Kane scores twice as Sabres top Red Wings
DETROIT -- Evander Kane scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 Tuesday night.
Robin Lehner made 40 saves as Buffalo ended a four-game losing streak.
The Sabres led 2-0 and 3-1, but Thomas Vanek's unassisted goal at 6:33 of the third tied the game at three and ended Detroit's streak of 27 power-play opportunities without scoring.
Kane, put Buffalo up 4-3, though, with his second of the night at 8:29. Kane now has eight goals this season, with all coming in his past 10 games.
Detroit is now 3-10-3 in its past 15 home games.
The Sabres grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Kane opened the scoring at 7:12, flipping a rebound over Petr Mrazek's shoulder.
The Sabres doubled the lead at 15:54 on Sam Reinhart's eighth goal. With Buffalo on the power play, Rasmus Ristolainen took a shot from the point that Mrazek had covered, but Reinhart tipped it in from the edge of the crease.
The Red Wings had a chance to get back into the game when Dmitry Kulikov was called for hooking midway through the second period. The league's worst power play -- Detroit hadn't scored the last 26 times it had the man advantage -- maintained the edge only 26 seconds against the worst penalty-kill unit before Luke Glendening took a holding penalty.
The teams traded goals later in the second, with Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg scoring at 14:46 and Buffalo's Jack Eichel answering 22 seconds later.
Detroit quickly made it 3-2, as Drew Miller knocked a rebound past Lehner for his fourth goal at 16:14.
NOTES: Sabres C Ryan O'Reilly is expected to miss two to three weeks after having an emergency appendectomy on Christmas Day. LW William Carrier replaced O'Reilly in the lineup against Detroit, with C Sam Reinhart centering the second line. ... Buffalo D Cody Franson (middle-body injury) took part in the morning skate but was out of the lineup for the third straight game. ... Red Wings D Brendan Smith returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a knee injury. He replaced Ryan Sproul. ... The start of the game was delayed approximately 20 minutes due to a ceremony honoring the 1996-97 Stanley Cup championship team. Led by captain Steve Yzerman, that squad won the franchise's first title at Joe Louis Arena, ending a 42-year drought.