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After all the excitement that the Detroit Red Wings have infused into the race, their season finale was a failure.

They hosted the Buffalo Sabers Saturday at the Little Caesars Arena in a match that would help determine who ends where in the standings, and although the 7-1 defeat was good for the draw odds, it was odd to see such a sad performance a team that preached its fans deserves to see a good effort.

There was nothing of that on the display. The Sabers had been the game's owners from the start and the Wings had such a defense that goaltender Jimmy Howard was eliminated after allowing five goals on 26 shots.

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Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard saves Sabers center goalkeeper Casey Mittelstadt with Wings defender Joe Hicketts in Saturday's first-half defense in Detroit. (Photo: Duane Burleson, AP)

Defeat placed Wings 28th in total NHL Final Rankings, good for 9.5% chance of winning the first overall and 28.8% chance of winning in the top three. The wings can not choose worse than seventh. The draw takes place Tuesday in Toronto (8pm, NBCSN).

booed

The Wings started as if a team had already left for the off season, letting the Sabers spot them in their zone and forcing Howard to be extremely precise. Sam Reinhart had too much time to maneuver in Detroit's net for a good shot and scored the goal at 3:22. Victor Olofsson had time to shoot too, but the post saved him. Rasmus Dahlin, the first overall pick in 2018, was 2-0 at 11:51 by shooting in the right circle. When the Wings went on the power play at 12:43, they were out of the game, 12-5. The Sabers took another penalty to give Wings 1:18 a two man advantage. but when there was no conversion, the fans booed healthily.

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Objectives mo

Anthony Mantha received a pass from Andreas Athanasiou in the slot and allowed Linus Ullmark to score 25 goals this season, seventh on the power play. It was Mantha's sixth goal in four games and 15th in eight games. That was pretty much the only highlight of the match.

• The score of the box

Fulcher debuts

The Wings entered the second period with a goal. A lot of time to organize a rally. Only that would have required to play the right way, like not turning the pucks and not playing defense. But Conor Sheary raised the score to 3-1 at 8:37 of the second period and Jeff Skinner crossed the Wings to score the goal of the split at 11:29. The fourth-row forward, Zemgus Girgensons, scored at 12:47 to bring the score to 5-1. This prompted the Wings to trade Howard against Kaden Fulcher, who made his NHL debut. Skinner scored again in the middle of the third period and Brandon Montour added to the rout at 11:39.

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Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Learn more about the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.