Sabres at Red Wings preview

SABRES (8-2-1) at RED WINGS (3-7-0)
7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, MSG-B, NHL.TV

Detroit started the season 3-1-0 but hasn't won since, and has been outscored 27-9 during its losing streak. The Red Wings have allowed at least five goals in five of their six losses.
The Sabres will go for their seventh win in their past nine games. They had their three-game winning streak end with a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Players to watch

Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games.
Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi has three points (one goal, two assists) during a three-game point streak.

They said it

"We have been making mistakes. We made mistakes in past games and were able to find ways to win. Today we just couldn't recover from the hole we dug ourselves into. This is not a big problem." -- Sabres coach Ralph Krueger after the loss to the Rangers on Thursday
"This is the goal from Day One. You are always working to get to this moment. I was excited to get the call but I'm not sure it is really going to hit me until I get on the ice in a Red Wings jersey. The first person I called was my brother (Tampa Bay Lightning center
Gemel Smith
), because we've waited so long to both be here."-- Red Wings forward Givani Smith, who will make his NHL debut

Sabres projected lineup

Victor Olofsson -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart
Jeff Skinner -- Marcus Johansson -- Vladimir Sobotka
Conor Sheary -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Evan Rodrigues
Zemgus Girgensons -- Johan Larsson -- Kyle Okposo
Rasmus Dahlin -- Colin Miller
Jake McCabe -- Rasmus Ristolainen
William Borgen
-- Henri Jokiharju
Linus Ullmark
Carter Hutton
Scratched: John Gilmour
Injured:Brandon Montour (hand), Zach Bogosian (hip), Matt Hunwick (neck), Marco Scandella (lower body), Jimmy Vesey (upper body)

Red Wings projected lineup

Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Darren Helm
Anthony Mantha -- Valtteri Filppula -- Andreas Athanasiou
Evgeny Svechnikov -- Frans Nielsen -- Taro Hirose
Christoffer Ehn -- Jacob de la Rose -- Givani Smith
Patrik Nemeth -- Trevor Daley
Mike Green -- Filip Hronek
Madison Bowey -- Dennis Cholowski
Jimmy Howard
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched:Alex Biega, Adam Erne
Injured: Luke Glendening (upper body), Danny DeKeyser (lower body), Justin Abdelkader (lower body)

Status report

The Sabres did not have a morning skate. Borgen was called up from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Friday after Scandella was injured against the Rangers. Vesey is out after being injured during the second period Thursday. … Smith was recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL after Abdelkader and Glendening were injured during a 5-2 loss against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Glendening is expected to miss 2-4 weeks while Abdelkader is considered day-to-day. … DeKeyser, who was injured during a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, is expected to be out two weeks.

Stat pack

Johansson will play in his 600th NHL game. … The Red Wings have scored more than two goals once in their past eight games.