BUFFALO – Falling short for the first time since Opening Night nearly two weeks ago, the Detroit Red Wings saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday night.
Goalie John Gibson, making his third straight start, finished with 27 saves for Detroit (5-2-0; 10 points). Earning the win for Buffalo (3-4-0; 6 points) in his NHL debut was goaltender Colten Ellis, who also made 27 saves.
“I don’t think we were prepared for the pace that the game was played at,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “A lot of times, we’ve been dictating the pace.”
Neither Atlantic Division squad found the back of the net in the first period, which saw Detroit’s penalty killers snuff out two consecutive Buffalo power plays before the game’s six-minute mark.
“The start wasn’t good enough,” J.T. Compher said. “Anytime you take two penalties in the first minutes of the game, it’s going to give the other team a lot of confidence and they get playing their game before we even get most of our guys on the ice.”
Three minutes into the second period, Compher lit the lamp first for the Red Wings by cleaning up a rebound created by Albert Johansson’s shot from the edge of the left face-off circle to give them a 1-0 lead. Jonatan Berggren earned the secondary assist on Compher’s first goal of the season.