Hockey

DeBrincat’s OT Goal Lifts Red Wings Past Sabres in Preseason

By Hugo Brennan

DeBrincat’s OT Goal Lifts Red Wings Past Sabres in Preseason

Alex DeBrincat’s power-play one-timer 33 seconds into overtime gave the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 preseason win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena, but Buffalo’s night was shadowed by Alex Lyon leaving late in the opening period.

Detroit 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)

  1. Buffalo went ahead 1-0 at 10:48 of the first when Trevor Kuntar recovered Daniil Tarasov’s unsuccessful clearing try and went upstairs with his shot.
  2. With two minutes left in the period, Lyon dove forward to secure a loose puck, flexed his left arm and headed directly to the Sabres bench. He did not return after stopping seven of eight shots. Colten Ellis took over in net.
  3. Detroit drew level on the power play at 16:11 of the first. Axel Sandin-Pellikka hammered Anton Johansson’s pass from the right circle for a 1-1 score.
  4. Jiri Kulich restored Buffalo’s lead only 33 seconds into the second period, with his rush chance slipping through Tarasov’s legs.
  5. Sheldon Dries tied it 2-2 at 7:13 of the third, getting his stick on Jacob Bryson’s point shot from the left circle.
  6. Detroit went to overtime with the extra man and ended it quickly. Lucas Raymond found DeBrincat in the left circle, where the winger buried a one-timer.

Tarasov finished with 17 saves for the Red Wings, now 2-0-1 in preseason play. Ellis stopped 16 shots for Buffalo, which moved to 1-1-1.

Hurricanes erase four-goal hole in final seconds

Felix Unger Sorum scored with three seconds left in regulation as the Carolina Hurricanes completed a 6-5 comeback against the Nashville Predators at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Carolina had trailed by four goals.

  1. Vitali Pinchuk opened the Nashville scoring at 1:48 of the first, collecting Tanner Molendyk’s point shot and sliding the puck beneath Pyotr Kochetkov’s glove.
  2. Cole O’Hara made it 2-0 on a power play at 7:09, and Jonathan Marchessault converted a breakaway at 15:24 to give Nashville a three-goal first-period cushion.
  3. Logan Stankoven put Carolina on the board at 1:19 of the second, tapping in Taylor Hall’s pass after his first attempt missed the target.
  4. Adam Edstrom answered at 3:20 for Nashville, and Jack Drury’s partial-breakaway backhand at 8:24 made it 5-1.
  5. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who also had an assist, cut the margin to 5-2 at 13:38. Juha Jaaska brought Carolina within two at 16:19.
  6. Juuso Valimaki struck on the power play at 8:26 of the third, taking Hall’s feed in the low slot and firing a one-timer to make it 5-4.
  7. Stankoven scored his second with 1:24 remaining to tie the game. Then Unger Sorum entered the right circle and snapped a wrist shot under Justus Annunen’s glove with three seconds on the clock.

Hall had two assists, while Kochetkov made 23 saves for the Hurricanes (2-1-0). Pinchuk posted a goal and an assist, Molendyk collected two assists, and Annunen stopped 25 shots for the Predators (1-2-0).

Florida holds off Tampa Bay

Cole Reinhardt scored his third goal of the preseason and added an assist as the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.

  1. Bokondji Imama tipped Donovan Sebrango’s blue-line shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy with 16 seconds remaining in the first period.
  2. Kai Schwindt extended Florida’s lead at 2:29 of the second when the puck crossed the line off Vasilevskiy’s right pad.
  3. Jansen Harkins answered 45 seconds later on a setup from Ilya Mikheyev, then Conor Geekie finished a 2-on-0 with Sam O’Reilly at 13:09 to level the game at 2-2.
  4. Hunter St. Martin put Florida back ahead at 4:21 of the third, but Harkins struck again at 5:29 to tie it 3-3.
  5. Reinhardt answered six seconds after Harkins’ equalizer, taking the puck from defenseman Ryan McDonagh in front and beating Vasilevskiy for the eventual winner.
  6. Sandis Vilmanis added an empty-net goal at 19:36.

Schwindt recorded a goal and an assist. Cooper Black started for Florida and made 14 saves, while Kirill Gerasimyuk turned aside 11 shots in the third period. Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for Tampa Bay. The Panthers are 2-0-1, and the Lightning sit at 1-1-1.

Woll blanks Boston as Columbus, New York also win

Joseph Woll made 28 saves for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-0 shutout of the Boston Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Matvei Michkov scored at 4:02 of the first, knocking in a loose puck after Helge Grans’ shot hit Porter Martone in front. Cole Knuble supplied insurance at 2:57 of the third, jamming home a crease rebound. Michael DiPietro stopped 26 shots for Boston. Philadelphia moved to 1-2-0, while the Bruins are 2-1-0.

At Nationwide Arena, Valeri Nichushkin scored in his Columbus Blue Jackets debut during a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 31-year-old forward joined Columbus in a June 25 trade with the Colorado Avalanche, with the Blue Jackets sending a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a 2027 third-round selection and a 2028 fifth-round pick.

  1. Zach Werenski opened the scoring at 11:48 of the first, driving a point shot through traffic.
  2. Nichushkin made it 2-0 at 14:42 of the second with a backhander off the rush.
  3. Danton Heinen scored at 19:45 of the middle frame, putting in his own rebound after Charlie Coyle’s pass.
  4. Kirill Marchenko capped the scoring into an empty net at 17:28 of the third.

Dmitri Voronkov had two assists and Cam Talbot made 15 saves for Columbus (2-1-0). Sergei Murashov stopped 13 shots for Pittsburgh (1-2-0).

Cuylle settles Rangers-Devils shootout

Will Cuylle scored a goal, set up another and delivered the deciding shootout marker as the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 at Madison Square Garden. Joonas Korpisalo made 20 saves and denied all three New Jersey shooters in the tiebreaker.

  1. Stefan Noesen gave New Jersey a 1-0 first-period lead at 8:51, redirecting Seamus Casey’s point shot on the power play.
  2. Ethan Edwards stretched the Devils’ edge to 2-0 at 12:09 of the second with a snap shot from the left dot.
  3. Cuylle got New York on the board at 3:10 of the third. Gabe Perreault’s shot deflected off Matthew Robertson in front before going in off Cuylle.
  4. Anton Blidh tied it at 5:21 during a delayed penalty, finishing Glenn Gawdin’s pass with Nico Daws down in the crease.
  5. Scott Morrow converted Cuylle’s cross-ice feed at 10:03 to put the Rangers in front.
  6. Amadeus Lombardi forced overtime at 18:21, pulling the puck free along the left boards and shooting through Korpisalo’s pads.
  7. Cuylle decided the shootout after Korpisalo turned away all three Devils attempts.

Perreault finished with two assists for New York (1-2-0). Noesen, Edwards and Lombardi scored for New Jersey, Matyas Melovsky had two assists, and Daws made 20 saves. The Devils are 2-0-1.