DETROIT — The Red Wings needed a victory Sunday to stay firmly in the playoff chase and they made sure quickly they would.

Lucas Raymond (26th, 53 seconds), Patrick Kane (19th, 4 minutes, 24 seconds) and Dylan Larkin (power play, 31st, 7:37) scored first-period goals before Buffalo awoke, as the Wings skated to a 3-1 victory.

Goaltender Alex Lyon stopped 38 shots as the Wings (38-31-8, 84 points) momentarily moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot pending Washington's game later in the evening against Ottawa.

Lyon had to be sharp in the third period with the Sabres (37-36-5, 79 points) pressing, but Buffalo couldn't get the game closer.

The Wings took the first of this three-game stretch against teams right there with them in this race. The Wings face Washington on Tuesday, then travel Thursday to Pittsburgh.

Raymond got the Wings going quickly. Raymond intercepted a pass near the blue line, coasted into the zone, and using Buffalo's Owen Power as a screen, blasted as a shot past goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

The Wings jumped on the Sabres after Raymond's goal. A sloppy Buffalo line change led to Kane gathering a loose puck, splitting the Sabres defense, and tucking a puck behind Luukkonen, setting off the Little Caesars Arena crowd.

Buffalo was reeling, and the Wings weren't done. Larkin snapped a shot from the slot, on the power play, giving the Wings a 3-0 lead.

Buffalo regained some momentum on Tage Thompson's power-play goal, his 29th, at 13:16 of the first period.

©2024 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.