Buffalo edged the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout to move past Tampa Bay in the Atlantic.
By Dave Hogg / NHL.com Correspondent
DETROIT, MI. — The Buffalo Sabres extended their winning streak to 9 games when Sam Reinhart scored in the seventh round of the shootout for a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
It is the longest winning streak for the Sabres since they won the first 10 games of the 2006-07 season.
Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou and Buffalo’s Tage Thompson each scored in the fifth round, but Reinhart was the only other player who scored in the shootout.
With the victory, the Sabres (16-6-2) moved over the idle Tampa Bay Lightning (16-6-1) into first place in the Atlantic Division with 34 points, the most points in the entire NHL.
Jeff Skinner and Thompson scored for the Sabres (16-6-2), and Linus Ullmark made 35 saves.
The Red Wings (10-10-3) lost for the second straight night (3-1 to the Washington Capitals) after winning nine of their previous 11 games. Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha scored for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard made 33 saves.
Skinner gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 3:37, knocking the rebound of a Jack Eichel shot past Howard on the power play for his 18th goal of the season, 17th in 17 games.
The Red Wings nearly tied the game at 5:58 of the first when Justin Abdelkader’s dump-in from center ice took a bad bounce past Ullmark, but he was able to kick out his leg to stop it.
Larkin tied it 1-1 53 seconds into the second period, beating Ullmark short side from the left hash marks.
Thompson put Buffalo ahead 2-1 at 7:40 of the third period with a power-play goal. He one-timed Rasmus Dahlin’s pass past Howard.
Mantha tied it 2-2 at 13:52, tapping in the puck after Tyler Bertuzzi’s shot hit the post.
Eichel drew a holding penalty against Larkin 55 seconds into overtime, but Howard made two saves during Buffalo’s 4-on-3 power play.
With the victory, the Sabres (16-6-2) leaped over idle Tampa Bay Lightning (16-6-1) into first place in the Atlantic Division with 34 points, which also are the most points in the entire NHL.
Up next
The Sabres return home Tuesday night to take on the San Jose Sharks.