 10 and fell out of the playoff picture again. They lost a heartbreaker Monday, falling 2-1 at the Ottawa Senators, one of the teams they’re chasing, after putting 49 shots on goal. Forward Lucas Raymond looked like he had tied it at the buzzer but was a split second late.

Forward Alex DeBrincat looked like he had given Detroit a 1-0 lead at 3:15 of the first period Wednesday. The goal was disallowed for goalie interference, and it was Buffalo that took a 1-0 lead at 7:38 of the first. But the Red Wings bounced back.

“I thought we hung in there and really found some timely goals,” Kane said.

DeBrincat (one goal, three assists) had four points. Centers Marco Kasper (two goals, one assist) and Dylan Larkin (three assists) each had three. The power play went 3-for-5. Goalie Petr Mrazek made 23 saves in his first game since the Red Wings acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

“Hockey’s a really odd game sometimes, because I think we played a better game in Ottawa and lost 2-1,” McLellan said. “We came home, and we got a win, and we put seven in and give up three, so it’s just strange how it happens sometimes. But I remember some of my mentors telling me, ‘Don’t critique a win, especially when you haven’t won much lately,’ so we’ll take it.”

Detroit showed some fight too, in a game in which the teams combined for 150 penalty minutes. McLellan said that can only help. The Red Wings can expect intense, physical hockey the rest of the way.

“I thought we did a great job of sticking together, especially in scrums like that at the end of the game when the game’s kind of out of hand,” Kane said. “So, great job with that and then … We needed the win. It didn’t matter how it came. Obviously, it’s nice to put up seven, but we needed the win tonight.”