After starting their current four-game homestand with a loss to Montreal and an OT win versus Chicago, the Buffalo Sabres (3rd in Atlantic Division) will carry on on own ice while hosting the Detroit Red Wings (4th in Atlantic), who have dropped four of their past six outings.
A mini two-game losing streak (0-2-0) got snapped for the Detroit Red Wings (4-2-2), who bounced back from consecutive four-goal defeats to the New Jersey Devils (6-2) and the Boston Bruins (5-1) with a narrow 2-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Lucas Raymond (4 points this year) bagged his first two snipes of the season after canceling out Minnesota’s opener at the end of the first period, adding the winner during power play with 4.5 seconds remaining in the middle frame. Dylan Larkin (4 goals, 10 points) assisted on both occasions for the Wings, who have won just two of their past six outings (2-2-2).
Goalie Ville Husso stopped 30 shots on Saturday, taking his current performance status to 3-1-1 for the season with a 2.40 GAA and a .926 save percentage. He has registered a 1-0-0 past total versus Buffalo with a 3.00 GAA and a .921 save percentage, while Alex Nedeljkovic (1-1-1 on the year with a 3.96 GAA and a .890 save percentage) is a perfect 4-0-0 against the Sabres historically with a 1.72 GAA and a .936 save percentage. The Red Wings are netting the 15th highest amount of goals per game during the ongoing campaign (3.13), while conceding the 13th lowest quantity defensively (3.00). They are 21st in power play (19.4%; 6-for-31) and 7th in penalty kill (84.0%; 21-for-25).