Three takeaways from Red Wings' 3-1 loss against Sabres

For the most part, the Detroit Red Wings had a positive preseason. Between the emergence of Lucas Raymond and Bobby Ryan, and the returns of Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi, there was a lot to be happy about from the eight-game slate.
In Saturday's contest against the Buffalo Sabres, though - the last before Thursday's regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning - the Red Wings fell, 3-1. Buffalo had the better of the game from the outset, blitzing Detroit with shots early on before finally breaking through in the second period with two goals. They added the third with an empty-netter late in the third period.
Here are three takeaways.

Stephens impresses with physicality, assist

Competing for a center spot on what would likely be a checking line for the Red Wings, Mitchell Stephens' ability to create chances with disruption has popped during the preseason.
That was no different on Saturday. Midway through the second period, with the game's momentum going against Detroit, Stephens battled for the puck down low in the offensive zone and won it. He spotted Sam Gagner skating up ice and fed him for a shot that went past Buffalo goalie Craig Anderson to tie the game for the Red Wings.

"He does a lot of the little things really well," Sam Gagner said. "I think he was impressive throughout camp. He's one of those guys who seems to be around the play because of his speed."
On a day without many highlights, that counted as one for the Red Wings. Stephens' forechecking was again a noticeable feature, and he finished the game with 14 minutes of ice time, two shots and a takeaway, leaving the preseason with a good impression.
"I thought he was one of our better forwards tonight," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.

Red Wings struggle to get on front foot

The Red Wings will want to wipe the memory of this game pretty fast as they shift to the regular season.
Though the final scoreline was 3-1, the Sabres had the better of the game from the outset. They possessed the puck with a 64.2 Corsi For percentage on the game, creating a bevy of chances and winning the shots battle, 38-19.
"They won way more puck battles and puck races than we did," Blashill said. "Felt like we were a step slow, a step behind."
In a preseason that's had up and down moments for the Red Wings, this one was on the wrong side of that ledger.
Blashil put it simply. "We weren't very good," he said. "They were good."

Nedeljkovic stands tall, but makes a costly error

Saturday's game started poorly for the Red Wings.
In the first period, they gave up 17 shots on goal and rarely got out of their own defensive zone. But goalie Alex Nedeljkovic stopped things from getting out of hand.
Despite facing a number of breakaways, odd-man rushes and high-quality chances, Nedeljkovic stood tall and stopped all of Buffalo's early chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, that included seven high-danger chances in the first period, all of which were easily repelled by the goaltender.
That paid off when the Red Wings managed to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period, despite having struggled in the game to that point. But Nedeljkovic wouldn't escape the afternoon without making an unforced error.
With the Red Wings on the power play late in the second, Nedeljkovic fielded the puck off a clearance. He went to give it off to Moritz Seider, but a miscommunication resulted in a giveaway and a shorthanded goal.
"We'd like our goalies to advance the puck when there's opportunities to and that was probably a puck that, because it was bouncing, because of what was going on, we probably should have just let it sit there," Blashill said.
Besides that, Nedeljkovic played well, stopping 35 of 37 shots that came his way.
"He got tested a lot, especially the first half of the game," Blashill said. "I thought he was really good. I thought he saw the puck well."