Axel Sandin-Pellikka raised his stick and brought it down with another resounding demonstration of why he belongs in the Detroit Red Wings' lineup.
Ultimately the defensive side of the young player's game will go a large ways towards that decision, but for a team in need of offense, Sandin-Pellikka keeps delivering. He scored his second straight goal of exhibition season on Friday, Sept. 24, as the Wings hosted the Buffalo Sabres, whose lineup was short on star power, at Little Caesars Arena.
Nate Danielson clinked a shot off the crossbar as time ran out on regulation play, and Alex DeBrincat won it, 3-2, on a power play goal 33 seconds into overtime as the Wings improved to 2-0-1 with one game left in the preseason.
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Sheldon Dries scored on a deflection near the midpoint of the third period.
Making impressions
At 14:57, the Wings went on a power play. It looked like they would get a two-man advantage at 15:28, but the Sabres successfully challenged the puck had gone over the glass off of a Wings player. Never mind; the Wings still had plenty of time left on the first call, and Sandin-Pellikka made good when he wound up in the left circle and, with fellow right-shot defenseman Anton Johansson delivering the setup, one-timed the puck behind Alex Lyon.
Johansson, too, is vying for a spot, and built on the four-assist game he had two nights earlier against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road.
To the box
A melee broke out in the opening minute of the third period. Moritz Seider put a hard (clean) check on Kuntar, earning the ire of Gavin McCarthy. As those two tangled, DeBrincat came to Seider's aid, and ended up exchanging blows with Kuntar. The end result had Seider and DeBrincat in the the penalty box, with offsetting penalties to their Sabres counterparts.
Tarasov gets full test
Daniil Tarasov, signed in free agency to replace Cam Talbot as the backup goaltender, had a strong two periods in his debut Monday at the Columbus Blue Jackets, stopping all 15 shots he faced through two periods.
Thursday was his night to be in for all three periods. He gave up a goal midway through the first period, after making a kick save that sent the puck into the left circle, where Kuntar quickly connected on a snap shot to make it 1-0.
Jiri Kulich pulled the Sabres ahead, 2-1, 33 seconds into the second period when he picked up the puck at his own blue line, skated through the neutral zone and into the right circle and fired a shot that Tarasov appeared to stop only for the puck to trickle beneath him through the paint and into the net.
Who was in the lineup
The Wings' current top line - Dylan Larkin (upper body) has yet to join the lineup – made its debut, with Andrew Copp centering DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård made his third appearance, on a line with Emmitt Finnie and Mason Appleton. Natre Danielson also played his third straight game, on a line this night with Carter Mazur and Wilmer Skoog. The fourth line was minor leaguers Sheldon Dries, Dominik Shine and John Leonard.
On the back end, Seider was partnered with Jacob Bernard-Docker, Sandin-Pellikka with William Wallinder and Johansson with Jacob Bryson.
Next up: The preseason finale
The Wings wrap up the four-game exhibition run Saturday (7 p.m., Detroit SportsNet) against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They'll then be off for nearly a week before opening the 2026-27 regular season at home against the NY Rangers on Friday, Oct. 2 (6:30 p.m., TNT/tru-TV).
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alex DeBrincat caps Detroit Red Wings rally in preseason win vs Sabres
