Ryan Miller returns to his home state, only to fall short to Detroit on the road. Brian Rafalski rips a slapshot by Miller 31 seconds in to overtime to give the Red Wings a 3-2 decision over the Buffalo Sabres at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night.
It was certainly a sloppy start for the Sabres. Detroit scored two quick goals within the first 3:15 of the contest. A bad bounce off the boards set up the Red Wings’ first tally, when Pavel Datsyuk found the puck on his stick and threw it in to the back of the net.
Just 1:13 later, Patrick Eaves treats Buffalo blue liner Craig Rivet like a road cone and skates right around him to get in front of Miller. The Sabres netminder tried to poke the puck away but it deflected up and rolled up his arm and in to the back of the net.
Buffalo finally woke up after that second goal. Jochen Hecht scored the next two goals in the game to get the Sabres at least a point in the game.
Miller made 34 saves in the losing effort, and falls to a 1-2-1 lifetime record at Detroit. The Sabres have now dropped two in a row.