DETROIT, Michigan -- Ryan Miller was a wall in net for the Buffalo Sabres, with the Detroit Red Wings only able to solve him once in the first 57 minutes of play Saturday night.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, the Wings' plan of wearing down Miller eventually worked as Mikael Samuelsson and Marian Hossa scored in the game's final three minutes to give the Red Wings a 3-1 win over the Sabres.
"We were hoping to wear (Miller) down. We thought if we stayed at their net, we'd get our opportunities," Red Wings' coach Mike Babcock said. "He made some great saves early, but we stayed patient and were able to get the win."
Samuelsson scored with 2:34 remaining in the third period to break the tie, flipping a backhander past Miller while cutting across the front of the net after taking a feed from Jiri Hudler.
Hossa scored with 1:35 left in the game, powering a shot off the underside of Miller's arm, just sneaking through the netminder's equipment and into the net.
Derek Roy had opened the scoring for Buffalo 5:03 into the first period, lifting a rebound chance over Detroit goalie Ty Conklin's pad.
Hudler tied the game with three minutes remaining in the second period on a one-timer off a pass from Brett Lebda.
The Red Wings now have a six-game winning streak and have won seven games in a row at home. They'll begin a six-game road trip on Monday in Dallas.
Notes: The Red Wings were without defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who was a late scratch... Roy's goal broke Conklin's home shutout streak at 143 minutes and 49 seconds.
Derek Roy puts Buffalo ahead.
Derek Roy puts the Sabres on the board, ending Conklin's home shutout streak. Everything went right for Buffalo there, from the failed clear to just the right bounce off Conklin's pads.
Conklin totally just pulled a Hasek!
WOW. What an exciting last minute that was.
And it was very dangerous. I was biting my nails for a little bit there.
Crazy-ass scramble with Conklin all over the place. That was sweet but only 'cause it worked.
Wings making some bad decisions in the first. Even Datsyuk, getting caught between the fake and the pass at the end of the period there.
And they're doing a bad job of getting to rebounds. There were a couple good chances where no one was there.
WTF? Sabres with only one faceoff win in the first period? Not that there were all that many.
Shorthanded two-on-one, no shot. That's how it's going right now.
Hudler ties it up for the Wings. 
Was not expecting that there, but I'm not complaining 
Hudler with the one-timer! None of that overly-cute passing, just a rocket shot that didn't hit Miller in the chest.
Mickey York during intermission "We have found Waldo, or as you know him, Larry Murphy." Said as footage of a hot dog stand is shown.
Mickey York during intermission "We have found Waldo, or as you know him, Larry Murphy." Said as footage of a hot dog stand is shown.
You know they did that on purpose
Another power play with nothing. Ugh.
Awful call on Buffalo. It wasn't a hook and it wasn't intentional goalie interference. Ken's right, I'd hate it if it were against the Wings.
That was the play the Sabres were waiting for, too. Just hold on as long as they can and maybe they'll get a two-on-one.
Man, that was scary.
Mikey! What a f*cking play!
Hossa with another nail! That barely made it through.
Yeahhh! He waited and waited and eventually put it in.
Miller won't be happy with the Hossa goal, after stopping all those shots as well. Got a huge piece of it.
Mickey's right the Sabres probably deserved a point there but the Wings just never let up.
I mentioned to catmandu with about 4:00 left that this game was the Wings' to lose as long as it didn't make it to the shootout, that the advantage would shift to Buffalo if it went to the tiebreaker.
Mikael Samuelsson
Credit: Clark Rasmussen
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