(AP) - Marian Hossa scored twice and Chris Osgood
tied Dominik Hasek for 10th on the NHL career wins list in helping
the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-1 victory over Buffalo on Monday
night.
Hossa, who reached the 40-goal plateau for the third time, added
an assist. Brad Stuart and Nicklas Lidstrom also scored for the
Central Division-leading Red Wings. With 111 points, Detroit,
coming off a 3-2 win over Minnesota on Sunday, moved to within four
points of league-leading San Jose.
The Sabres' playoff chances grew slimmer as Buffalo lost its
second straight. With three games left, Buffalo is 10th in the
Eastern Conference, four points behind the New York Rangers and
Florida at the postseason cutoff.
Osgood made 32 saves, picking a fitting game to earn his 389th
victory and tie Hasek, the former Red Wings starter who spent most
of his career with Buffalo.
Osgood lost a bid for his 50th NHL shutout with 10:06 left, when
Paul Gaustad converted a scramble in front to cut Detroit's lead to
3-1.
Otherwise, Osgood was superb in weathering a fast start by the
Sabres, who got six shots on net in the first three minutes and had
a 13-5 edge 13 minutes in. His best stop came 2 minutes in when
Osgood denied Adam Mair's attempt to flip in a shot at the right
post.
The Red Wings took control during a two-minute span bridging the
second intermission.
Stuart opened the scoring with 1:19 left in the second period by
capitalizing on the Red Wings' first power-play opportunity. He
slapped a shot through a crowd that sneaked in under the arm of
Ryan Miller, who was fully screened by Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom.
Hossa then demoralized the Sabres, scoring 36 seconds into the
third period, by backhanding in a loose puck after Miller stopped
Lidstrom's point shot. Hossa made it 3-0 less than 9 minutes later,
converting a feed from Pavel Datsyuk.
Lidstrom scored into an empty net. It was the 227th goal of his
career, moving him into a tie with Kevin Hatcher and Steve Duchesne
for 12th among NHL defensemen.