• The Detroit Red Wings snapped a six-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
• Patrick Kane had five points, and Petr Mrázek got the win with 23 saves in his return to the Wings.

A particularly productive performance from Patrick Kane put the Detroit Red Wings back on the winning side of things.

The 36-year-old scored twice and assisted three times as the Wings took out the frustrations of a six-game losing streak on the lowly Buffalo Sabres, scoring a season high in goals in a scrum-filled 7-3 victory Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena. Petr Mrázek helped out with 23 saves in his first start since being acquired at the March 7 trade deadline.

The Wings (31-28-6) had been stuck on 66 points for two weeks; at 68, they’re now within two points of the East’s second wild-card berth, but they’re tied with multiple other teams.

WELCOME BACK:

Detroit Red Wings turn to Petr Mrázek to start vs Sabres: ‘Back to normal’

The Sabres scored first, but the Wings came out of the first period with a lead thanks to an especially productive stretch from Kane, as well as goals from Marco Kasper and Alex DeBrincat. Even Vladimir Tarasenko showed up on the scoreboard — just his ninth goal of the season, but still — when he scored in the second period, on a sequence that also saw Dylan Larkin checked through the gate on the Buffalo bench.

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The Wings’ penalty kill gave up a goal to Zach Benson late in the second period, but went back on a power play in the final minute, and then the Sabres handed them a two-man advantage that spilled into the third period by 1:12 of ice time. Kane converted for his second of the game, and Kasper followed up with his second of the game a few minutes later. Moritz Seider got in on the scorefest with a power play goal at 14:31.

As the score grew, the scrums did, too, with multiple tussles breaking out, leaving the ice littered with sticks and gloves — and making for crowded penalty boxes.

Plain Petr Mrazek

Mrázek started his first game since Feb. 27, when he played for the

Chicago Blackhawks. While his teammates wore their Stadium Series outdoors gear, Mrázek wore a plain white helmet with the No. 43; he’s awaiting one with a design on it. Mrázek made his first save about two minutes in, and had a couple quick stops around the five-minute mark. He got beat on Buffalo’s fifth shot of the game, when Tage Thompson took a pass from Bowen Byram and fired a wrist shot into the net.

Finally, a celebration worth something

DeBrincat’s would-be goal 3:15 into the first period was waved off right away by officials, who ruled Michael Rasmussen had interfered with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Wings likewise had a would-be goal celebration cut short Monday in Ottawa, when video review showed Lucas Raymond’s shot crossed the goal line after time expired. But at 12:36 of the first period, there was nothing to dispute: Edvinsson fired the puck on net, Kasper caught a piece of the puck, deflecting it past Luukkonen, and it was 1-1. DeBrincat made it 2-1 at 15:40.

Kane pours it on early

Kane finished the first period by converting on a power play to give the Wings a 3-1 lead (which dwindled to 3-2 when Oxford’s Josh Norris, dealt from Ottawa at the trade deadline, scored with 35 seconds left in the period). That was Kane’s third point of the period: He drew the second assist on Kasper’s goal, and set up DeBrincat’s goal. Kane, for that matter, was also the one who passed the puck to DeBrincat on the no-goal, so had that counted, Kane would have had four points in 15:52.

Contact Helene St. James at

[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.