Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Red Wings

DETROIT – The Buffalo Sabres can take another step in their push for a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference when they play the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

The Red Wings are tied with the New York Islanders for the second Wild Card with 72 points, three ahead of the Sabres. The Sabres are coming off a sweep of their three-game homestand, which included a 7-3 victory over the Red Wings on Tuesday.

The visit to Detroit opens a five-game road trip, which will also see the Sabres head out west to Seattle and then Western Canada.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 12 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 12:30. Fans outside the Buffalo broadcast market can watch the game on NHL Network.

Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.

Here are five things to know.

1. The standings

Here’s the Wild Card picture entering Saturday:

All seven teams in the race will be in action on Saturday, setting up a full day of scoreboard watching. The schedule of relevant games is as follows:

Senators at Islanders – 12:30 p.m.

Rangers at Penguins – 3 p.m. on ABC

Devils at Coyotes – 5 p.m.

Lightning at Panthers – 6 p.m.

Capitals at Canucks – 10 p.m.

2. The lineup

The Sabres practiced on Friday with the same lines and pairs they’ve utilized in their last three wins:

Forwards

28 Zemgus Girgensons – 72 Tage Thompson – 89 Alex Tuch

12 Jordan Greenway – 24 Dylan Cozens – 9 Zach Benson

53 Jeff Skinner – 19 Peyton Krebs – 77 JJ Peterka

50 Eric Robinson – 17 Tyson Jost – 71 Victor Olofsson

Defensemen

4 Bowen Byram – 26 Rasmus Dahlin

25 Owen Power – 10 Henri Jokiharju

78 Jacob Bryson – 75 Connor Clifton

Goalies

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

31 Eric Comrie

3. In the crease

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is coming off a 21-save shutout of the Islanders on Thursday, his 23rd start in Buffalo’s last 26 games. It was his fifth shutout of the season, tied for third in the NHL, and his league-leading fourth since Jan. 1.

“He’s been our best player the last probably few months, honestly,” Alex Tuch said Friday. “He’s kept us in a lot of games, and he’s stolen some games for us. Now we’re trying to help him out as much as possible. We’ve been playing really good team defense and backchecking hard. But he’s been phenomenal for us each and every night and it makes our lives a whole lot easier.”

4. Coming out strong

Fast, assertive starts have been hallmarks of the Sabres’ last two wins. They scored four goals in the first period against the Red Wings on Tuesday, then outshot the Islanders 13-5 during the first period before breaking the game open in the second.

The Sabres are 12-0-1 this season when leading after the first period.

“We have to come out and play the hardest,” Rasmus Dahlin said.

5. Scouting the Red Wings

Detroit has now lost seven consecutive games in regulation after falling 4-1 to Arizona at home on Thursday. The Red Wings have been outscored 36-12 in those games, having allowed at least four goals against in each contest.

The Red Wings will be without captain and leading scorer Dylan Larkin again on Saturday. Larkin has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury.