Sabres 3, Red Wings 2 (SO)
Zemgus Girgensons scored the decisive goal in the third round of the shootout as host Buffalo ended its three-game slide.
After Buffalo's Tyler Ennis and Detroit's Gustav Nyquist scored in round two of the bonus format, Girgensons beat Jimmy Howard after a deft deke and Michal Neuvirth stopped Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg to complete the comeback victory. Brian Flynn and Chris Stewart each scored their first goal of the season, defenseman Tyson Strachan notched two assists and Neuvirth put together a sensational 36-save performance.
Pavel Datsyuk recorded a goal and an assist while Tomas Tatar also tallied for Detroit, which had its two-game winning streak halted. Howard stopped 19 shots in regulation but faced none in overtime.
Flynn opened the scoring 6:55 into the second period, when he flipped the puck over a fallen Howard after Girgensons' wraparound attempt slid off the end of his stick. Tatar drew the Red Wings even six minutes later, skating the width of the ice just inside Buffalo's blue line before firing a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that fooled Neuvirth.
Datsyuk gave the visitors the lead 4:27 into the third, finishing a slick give-and-go with Justin Abdelkader by skating in alone and whipping a forehand shot past Neuvirth on the blocker side. Stewart responded with 6:52 remaining in regulation, as he redirected Ennis' shot past Howard to end a season-opening 12-game goalless drought.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Buffalo went scoreless on four power-play chances to fall to 1-for-42 on the season. ... Datsyuk has points in all six games he has played this season, racking up five goals and five assists over that stretch. ... The Sabres finished with 18 blocked shots while Detroit had just three.