Jeff Skinner gets 40th goal, Rasmus Dahlin has 2 assists for Buffalo.
By Dave Hogg / NHL.com Correspondent
DETROIT — Jeff Skinner scored twice including his 40th goal of the season to help the Buffalo Sabres defeat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-1, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
Skinner became the first Sabres player to reach 40 goals since Thomas Vanek had 40 in 2008-09.
Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist for Buffalo (33-39-10), which finished the season with back-to-back wins for the first time since Dec. 11-13. Rasmus Ristolainen and Jack Eichel each had two assists, and Linus Ullmark made 23 saves.
Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit (32-40-10), which lost its final two games after a season-high, six-game winning streak.
Jimmy Howard allowed five goals on 26 shots before being pulled in the second period. He was replaced by Kaden Fulcher, who made nine saves in his NHL debut.
Sam Reinhart gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:22 of the first period, taking a pass from Eichel and scoring his 22nd goal.
Dahlin made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 11:51 with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle for his ninth goal.
Mantha scored his sixth goal in four games on the power play to pull Detroit within 2-1 at 15:11.
Conor Sheary made it 3-1 at 8:37 of the second, tipping in Casey Nelson’s point shot for his 14th goal.
Skinner scored his 39th at 11:29 to give the Sabres a 4-1 lead, and Zemgus Girgensons put Buffalo ahead 5-1 at 12:37.
Skinner reached 40 goals with a shot that trickled through Fulcher’s legs at 10:27 of the third period, and Brandon Montour made it 7-1 at 11:39 with a power-play goal.
Buffalo finished the regular season in 27th out of 31 places.
Sabres forwards Victor Olofsson and Alex Nylander and defensemen Lawrence Pilut and Matt Tennyson now will return to the Rochester Americans to finish out their AHL regular season and Calder Cup playoffs.