Sabres at Red Wings | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

DETROIT – As the Buffalo Sabres try to get back on track, they could look to their third-most-recent win as a blueprint.

Buffalo takes on the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, a rematch of the 4-2 Sabres victory on Oct. 22 – one of their most well-rounded performances to date.

They got scoring from up and down the lineup, with goals from Jason Zucker, Tyson Kozak, Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch. Early in the third period, with the game tied 2-2, Quinn blasted a power-play one-timer that proved to be the game winner.

They got a strong start, defensively, not allowing a Red Wings shot until halfway through the first. Thursday’s loss at Colorado, on the other hand, saw Buffalo surrender three goals before the 10-minute mark.

"We looked at that game, and it was probably our best first period of the year," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We need to start strong. Yesterday, travel day and off ice; we know that we’ve got to be ready to move right off the bat against these guys."

And once Detroit started getting pucks on net, the Sabres got excellent goaltending from Colten Ellis, who finished his NHL debut with 29 saves and a win – he's expected to start again Saturday. As a team, Buffalo has allowed 4.0 goals per game since, going 2-4-4 during that stretch. Its opponent has scored in the first period in eight of those 10 games.

Buffalo currently lacks the depth it had in the Oct. 22 matchup; Zucker (illness), along with Zach Benson (lower body) and Jiri Kulich (blood clot), all remain unavailable. But it’ll take that same complement of offense, timely defense and sturdy goaltending to end the five-game winless streak and return home on a high note.

Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops at 7 p.m. in Detroit.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes (updated 6:35 p.m.)

Captain Rasmus Dahlin returns to the lineup after missing three games on personal leave.

• Read: Dahlin talks personal leave, return to lineup

Here's the projected lineup from warmups, with Ellis starting in net and the forward groups unchanged from Thursday:

Slowing the rush

On Thursday, Colorado’s first four goals each came off the rush, including Martin Necas’ opening-minute breakaway sprung by a Cale Makar stretch pass.

“I think, really through most of the game, our defending inside the D-zone was good,” Ruff said postgame. “Just gave up too many rush opportunities – that hurt us right at the beginning.”

The Sabres have allowed 263 shots off the rush this season, sixth most in the NHL, per Stathletes. To Ruff’s point, they did a decent job defending the Avalanche – including the high-powered line of Necas, Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen – once set up in the zone, but allowing those elite scorers to speed through the neutral zone will always create problems.

Detroit, meanwhile, has generated 251 rush shots, seventh most leaguewide, so Buffalo will need to be wary of Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond and Co.

DeBrincat, in fact, ranks fourth among NHL skaters with 40 rush shots, and he’s coming off a three-point night (2+1) on Thursday. And Larkin ranks third with 3.81 expected goals off the rush.

Scouting the Red Wings

The Red Wings have gone 5-5-0 since their loss in Buffalo. On Thursday, they beat Anaheim 6-3 to snap a three-game losing streak.

Goalie John Gibson exited that game with an upper-body injury but returned to the ice for practice on Friday. He’s got an .882 save percentage and 3.14 goals-against average in 10 games to begin his Red Wings tenure, while Cam Talbot has an .892 and 2.93 in nine appearances. As a team, Detroit’s .883 save percentage ranks 24th in the league – Buffalo, for context, ranks 19th (.890).

Buffalo has lost four straight at Little Caesars Arena, last winning there in April 2023.