'You've got to love it' | Sabres embrace adversity in win over Red Wings

DETROIT - Devon Levi turned away Dylan Larkin's shootout attempt, then hesitated before leaving the net to celebrate the victory he had just helped earn.
There were twists and turns aplenty between the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings inside Little Caesars Arena on Thursday. Levi and the Sabres prevailed by staying in the moment.
"I didn't even know if we won or not," Levi admitted afterward. "I was just focused on the shot that was coming."

Don Granato told his players not to dwell on their loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, which made the Sabres' path to the playoffs more difficult but did not eliminate them from contention. More meaningful games remained, he assured them, beginning against a Red Wings team that had won four of its last five games.
That forward-thinking mentality was vital in a 7-6 victory that saw the Red Wings erase multiple two-goal deficits, the latter of which occurred during the third period.
"Lots of adverse situations and our backs are to the wall, we know that," Granato said. "To be able to just let go of that and dial right back in, refocus, is something that I like to see."
Contributions came from all over the lineup. Dylan Cozens scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season. Tage Thompson, Zemgus Girgensons, Henri Jokiharju, and Jordan Greenway all found of the back of the net. Owen Power had a career-high three assists.
The Sabres' resilience may have showed most during the shootout. Thompson was stopped on the opening attempt, then Levi was beat five-hole by Lucas Raymond.
Alex Tuch stepped up second for the Sabres. He had sent a penalty shot wide off his backhand when the game was still 0-0 in the first period. He went to his backhand again, this time beating Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso off the far-side post.
"Tuch had the penalty shot early in the game," Granato said. "He was very disappointed in that, so he was chomping at the bit to get that shootout and redeem himself."

Jack Quinn scored on Buffalo's second attempt to put the Sabres in front, setting up the showdown between Levi and Larkin with the game on the line. Levi's third NHL game had been very different from his first two, when he allowed just four goals on a combined 69 shots.
The Red Wings had put six shots behind Levi in regulation and a seventh when Raymond scored to open the shootout. Many were out of his control - one banked in off his teammate; two others were set up by passes through the blue paint.
Regardless of the circumstances, Levi treated each goal the same.
"You've got to love it," Levi said. "It's a little bit of adversity. It's not going to kill you. So, you know, just going into overtime, you still have an opportunity to win the game. Going into the shootout, opportunity to win the game. Just looking at opportunities rather than missed opportunities."
Levi seized one major opportunity when he stopped Jonatan Berggren on a breakaway with three seconds left in overtime. He stopped David Perron, who had scored the tying goal during the final minute of regulation, on Detroit's second shootout attempt before denying Larkin to complete the win.
Levi, at 21 years and 100 days old, became the youngest goaltender in Sabres history to win a shootout.
"He's so confident and that's what you want in a goalie," Cozens said. "He believes in his game. He wants to play in those high-pressure situations and when it's time to step up, he did."
In that way, the goaltender embodied the mindset of the team around him.
"We know that we're still in this," Cozens said. "We know that we can still make the playoffs, so you've got to turn the page quick. Just like in playoffs, you lose a game, you've got to turn the page quick and get ready for the next one. That's what we're trying to do."

How it happened

PERIOD 1
The tone for the night was set during a first period that featured five goals and seven penalties. The Sabres emerged from it all with a 3-2 lead.
Tuch was awarded a penalty shot four minutes into the game but sent his backhand shot wide of the net. The Sabres opened the scoring 35 seconds later when Thompson wired a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle for his 45th goal of the season.

The Red Wings punched back with two goals scored 4:17 apart. Austin Czarnik picked the near-side corner from the left circle, then Larkin tapped in a shot from the slot on the power play.
The climax of the period came with 2:50 remaining, when Jokiharju drifted low into the zone and one-timed a pass from Tuch to tie the game, 2-2. Jeff Skinner trailed behind the play, having collided with Raymond in the neutral zone.
Larkin slashed Skinner as he celebrated near center ice. Skinner continued to celebrate in the direction of Larkin and Raymond as more players from both sides joined the scrum. Casey Mittelstadt lost his jersey while tangling with defenseman Jake Walman.
Skinner was assessed two minutes for cross-checking, Larkin received two minutes for roughing, and Walman earned four minutes for roughing. The result was a four-minute power play for the Sabres, on which Cozens buried the go-ahead goal.
PERIOD 2
Girgensons added to the Sabres' lead 1:33 into the period, seconds after Levi made a point-blank stop on Dominik Kubalik at the other end of the ice.

The Red Wings tied the game late in the period with two goals scored 48 seconds apart. Larkin sent a behind-the-back pass through the blue paint to set up the first goal, scored on the power play by Alex Chiasson. Simon Edvinsson banked the second goal in off the body of Power.
PERIOD 3
The Sabres opened the period with an onslaught of chances, then pulled ahead on goals scored 1:12 apart by Greenway and Cozens.
Mittelstadt sent a pass from the corner to set up the one-timer from Greenway, scored 3:20 into the period. Cozens tacked on his second of the night on the rush.

Once again, the Red Wings had a response. Matt Luff was on the receiving end of a turnover in the slot at the Buffalo end and quickly passed left to Berggren, who cut the Sabres' lead to one.
Following a timeout, the Red Wings won a faceoff in the Buffalo zone and Perron scored on a one-timer to tie things up with just 59.8 remaining in regulation.
OVERTIME
Buffalo controlled play, especially during the second half of the overtime period, and outshot the Red Wings 3-2.
With under 10 seconds to play, Levi stopped Berggren on a breakaway. The puck then made its way back up the ice for Cozens to take one final shot attempt before time expired.
SHOOTOUT
In the shootout, Thompson was denied in the top of the first round, then Raymond beat Levi to put Detroit ahead.
Quinn led off the second round with a top-shelf snipe. Levi shut the door on Perron.
In the third, Tuch shuffled a backhand shot in through the five hole and Levi made another blocker save on Larkin to win it for Buffalo.

What we learned

1.The Panthers, Islanders, and Penguins also earned victories, meaning the Sabres remain six points out of a Wild Card spot with five games remaining. The Panthers, Islanders, and Penguins each have three games remaining.
Here is the Wild Card picture following Thursday's games:
| Team | GP | Points | P% | Reg. W | ROW | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WC1 - Florida Panthers | 79 | 89 | .563 | 35 | 39 | | WC2 - New York Islanders | 79 | 89 | .563 | 34 | 39 | | Pittsburgh Penguins | 79 | 88 | .557 | 30 | 38 | | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 83 | .539 | 28 | 36 |
2.Thompson (upper body) did not participate in the morning skate and was considered a game-time decision. He moved to the wing on a line with Greenway and Cozens and skated 19:27 with five shots on net, one goal, and one assist.
3. Thompson became the fifth player in Sabres history to score 45 or more goals in a single season, joining Alexander Mogilny, Danny Gare (three times), Pat LaFontaine (twice), and Richard Martin (four times).
4. Cozens became the 10th player in Sabres history to score 30 or more goals in his age-21 season or prior, according to Hockey Reference. He joins Gare (twice), Martin (twice), Pierre Turgeon (three times), Dave Andreychuk (twice), Gilbert Perreault, Ray Sheppard, Phil Housley, John Tucker, and Mogilny.
5. Mittelstadt recorded his 40th and 41st assists of the season. He has nine in the last six games.

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon. Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 12 p.m. The puck drops at 12:30 on MSG and WGR 550.