7:30p ET, Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan
TV: Fox Sports Detroit, MSG-B, TVA, SNO, SNP, Bell TV
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Sabres Blog: Die By The Blade
Halfway through the Red Wings‘ 6 game homestand, the results have been mixed. Despite earning points in all 3 of their games so far, they have squandered 3rd period leads in all of them, requiring OT. Their record sits at 1-0-2, good for 4 out of 6 points, but frustrating when additional points were within reach.
Tonight marks the Wings’ first game against the Sabres, a team that has improved their overall play without noting much change in the standings. Despite sitting just 1 point out of last place in the Atlantic Division, the Sabres are a tougher team to play against than a year ago. They still have trouble scoring, but they have a very good power play and take more shots than they give up.
This will be the first time that super rookies Dylan Larkin and Jack Eichel face off against each other. Eichel has 8 goals on the season, a strong start for the number 2 overall pick in last year’s draft. Larkin has been on an absolute tear the past few weeks, as he’s got goals in 6 of his last 7 games. He leads all rookies in goals with 10, and is 3rd in points behind Artemi Panarin and Max Domi.
The Wings focused on their power play in practice and talked about needing to hold a third period lead. Teemu Pulkkinen will draw back in to the lineup in place of Tomas Jurco, and Darren Helm will move up to play on the 2nd line with Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Richards. Petr Mrazek is your starting goaltender.
The Expected Lineups (Subject To Change)
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Brad Richards | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Teemu Pulkkinen |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Mike Green |
| Danny DeKeyser | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Alexey Marchenko | Brendan Smith |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Scratches: Jakub Kindl, Joakim Andersson, Tomas Jurco
Injuries: Johan Franzen, Kyle Quincey
The Expected Sabres Lineup
Forwards
| Evander Kane | Ryan O’Reilly | Sam Reinhart |
| Matt Moulson | Jack Eichel | Brian Gionta |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Zemgus Girgensons | Jamie McGinn |
| Tim Schaller | David Legwand | Marcus Foligno |
Defensemen
| Josh Gorges | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Jake McCabe | Zach Bogosian |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | Cody Franson |
Goaltenders
| Chad Johnson |
| Linas Ullmark |
Fun Facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Buffalo: 57-52-13-2
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against the Sabres: 3.35
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against the Sabres: 3.39
Let’s Go Red Wings!!!
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Game Day Prediction Contest
Would you like to predict the outcome of the game and potentially become internet famous? Well you’re in luck, because here’s your opportunity. Here’s how it works.
Make your game predictions on the winning team, final score, and who the Wings player of the game will be. Enter the required information into the form below using the formats indicated in the questions. If you don’t use those formats, your answers will be disregarded. All submissions are timestamped and will be accepted only until the official game start time. All other submissions after that will be disregarded. Only one submission per person, please. POTG will be determined by the collective of WiiM writers.
Each correct winning team prediction is worth 1 point. Each correct player of the game prediction is worth 2 points. Each correct final score prediction is worth 5 points. If you get all three correct you’ll receive 15 points.
