GAMEDAY PREVIEW Game 24: Detroit Red Wings vs. Buffalo Sabres & Projected Line Combos

The Detroit Red Wings are coming in off an overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The Sabres are coming off a 2-1 to the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

Detroit Red Wings (13-7-3, 29 Points) vs. Buffalo Sabres (10-13-2, 22 Points)

When: Tuesday, December 5
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)
TV: ESPN+ / HULU

Scoring Leaders

Detroit Red Wings

Points: Alex DeBrincat – 23
Goals: Alex DeBrincat – 13
Assists: Dylan Larkin -14

Buffalo Sabres

Points: Casey Mittelstadt – 21
Goals: JJ Peterka – 10
Assists: Casey Mittelstadt – 16

Expected Line Combinations

Detroit Red Wings

Robby Fabbri – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – J.T. Compher – Joe Veleno
Michael Rasmussen – Andrew Copp – David Perron
Klim Kostin – Christian Fischer –Daniel Sprong

Jake Walman – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Justin Holl – Shayne Gostisbehere

Buffalo Sabres

By The Numbers:

Jeff Skinner – Casey Mittelstadt – Tage Thompson
Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka Tyson Jost – Peyton Krebs – Kyle Okposo
Isak Rosen – Brandon Biro – Victor Olofsson

Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Ryan Johnson – Erik Johnson

League Ranking

Detroit Red Wings

PP%: 23.5 (8)
PK%: 79.1 (17)
GF P/G: 3.74 (3)
GA P/G: 2.96 (14)
Faceoff %: 48.8 (22)

Buffalo Sabres

PP%: 14.1 (25)
PK%: 81.5 (13)
GF P/G: 2.84 (25)
GA P/G: 3.40 (23)
Faceoff %: 44.5 (32)

Red Wings Player to Watch: J.T. Compher

Compher has played in 23 games this season and has recorded 19 points, coming on six goals and 13 assists. He has four power-play points, coming on two goals and two assists. He has five points on three goals and two assists in his last five games.

Compher’s Line Assignments

Compher will play on the second line tonight with Alex DeBrincat and Joe Veleno. Compher is also on the first power-play unit with Dylan Larkin, David Perron, Lucas Raymond, and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Compher’s career vs. Buffalo

In his career against Buffalo, he has played ten games and recorded eight points on four goals and four assists. Last season, in two games against the Sabres, he had four points on two goals and two assists.

Between The Pipes

Detroit: Alex Lyon (3-1-0, 1.26 GAA)

Lyon has proven himself as the backup for the Red Wings, stopping 113 of the 118 shots he’s faced. He has faced the Sabres thrice in his career, going 1-1-0, allowing six goals on 62 shots.

Buffalo: Eric Comrie (1-4-0, 3.99 GAA)

Comrie’s last start came on Saturday against the Hurricanes, a game in which he lost, allowing six goals on 35 shots. Comrie, in his career against the Red Wings, is 1-0-0 and has made one appearance, stopping 18 of the 15 shots he has faced.

Wrap Up:

This is the first matchup of the season between these two. These two teams have been compared to each other in the aspects of where they are in their rebuilds, along with the Sen tors. Right now, the Red Wings look to be the better of the three teams but will need to prove it to Buffalo tonight with two crucial points on the line.

In their last ten games against Buffalo, the Red Wings are 5-3-2 but have been outscored 39-36. The Red Wings went 0-2-2 against the Sabres the previous season, with the Red Wings getting outscored 26-16.

ITR 34: End Of The Road – Inside The Rink

 Join Conrad and Chris as they discuss the Boston Bruins front office, Logan Couture's retirement, Edmonton Oilers Injuries leading into the playoffs, and playoff matchups! 

1. ITR 34: End Of The Road 41:46
2. ITR 33: The Gr8 One 44:20
3. ITR 32: The Final Countdown 45:55
4. ITR 31: Let Them Fight 01:03:52
5. ITR 30: Down The Stretch 59:42