PREVIEW: Red Wings host Sabres for Atlantic Division showdown on Saturday

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings will wrap up a three-game homestand on Saturday night when they take on the Buffalo Sabres at Little Caesars Arena.

FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit) will carry broadcast coverage of Saturday’s 7 p.m. puck drop between the Red Wings (4-5-1; 9 points) and Sabres (4-6-1; 9 points), who are squaring off for the second time in a week. Last Saturday, Detroit dropped a 5-3 decision in Buffalo.

Head coach Derek Lalonde said the Red Wings have shown signs of what they can be through the first 10 games of the season but are still looking for more consistency.

“We’re sitting here 4-5-1,” Lalonde said. “We’re probably what our record is, but I think there’s some signs of hopefully we can trend this the right way. We knew we’d be up against it. Just the 10-game schedule on who we were playing, you add in Winnipeg probably exceeding expectations and being a really good team, probably feeling where our record is. Some ups and downs in there. We got to start finding some consistency, hopefully starting Saturday.”

Detroit is looking to right the ship after its third straight loss, a 6-2 setback to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. The matchup saw the Red Wings fall behind by three goals in the opening frame, an early deficit that proved too much to overcome against the NHL’s top club.

“Obviously a disappointing night,” said Moritz Seider, who recorded two assists against the Jets for his second multi-point game of the season. “I think we were expecting a different outcome. Other than that, we weren’t really ready to compete. We faced a team that was willing to take a little bit more on their own shoulders and respond after a loss. That’s just something we couldn’t quite handle. The good thing, though, is it was a lot of our own mistakes. We can definitely build off that and find a way to win a hockey game against Buffalo.”

A bright spot for Detroit on Wednesday was its power play, which went 2-for-3.

“That’s confidence right there,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “We went over the boards, got one and then next time we went over we knew we were going to get another one. That wasn’t something that we had from Day 1. We had to work towards and build that. Finally got some time with one unit, and getting it all figured out. Hopefully we can continue that. It’s a huge part of our team’s identity. We can build off that.”

The Sabres visit Little Caesars Arena for the first time this season after falling to the New York Islanders, 4-3, on Friday. Dylan Cozens, Jason Zucker and Owen Power all found the back of the net in the loss for Buffalo, which has dropped two games in a row.

“They obviously like to play offense,” Seider said about the Sabres. “They like to stretch us out and are willing to cheat a little bit to gain momentum in the offensive zone. If we can control that, obviously get involved emotionally, I think we’ll have a good game plan on our side and hopefully get two points.”