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Time: 7:00 PM ET
Place: Little Caesars Arena
TV: FS-D, MSG-B
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket, 1270 AM
Sabres Blog: Die by the Blade
Game Preview
The Red Wings dropped a close one yesterday, falling 3-1 to the Capitals on the road and now turn their focus to welcome the division rival Sabres. The Sabres topped the Canadiens, 3-2 in overtime on Friday, and are winners of eight in a row. Needless to say, the Wings will have to be on top of their game to earn any points in this contest as this game will have major Atlantic Division implications — the Sabres are holding onto first place by one point.
The Wings lead the all-time regular season series 64-60-13 (including 42-23-5 on home ice) and won last year’s season series 2-1-1. This will be the first meeting between these two teams on the 2018-19 campaign and speed will be the name of the game as both sides bolster some quick, young talent.
For the Wings, Andreas Athanasiou has been hot, scoring 11 points (eight goals) over his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Sabres captain Jack Eichel is riding a five-game point streak with seven points in that span.
Lineup Notes
Jonathan Ericsson has practiced this week, but he didn’t factor into the lineup on Friday against the Caps. It’s possible he makes his return from an undisclosed injury this weekend, but if he doesn’t, I’m sure Wings fans will be okay with that too.
On the other bench, the Sabres got Marco Scandella back on the blueline yesterday against the Habs, but it looks like they will have to continue waiting on Patrik Berglund despite him skating on Friday morning.