Main storyline: The Buffalo Sabres begin a five game road trip tonight as they are in Detroit to take on the Red Wings after dropping the past 10 games in regulation.
Season series: It may only be January, but tonight wraps up the season series between the teams. Detroit have two of the first three, with their only loss coming via shootout. Last time the teams met, the Sabres retired Dominik Hasek’s jersey, but fell 3-1 last week.
Where they stand: Buffalo have fallen to the basement of the league and now sit in 30th. Edmonton has the same amount of points but win the tie breaker, putting the Sabres in sole possession of last place. The Red Wings have been rolling, going 7-3 in their past 10 and are making a push for tops in the Atlantic Division. They sit in third, but trail Tampa Bay by just three points.
Recent performance: The Sabres are fresh off a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Flyers on Saturday night, which marked their 10th straight regulation defeat. The Red Wings have won the past three games, outscoring their opponents 11-5 in that span. Most recently, they are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Buffalo notes: Ted Nolan has been making a point that players are going to have to work and earn their spots, and another sign was shown tonight as Cody Hodgson, Phil Varone and Drew Stafford saw limited ice time.
“As long as the energy there and the compete level’s there, that’s all you can ask,” Nolan said. “We’re taxing a lot of guys. A lot of guys are playing a lot of minutes that shouldn’t be playing a lot of minutes.The other guys weren’t going very good. We have to send a message to the guys, ‘If you don’t want to work, you won’t play.’”
Opponent notes: “We got off to a real good start and then I thought we got a little bit careless late in the first,” coach Mike Babcock said. “Really came at them and scored another goal on the power play and got it to 5-1 and weren’t as good, probably, as we should be after that. But that’s part of being ahead, too. I liked the way we scored. I thought Riley Sheahan’s group was excellent. We did lots of good things at times and got a little loose at times.”
Conclusion: Tonight’s game is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game can be seen Nationally on NBCSN.