Wings edge Sabres 5-3 for fourth straight win, move into second in Atlantic race

What looked to be a relatively easy evening for the Red Wings suddenly wasn't.

The Wings saw a big lead disappear Tuesday in Buffalo, but the Wings held on and defeated Buffalo, 5-3.

The Wings had a 4-1 lead entering the third period but saw the Sabres get within 4-3 on Casey Mittlestadt's goal at 8 minutes, 20 seconds of the third period.

A Jake Walman penalty late in the third period forced the Wings to kill a penalty, but Dylan Larkin's empty-net goal secured the win.

That's four consecutive wins for the Wings (14-7-3), who leapfrogged idle Florida into second place in the Atlantic Division. The Wings have won six of their last seven games and are 7-2-2 over their last 11 games.

BOX SCORE: Red Wings 5, Sabres 3

Buffalo, a popular preseason to move upward in the Atlantic, is 10-14-2, have lost four consecutive games, and are sinking rapidly.

Larkin (two goals), Robby Fabbri, Moritz Seider (power play) and Michael Rasmussen supplied the offense. Goaltender Alex Lyon stopped 29 shots.

Here are some talking points from the Wings' latest victory:

Roaring Lyon

Coach Derek Lalonde hasn't announced any shift in net, no goaltender has assumed a great share of the starts.

But Lyon is certainly making a claim to get the lion's share of games and become the No. 1 for the time being.

Since debuting in Sweden with a 3-2 loss against Toronto, Lyon has won four consecutive starts and looked increasingly comfortable and confident with each appearance.

After the Wings took a quick lead Tuesday, Lyon had to make quality saves to keep the Wings in the lead. Lyon was aggressive, challenging Sabres shooters, and not allowing rebounds.

Lyon was a big factor in guiding Florida into the playoffs late last season, and started the first three playoffs games for the Panthers. Lyon has never had an extended opportunity to show he's an NHL goalie. He might be getting a chance soon.

Larkin's evening

Dylan Larkin was injured early in the period, was hit by Buffalo's Tyson Jost in the corner, and skated gingerly off the ice and headed straight to the locker room.

Larkin battled for the puck along the boards and was hit in the lower back area by Jost. Larkin took a few seconds to gather himself, then skated slowly off the ice but did return with nine minutes left in the game.

Larkin capped the evening with an empty net goal, his 10th goal, securing the Wings' victory, his 10th goal and 24th point.

Larkin opened the game's scoring with his ninth goal, just 3:40 into the game. A puck rolled off the stick of Buffalo's Tage Thompson and Larkin lifted a shot from mid-air past goalie Eric Comrie, igniting another strong Wings' start.

Fabbri rolling

Robby Fabbri was somewhat of an X-factor coming into the season, having missed so much of the last two seasons with injuries.

Fabbri then missed 10 games early this season after suffering an injury in the first game of the season.

Fabbri had a goal and assist Tuesday, continuing an early-season surge. Fabbri's goal was his eighth, and seventh in the last 10 games.

Fabbri's goal Tuesday was a typical one of late. Fabbri found a bit of open ice in front of Comrie, and quickly converted a pass from Andrew Copp from near the hashmarks. Fabbri out-muscled a Sabres defender to get to the open space.

Fabbri later set up Seider for a one-timer on a second-period, power-play goal.

On a roster full of pleasant surprises, Fabbri has certainly been one of them.

Different directions

The Sabres have struggled this season but Lalonde feels Buffalo has one of the better young lineups in the NHL.

Injuries, goaltending woes, and poor special teams have hurt Buffalo through the first-quarter of the season. But there's no question the Sabres' lineup is young and imposing.

"They’re special, high-end," Lalonde said. "(Buffalo) absolutely slaughtered us all year last year (four-game sweep), to the point where maybe I should invoice some of those (Buffalo players who received) huge contracts this summer because they had their way with us in a lot of ways last year. They're elite talents in the league. They’re good for the league and it creates a huge challenge for us being in the same division."

Surging offense

Offense has been an issue for the Red Wings during the seven seasons they've missed the playoffs.

General manager Steve Yzerman was intent on strengthening the depth and offensive ability of this roster in the summer, and so far it appears to be working.

Tuesday's four-goal game was the Wings' 16th game with four or more goals, the most in the NHL.

tkulfan@detroitnews.com

@tkulfan