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

The Buffalo Sabres will look to return to their winning ways when they face the Detroit Red Wings on Friday at 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center.

After Wednesday’s game against Boston, reacting to their second straight overtime defeat, the first-place Sabres acknowledged they’d played below their standards.

“We lost too many battles. We weren’t skating out there. We made it way too easy for them to play against us,” said captain Rasmus Dahlin. “That’s not how we should play.”

In that loss and Sunday’s at Anaheim, Buffalo’s 'B' game was enough to earn a point in the standings. But it’s been the 'A' game – four lines contributing, everyone outskating the opponent and winning 50-50 pucks, and holding onto late leads – that has fueled a 33-6-4 run since Dec. 9.

The Sabres haven’t lost three straight since this run began; win or lose, they’ve been quick to set their sights on the next opponent. That’s Detroit, and Buffalo has plenty of confidence it can put Sunday and Wednesday behind it. 

“It’s all about find it, fix it, forget about it, that our team’s been really good about,” Alex Tuch said. “Now, we just move on.”

Here are all the details before puck drop.

• Thursday's practice report: Sabres turn page from OT losses
• Path to the Playoffs | Standings, magic number, games to watch
• Become a 2026-27 Season Ticket Member to guarantee seats for this year’s playoffs!

How to watch

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

TV (out of market): NHL Network

Streaming: Gotham Sports App

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

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

Noah Ostlund won't play due to an upper-body injury and is considered day to day, coach Lindy Ruff said Friday morning. So, Tanner Pearson enters the lineup for his second game with the Sabres.

It’s Alex Lyon’s turn in net, so he’ll face his former team for the first time after playing the previous two seasons in Detroit. Despite allowing a season-high six goals in Anaheim, Lyon is 6-0-1 with a .910 save percentage since the Olympic break.

Here's the full lineup from warmups:

Notable numbers

• The Sabres are 15-4-4 against Atlantic Division opponents this season.
• Tage Thompson is one point shy of 400 for his career (212+187).
• Defenseman Conor Timmins skated 2:17 shorthanded in his return to the lineup Wednesday. Buffalo had the NHL’s best penalty kill (85.4%) before Timmins got hurt in December.
• Zach Benson is on a four-game point streak (3+3), including the first three-game goal streak of his career.
• Jason Zucker now has 22 goals in 53 games this season, including a team-high 10 on the power play.
• Sam Carrick has won 55.4 percent of his faceoffs in 10 games with the Sabres.
• Beck Malenstyn ranks seventh leaguewide with 247 hits. Hits have been tracked since 2005-06, and the Buffalo record is 279 (Marcus Foligno, 2016-17).

Metsa to Rochester

The Sabres loaned rookie defenseman Zach Metsa to Rochester on Thursday, as Timmins is back in the lineup to play third-pair minutes and kill penalties.

“The best thing, these next three or four days at least, we’re not gonna practice – get [Metsa] playing time when Rochester’s playing,” Ruff said. “He’ll play 20-plus minutes (a game), which will be great for him.”

The Amerks’ captain can be recalled to Buffalo at any point, so he can certainly still be a factor for the Sabres down the stretch. He’s plus-20 with six points (2+4) in 38 NHL games this season.

Scouting the Red Wings

Despite getting captain Dylan Larkin back from injury on Tuesday, the Red Wings lost in regulation to Ottawa, and a 4-5-2 March has them outside the playoff structure. They’d been in playoff position since Dec. 8. Their offense has struggled with just 2.64 goals per game this month, and the power play has converted on just five of 35 opportunities (14.3%).

The Red Wings’ big deadline pickup was defenseman Justin Faulk from St. Louis. He’s minus-two with a goal and an assist in eight games since the trade.

Buffalo is 2-0-0 against Detroit this season, including an epic three-goal comeback in November for its first road win. Colten Ellis had the net for both wins, and each of Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn and Josh Doan totaled three points.

John Gibson has played both matchups for the Red Wings, allowing nine goals on 58 shots (.845 save percentage).

“I think we’re both really different teams from that point in the year, and they’re gonna be fighting for their lives,” Tuch said.