Red Wings 4, Sabres 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Left winger Tomas Tatar scored with 2:50 remaining to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon.
On the game-winner, Tatar cut inside the slot and ripped a hard wrist shot to the blocker side for his 12th goal of the year.
Left winger Henrik Zetterberg, center Brad Richards and center Riley Sheahan also scored for the Red Wings (19-13-7). Goalie Petr Mrazek made 32 saves.
Center Jack Eichel scored twice and right winger Sam Reinhart scored for the Sabres (15-20-4). Goalie Chad Johnson made 19 saves.
Tatar's game-winner came moments after the Sabres missed a chance to take a late lead when left winger Evander Kane's shot hit the post.
Reinhart evened the score at 3-3 off a fortunate bounce on the power play 8:58 into the third. A stop by Mrazek ricocheted among Reinhart and two Red Wings before sliding into the net.
Zetterberg made it 3-2 2:27 into the third period by finishing a rebound opportunity in front of the Buffalo net. After right winger Gustav Nyquist's high backhand shot was stopped, Zetterberg buried the rebound for his seventh goal of the year.
Eichel got his second goal of the afternoon with 2:33 left in the second. After a collision by two Detroit defenseman, Eichel raced in alone and his shot hit the right post and then deflected off Mrazek's left leg and into the net.
Eichel got the Sabres on the board with a power-play goal with 5:34 remaining in the second. The standout rookie lifted a hard wrist shot into the top corner of the net from the right circle.
Shehean made it 2-0 with 7:59 into the second period with a power-play goal. Sheahan deflected defenseman Mike Green's long shot seconds before a Sabres penalty on defenseman Cody Franson expired. It was Sheahan's sixth goal of the year.
Richards opened the scoring at 12:59 by converting a 2-on-1 rush. Sheahan found Richards to his right for a one-timer, and Richards scored his fourth goal of the season.
Mrazek was excellent between the pipes for Detroit. He made several highlight-reel glove saves throughout the afternoon.
NOTES: C Tyler Ennis and D Carlo Colaiacovo were scratched for the Sabres. Ennis missed his second game in a row after suffering an upper-body injury following a hit from Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin in Buffalo's 5-2 loss to the Capitals on Dec. 30. ... D Jakub Kindl and RW Tomas Jurco (upper body) were scratched for the Red Wings. Jurco was injured early in Detroit's 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday. ... This was the third of five meetings between the Sabres and the Red Wings this season. Their next meeting takes place on Friday, Jan. 22 in Buffalo.