ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS

Kyle Okposo scored three times, Casey Mittelstadt had two goals and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 for their fifth straight victory.

The airing of grievances and expressions of frustrations which commonly followed each of the Sabres' previous 10 losing seasons were notably absent on Saturday. At a time Buffalo set an NHL record by missing the playoffs for an 11th straight year, the mood was unmistakably upbeat among players gathering one final time. “It’s definitely a different feeling this year,” said forward Zemgus Girgensons, the team’s longest-tenured player after completing his eighth season in Buffalo.

Dylan Larkin scored the tying goal in regulation and notched the winner 2:07 into overtime to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 comeback win over the Buffalo Sabres in snowbound western New York.

Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists, Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 22 shots for his fourth career shutout and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Washington Capitals-Philadelphia Flyers game scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed.

Artemi Panarin scored the first of New York’s three third-period goals with 8:25 left and the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 to give coach Gerard Gallant the best start in his first 20 games as coach.

The home opener, 8,467 attended the game, in game 2: 7,872, in game 3: 7,376. In the 2019-2020 season, the Sabres averaged over 17,000 fans per game.

Sam Gagner scored the lone goal for the Detroit Red Wings Saturday in a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in their preseason finale at KeyBank Arena. The Red Wings open the regular season Thursday against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit). Before that, the Red Wings will finalist their season-opening 23-man roster. The Red Wings played with several regular forwards -- Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne, Michael Rasmussen, Vladislav Namestnikov and Givani Smith. More: Roster decisions at forward loom for Red Wings

Jack Eichel, now stripped of his captaincy, has likely played his final game for the Sabres because of a rift with the team over how to treat a herniated disk. Forward Sam Reinhart and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen got their wish to escape Buffalo after being traded in July. Despite another offseason of headaches and negative headlines, veteran forward Kyle Okposo chose his words carefully in assessing why he believes the Sabres might be finally pointed in the right direction after spending the past decade dwelling mostly in dysfunction.