BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Detroit Red Wings are flying high after one of their most memorable victories of the season.
On Wednesday, Detroit overcame a pair of three-goal deficits on their way to a 6-5 shootout win on the road over the Boston Bruins. The victory gave Detroit its third straight win after a difficult stretch to open 2017.
Detroit looks to carry that momentum into Buffalo against the Sabres on Friday.
"When you are down 4-1 after the first, to come back is not easy in this league. So that says a lot about our guys," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press. "Now, our first was not good. We can't spot teams those kinds of periods. I think our guys know that. We can't see another one of those for a long, long time, like next year."
Left winger Tomas Tatar had a goal and two assists while Thomas Vanek and Frans Nielsen scored in the shootout Wednesday.
"We are finding ways to win," Detroit center Dylan Larkin told the Free Press. "This stretch before the All-Star break is important so we can go in and feel good about ourselves and come back and make a hard push and get into the playoffs."
The victory capped a productive three-game homestand for the Red Wings. Detroit picked up a 1-0 win over Montreal on Monday and a 6-3 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Henrik Zetterberg and ex-Sabre Vanek are tied for the team lead in points for Detroit with 31 (despite Vanek playing 11 fewer games because of injury). Nielsen is third in points with 25 (nine goals).
In Buffalo, all eyes are on goaltender Robin Lehner after a nightmare of an evening against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Lehner was pulled after allowing three goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period.
Lehner stormed off the ice and was seen yelling at Sabres coach Dan Bylsma. This also came after he posed for a picture for a fan sitting near the Sabres bench earlier in the night, which went viral and drew criticism.
"I take responsibility," Lehner told The Buffalo News. "I don't want to do the whole sequence of things that they built up to the little half-Hollywood movie that they clipped together. I understand where it's coming from. It's all entertainment to them but it's a real-life reaction for me and I accept the responsibility of it.
"I got mad and yeah, I let in three goals in 10 minutes. Our team didn't play the way we wanted. I let in a bad one. I wanted to stay in. I'm a competitive guy."
Lehner is having a solid season with 2.54 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .920.
