(Sports Network) - Marian Hossa tallied twice and added an assist to help the Detroit Red Wings deliver a crushing blow to Buffalo's playoff aspirations with a 4-1 victory at HSBC Arena.

Nicklas Lidstrom registered a goal and an assist and Brad Stuart also scored for the Red Wings, who snapped a three-game losing streak on Sunday against Minnesota. Chris Osgood made 32 saves to notch the 389th win of his career and move into a tie with former teammate Dominik Hasek for 10th-place on the all- time list.

"We knew they were going to have a good push. We knew (Osgood) had to come up big early in the first period and that's exactly what he did for us," said Red Wings forward Kris Draper. "Our big guys scored some big goals for us and it was a solid road game. We're happy with the two points."

With 111 points, Detroit is four back of San Jose for the top spot in the Western Conference and in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

Paul Gaustad had the lone goal for the Sabres, who have dropped three of their last four games and remain four points behind both the Rangers and Panthers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. All three clubs have three games remaining.

Ryan Miller made 28 saves on 31 shots in the loss.

"The good thing is we're still alive. We can still make something happen," said Buffalo defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Detroit finally broke through on the power play. With Tomas Holmstrom in his office at the top of the crease, Stuart launched a shot from the point that squeezed between the right arm and torso of Miller with 1:19 remaining in the middle session.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead just 36 seconds into the third period when Hossa moved across the slot and backhanded the rebound of a Lidstrom offering. Hossa then fired a one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Pavel Datsyuk at 9:17 for his 40th goal of the season.

Gaustad put the Sabres on the board less than a minute later, tucking a loose puck past Osgood during a goal-mouth scramble, but Lidstrom sealed the victory with an empty-netter in the final minute.

Game Notes

Hossa reached the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career...Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg both recorded two assists in the win for Detroit...Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski missed his fourth straight game because of a groin injury...Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced Monday that backup goaltender Patrick Lalime (hip) is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season...Buffalo signed free agent forward Travis Turnbull on Monday to a two-year entry-level contract.





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