5:00p ET, First Niagra Center
Buffalo, NY
TV: Fox Sports Detroit,
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Sabres Blog: Die By The Blade
Well I’m nice and pissed off after the game last night, and in honor of how pissed off I am, the Sabres will be wearing their piss yellow jerseys tonight. What is it with teams and repulsive yellow jerseys? And they’re not even the same color on the front and back. Buffalo is the worse team in the league, and they’ve only won 5 games, and have 11 points on the season. I hope the Wings are good and pissed off, and that they play like it.
Pavel Datsyuk won’t play tonight and may have a concussion after being elbowed in the jaw by Ottawa’s Jared Cowen late in the 3rd period. Ken Holland said Datsyuk felt “fuzzy” and not right after the game, so they’re checking him out and being safe. Todd Bertuzzi was a late scratch due to an “upper body injury” and won’t play tonight either. We’re told it’s not a back injury. Jakub Kindl missed the 3rd period last night with a hip issue, but is expected to play tonight. Daniel Alfredsson will return to the lineup tonight after missing 5 games with a sore groin.
We may see lines like this… Although Abdelkader may get moved back up to the top line in Bertuzzi’s absence. Cleary only played 1 shift in the 3rd period last night and Abby took his place.
The Expected Lineup
Forwards
| Daniel Cleary | Henrik Zetterberg | Daniel Alfredsson |
| Johan Franzen | Stephen Weiss | Gustav Nyquist |
| Tomas Tatar | Darren Helm | Justin Abdelkader |
| Drew Miller | Joakim Andersson | Mikael Samuelsson |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Kyle Quincey | Brendan Smith |
| Brian Lashoff | Jakub Kindl |
Goaltenders
| Jonas Gustavsson (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Scratches: None
Injuries: Danny DeKeyser (shoulder), Todd Bertuzzi (upper body-not back), Pavel Datsyuk (possible concussion-precautionary)
| RED WINGS | THE MATCH-UP | SABRES |
| 10-7-7 (27 pts; 5th in Atlantic) | Record | 5-18-7 (11 pts; 8th in Atlantic) |
| 2.50 (21st in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 1.67 (30th in NHL) |
| 2.71 (16th) | Goals Against Per Game | 3.17 (26th) |
| 21.5% (8th) | Power Play % | 15.3% (23rd) |
| 85.6% (5th) | Penalty Kill % | 79.8% (21st) |
| Pavel Datsyuk (12 goals) | Goal Leader | Cody Hodgson (7 goals) |
| Henrik Zetterberg (27 points) | Points Leader | Cody Hodgson (16 points) |
Opponent Outlook
Player to Fear: Cody Hodgson leads the Sabres in goals and points.
X-Factor: John Scott, because he only has 1 NHL goal in his 6 years in the NHL. Sooo… hat trick?
Familiar Faces: Ville Leinlol
Thumbs up (One Thing to Like About Buffalo): Ryan Miller? I’m waiting for the day he finally snaps at his bottom dwelling team and goes postal on them.
Thumbs down (One Thing to Dislike About Buffalo):Hahahaha, Steve Ott is their captain.
Bullets of Knowledge
- The Red Wings are 51-52-13-1 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time against the Sabres. They are 1-0 against the Sabres this season.
- Last 10 games: Buffalo 3-7-0. Detroit 2-3-5./
- This is the first game the Wings have played on Sunday this season.
- The Sabres are the only NHL team Danny Cleary hasn’t scored a goal on in his career./
Prediction: Red Wings win 4-2, Daniel Alfredsson is your player of the game.
