BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will enjoy the win more than the milestone for now. As special as it was to pass Jack Adams franchise win total, making the playoffs is the more immediate priority. Darren Helm scored the go-ahead goal 3:33 into the third period to spark a three-goal outburst and inch Detroit to the cusp of clinching a playoff berth following a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. "The win tonight is way more important than that," Babcock said, when asked about the significance of earning his 414th career victory, one more than Adams. "But what I would say to you is these are things you think about the summer. And Im thrilled." Babcock then shifted his attention to his teams next test. The Red Wings (38-27-14) travel to play Pittsburgh on Wednesday needing only one point to secure one of the Eastern Conferences two wild-card playoff spots, and extend the teams run of post-season berths to 23 straight seasons. "I know weve got a game in Pittsburgh tomorrow. Were going to enjoy this tonight," Babcock said, noting the game at Pittsburgh could potentially be a first-round playoff preview. "The reality is, its an important game tomorrow." Brendan Smith, David Legwand and Pavel Datsyuk, into an empty net, also scored for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard made 25 saves in a game the Red Wings rallied back after spotting the Sabres a 1-0 lead. Zemgus Girgensons scored both goals for the Sabres (21-49-9), who are already guaranteed of finishing in last place once the season ends on Sunday. The Red Wings continued their domination of Buffalo. Theyve won eight straight since a 6-2 loss on Oct. 13, 2009, and improved to 23-2-1-1 against Buffalo since March 27, 1996, according to STATS. "Its one good step in the right direction," Howard said. "Weve got to find a way to get a point or two points there tomorrow and keep it rolling, because you want to feel good going into the playoffs." Howard did his part in stopping several shots to keep the game tied at 1 during a Sabres two-man advantage that spanned 1:51 in the second period. His best stops came on bang-bang chances. After turning aside Cody Hodgsons hard shot from the left circle, Howard kicked out his right pad to foil Rasmus Ristolainens attempt to convert the rebound. Sabres coach Ted Nolan said coming up empty on the power play changed the games momentum. "When you play a good team like Detroit, they know how to close deals. We have a 5-on-3 with a chance to go ahead, we dont do it, and thats what happens," Nolan said. "You look at the things we didnt do right." The Red Wings found their groove to start the third. Helm started the play that led to his go-ahead goal by winning a faceoff to the left of the Sabres net. He drew the puck back to Kyle Quincey, whose shot from the left point was deflected on its way to the net. Matt Hackett made the initial stop, but was unable to control the rebound, which squirted through a crowd of players in front. Helm gathered up the loose puck and took a few steps to his right, where he snapped it into the open side before Hackett had time to recover. Legwand then made it 3-1 to seal the win by beating Hackett through the legs with 4:14 remaining. Girgensons made it close 2:03 later by capping a great individual rush, in which he got between two defenders and roofed a shot over Howards right shoulder. NOTES: The Sabres called up G Andrey Makarov from AHL Rochester to serve as the backup. He became the eighth goalie to dress for at least one game this season, including Ryan Vinz, a Sabres HarborCenter employee who backed up Jhonas Enroth the day Ryan Miller was traded to St. Louis. ... Red Wings RW Daniel Alfredssons assist on Smiths goal upped career total to 712, tying him with Jean Beliveau and Scott Stevens for 48th on NHL list. ... Sabres RW Chris Stewart returned after missing 16 games with a lower body injury, while D Christian Ehrhoff -- nicknamed "Ear-Hoff" by his teammates -- played two days after requiring numerous stitches to close a gash in his right ear, which was struck by a puck. Nike Air Max Canada Online . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. Air Max 180 Canada . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...anada-sale.html. TSN2 December 18 Knicks at Bulls 8pm et/5pm pt TSN2 December 18 Thunder at Warriors 10:30pm et/7:30pt TSN2 December 21 Pacers at Timberwolves 7pm et/4pm pt. 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Air Max2 Light Canada .Y. - For once, Clayton Kershaw was glad to see a long shutout streak end. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Felix Hernandez has never felt better at the beginning of a season. That certainly bodes well for the former Cy Young Award winner. Hernandez took a shutout into the ninth inning, Dustin Ackley and Abraham Almonte hit home runs and the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 Saturday. Hernandez (2-0) retired the first 11 batters on the way to his 16th career win over the Athletics, his most against any team. Hernandez walked one and struck out eight while allowing a run on six hits over 8 1/3 innings. "My pitches were looking good all day long," Hernandez said. "I could throw them all for strikes. I felt strong and my pitches were there. Physically I feel great and I have all my pitches." Fernando Rodney, who struggled during spring training, got the final two outs to record his first save with the Mariners. Robinson Cano had two hits. "Im just working on locating my fastball in spring," Rodney said. "It was real good today; its the season." Dan Straily (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits over his six innings. He walked one and struck out seven. "It was disappointing," Straily said. "A two-seamer comes back over the plate and I yanked one. I did a good job of executing the game plan minus those two pitches." Straily carried a shutout into the fifth inning before Ackleys towering two-run shot gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Almonte drove Strailys 1-0 pitch even deeper into the right field bleachers. "After seeing him a couple of times you get used to what hes got and can throw out better at bats," Ackley said. "There was a runner on third, maybe hes thinking about him, and gives me a pitch to hit." The way Hernandez was pitching, the run support was more than enough. "Id say for seven innings that might be the best weve seen him," As manager Bob Melvin saaid.dddddddddddd "It seemed like his fastball had a little extra hop and he mixed in his breaking stuff well." Jed Lowrie, who hit a home run leading off the ninth, broke up Hernandezs no-hit bid with a two-out single in the fourth. Brandon Moss, who had two hits, followed with a bloop double but Hernandez struck out Yoenis Cespedes on three pitches. "I saw the same guy I saw last week," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Hes pretty good. Ill take that every time." Coco Crisp tripled with one out in the sixth but was stranded there when Josh Donaldson struck out and Lowrie popped out. Hernandez improved his record to 67-3 when going at least seven innings and allowing three or fewer runs. "When we can score first it puts pressure on the other team and makes Felix even better," Ackley said. "If we got one run, I thought it would be enough the way he was pitching." The Mariners pitching staff extended their club record season-opening streak to allowing three or fewer runs to five. Hernandez, who turns 28 on Tuesday, ranks fourth on the all-time list with 1,722 strikeouts before the age of 28 behind Sam McDowell, Bert Blyleven and Walter Johnson. NOTES: RHP Sonny Gray (0-0, 0.00) will start Sundays series finale against the Mariners. Hes working on a 13-inning scoreless streak dating to last year after pitching six innings in the season opener. . Erasmo Ramirez (1-0, 2.57) starts for the Mariners. He gave up two runs on six hits over seven innings in his first start. . Cano is batting .342 (27 for 79) in his last 19 games in Oakland. . The As first four games averaged 3 hours, 29 minutes. . Hernandez is 5-0 in his last 10 games in Oakland. ... Cespedes, who has hit 10 homers against Seattle pitching, hit a ball into the left field bleachers in the ninth that curved foul a pitch before flying out to right. ' ' '