The Detroit Red Wings are back in action after being away since Sunday (October 19) when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers. They head to Buffalo to take on a struggling but dangerous Sabers team looking to get back on track. As for the matchup, the Sabers have won two of their last three games.
Projected lines
Red Wings
Emmitt Finnie-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat-Marco Kasper-Michael Brandsegg-Nygård
James van Riemsdyk – Andrew Copp – Michael Rasmussen
Mason Appleton-JT Compher-Jonatan Berggren
Ben Chiarot-Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson-Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson-Jacob Bernard-Docker
John Gibson
Cam Talbot
Sabres
Zach Benson-Jiri Kulicich-Tage Thompson
Josh Doan-Ryan McLeod-Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker-Noah Ostlund-Jack Quinn
Peyton Krebs – Tyson Kosak – Malenstyn
Rasmus Dahlin-Bowen Byram
Owen Power-Mattias Samuelsson
Zach Metsa-Conor Timmins
Colten Ellis
Alex Lyon
Matchups 2024-25
- October 26, 2024 – 5-3 Sabers win
- November 2, 2024 – Red Wings 2-1 win
- December 9, 2024 – 6-5 Red Wings shootout win
- March 12, 2025 – 7-3 Red Wings win
The Red Wings had solid success against the Sabers last season, winning three of the four games between the two Atlantic Division foes. They were led by Lucas Raymond (five points) and Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider (four points apiece). Ten players racked up points against the Sabers, sharing the wealth throughout the lineup. For the Sabres, veteran Jason Zucker led the way offensively with four total points, along with Tage Thompson. They looked a lot like the Red Wings, spreading the offense throughout the season series.
Team leaders
Red Wings
Goals: Dylan Larkin– Five goals
Assists: Alex DeBrincat/ Dylan Larkin – Six assists
Points: Dylan Larkin – 11 points
Sabres
Goals: Jason Zucker- Three goals
Assists: Zach Benson – Six assists
Points: Zach Benson – Six points
X-factors/What to look out for
Colten Ellis makes his first NHL start
The Red Wings will face a netminder who makes his mark tonight starts his first career in the NHLwith the Sabers starting Colten Ellis. As a team that struggles with giving up shots to opponents (33.5 per game), the Red Wings could take advantage of that. Taking shots at Ellis early and making them count from high-risk areas could lead to a fast start for the Red Wings. On the other hand, if they fail to break into the Sabres’ defense early and give Ellis a chance to establish himself, this could make for a tightly contested game. With the firepower and the way the Red Wings have played offensively, they should have success in the offensive zone.
With Tage Thompson
While Thompson hasn’t made an early start in the goal-scoring department this season, he has the skills and potential to get himself on track every night. He has tortured the Red Wings in his career, scoring 23 points in 19 games. Keeping him in check will certainly be at the top of the Red Wings’ list defensively in tonight’s game. Thompson has struggled to get into high-risk areas this season, and it’s highly likely that Moritz Seider or Simon Edvinsson will be tasked with going up against him to keep him in check. If the Red Wings want to have success tonight, knocking out last season’s goal scorer will be one of the key ways to ensure they can push their winning streak to six.
Special teams matchup
The Red Wings and Sabers have two of the best penalty kill units in the league. Both units are over 90%, with the Sabers taking quite a few more penalties than the Red Wings to date. For the Red Wings, the power play has been consistent through the first six games, shooting at 22.2%, but the Sabers will certainly challenge this if they find themselves on the man advantage. Players like Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat will be looked to to break the Sabres’ penalty box. Of Patrick Kane out of the lineup Once again due to an upper body injury, the power play will need someone to step up in his absence.
Related: Red Wings Weekly #2 – Sailing the Atlantic
On the other side of the coin, the Sabres’ power play has been slightly better than the Red Wings’. Scoring at a 26.3% clip and slowing them down will be a tough task if the Red Wings run into penalty foul trouble, which they have stayed well out of for the most part this season. Either way, both teams’ special teams units could end up being one of, if not the biggest, x-factors in the game.
Red Wings win if…
Simply put, if the Red Wings continue to play the way they have since their opening night loss to the Montreal Canadiens, they should win this game. Playing good defense and solid goaltending against a team that is in danger of scoring throughout its lineup (even if it hasn’t lived up to expectations yet) will go a long way toward getting a road win tonight. Keeping Ellis busy and putting pressure on a Sabers team struggling to get the puck out of the ice is something Todd McLellan will likely emphasize to his team ahead of tonight’s game, as the Sabers spend 43.3% of the time on their endwhich ranks 30th in the league.
Getting help from the bottom six of the lineup, as the Red Wings have done thus far, will be crucial against the Sabres, who also have a solid bottom six. Rolling all four lines and taking advantage of the opportunities they deserve should lead the Red Wings to another victory.
Red Wings vs Sabres
While the Sabers haven’t had the best start to the 2025-26 regular season, they have shown they are capable of lighting up the scoresheet, as they did on Oct. 15 against the Ottawa Senators. The Red Wings could have their hands full tonight, but will be well rested and ready to take on one of their Atlantic Division opponents.
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