Preview: Sabres at Red Wings

SABRES (12-13-8) at RED WINGS (15-15-4)
7:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-D, NHL.TV

Sabres team scope

Center Ryan O'Reilly will miss the Buffalo Sabres game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday after having an emergency appendectomy on Christmas Day. O'Reilly, who has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 27 games, is expected to miss at least two weeks. "Our understanding is that he'll need 10-14 days of rest and recovery, plus the time that it takes him to get back into game shape," coach Dan Bylsma said. William Carrier, who was be carried as a 13th forward, will replace O'Reilly in the lineup. Buffalo, which has lost four straight (0-2-2) could benefit from the three-day Christmas break, Sabres captain Brian Gionta said. "We need to forget about that last stretch and get back to playing our game," he said. "We got real sloppy in that last week before the break, and we can't afford that. We can't give away games in our position."

Red Wings team scope

Defenseman Brendan Smith expects to play against Buffalo after missing 12 games with a knee injury. "I'm excited to be back, but I know I'm going to have to keep things simple," he said. "I think I'll be playing with Nik [Niklas Kronwall], so I'll lean on him a bit to move the puck, but I have to play my game." Coach Jeff Blashill said he isn't concerned about the Red Wings having to play three games in three days as a result of the make-up game in Carolina on March 27. The game, originally scheduled for Dec. 19, was postponed because of poor ice conditions. "It shouldn't be bad because there's not much travel," Blashill said. "We play at home and then go to Carolina and play two games in two nights. That's a lot better than the three-in-threes that you get in the AHL, where you're playing in three different cities. This should be fine."

Sabres projected lineup

Matt Moulson -- Jack Eichel -- Marcus Foligno
Zemgus Girgensons -- Sam Reinhart -- Kyle Okposo
Evander Kane -- Johan Larsson -- Brian Gionta
William Carrier -- Derek Grant -- Nicolas Deslauriers
Dmitry Kulikov -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe -- Zach Bogosian
Josh Gorges - Justin Falk
Robin Lehner
Anders Nilsson
Scratched:none
Injured: Tyler Ennis (groin), Cody McCormick (blood clots), Cody Franson (undisclosed), Ryan O'Reilly (appendectomy)

Red Wings projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Henrik Zetterberg -- Anthony Mantha
Thomas Vanek -- Frans Nielsen -- Gustav Nyquist
Luke Glendening -- Andreas Athanasiou -- Dylan Larkin
Drew Miller -- Riley Sheahan -- Steve Ott
Danny DeKeyser -- Nick Jensen
Xavier Ouellet -- Jonathan Ericsson
Niklas Kronwall -- Brendan Smith
Petr Mrazek
Jared Coreau
Scratched: Tomas Jurco, Brian Lashoff, Ryan Sproul
Injured:Darren Helm (upper body), Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Justin Abdelkader (lower body), Alexey Marchenko (shoulder), Jimmy Howard (knee), Mike Green (lower body)

Status report

With O'Reilly sidelined, Foligno moved to the first line during Buffalo's morning skate, with Reinhart centering Girgensons and Okposo to form a new second line. … Lehner will start. … Blashill said he wouldn't make final decisions on his lineup until after warmups, but Jurco, Lashoff and Sproul appeared to be the odd men out at morning skate. Jensen will make his home debut after playing his first two NHL games on Detroit's pre-holiday road trip. … Detroit could get several injured players back during an upcoming seven-game road trip, including Bertuzzi, Helm and Marchenko, Blashill said.

Who's hot

Ristolainen has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past nine games. … Reinhard has four points (one goal, three assists) in a three-game point streak. … Mantha has four points (two goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak. … Zetterberg has three assists in a three-game point streak.