The Detroit Red Wings return to action following a few days off after extending their current winning streak to five games last Sunday when beating the back-to-back Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers.
They look to keep their form when facing off against a struggling Buffalo Sabres team that has started with a 2-4-0 record with the fifth-worst offense in the league. The hope for Detroit fans is they can continue their defensive run as of late with two or fewer goals allowed in four straight games.
If they want to prevail with their sixth straight win, they’ll need to do their best neutralizing the Sabres’ top scorer in recent years with Tage Thompson.
The Arizona native has progressed into a lethal goal scorer with 159 goals dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season, which ranks top 12 in the league during that span. His numbers rank ahead of notable names like Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor, New York’s Artemi Panarin and Dallas’ Jason Robertson.
To counteract the attack, Detroit will look to rely on their top unit as the trio of superstars Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, coupled with rookie winger Emmitt Finnie has worked out in a big way. The trio have a combined nine goals to start this season, which includes Raymond missing a pair of games.
With the line back to full health, the Red Wings will look to lean on their top guys in a challenging first leg of a road back-to-back.
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While rookies in Finnie and defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, the third rookie in the lineup, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, has yet to record a point but has shown promising numbers. As Detroit takes on a tough road back-to-back with travel to New York to take on the Islanders on Thursday, it’ll be a tough task to remain in the same form they’re at and will need some scoring from other parts of the lineup, which could present a big chance for Brandsegg-Nygård to make his impact felt with a clutch goal.
After a stellar pre-season with six points in seven exhibition games, the 20-year-old Norwegian winger is still being placed in a favorable position to break out and should at some point.
With power play minutes on the second unit, he’s done what he can with the fifth-most shots on the team at ten, the most hits on the team tied with Emmitt Finnie at 21 and has posted above-average metrics across several areas like top skating speed of 22.12 mph, which ranks in the 77th percentile league-wide. The poor Sabres offense and spots of below average defense should help Brandsegg-Nygård finally break through.
Buffalo would love to have their offense going in a similar way to Detroit’s as they have elite goal scoring duo in Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch but the pair have managed just one tally each to start the season.
Defense has been a glaring issue for the Sabres, with five players in the lineup carrying a -5 rating or worse. However, things are improving with wins in two of their last three games and have allowed just two goals combined over their past two outings. Buffalo has also seen an offensive surge with 20-year-old Zach Benson rejoining the lineup.
The BC native leads Buffalo in points despite playing just three games this season with six assists. Benson is still looking for his first goal of the season and has done well on his top line with Thompson and 21-year-old Jiri Kulich. The unit isn’t the most deadly in the league but will still warrant attention as they can surprise teams like they did the Florida Panthers for a 3-0 win last Saturday.
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Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)
DET ML (-105) | BUF ML (-115)
DET -1.5 (+220) | BUF +1.5 (-277)
O/U 6.0 Goals
The betting lines for this matchup are intriguing with the Sabres showing signs of recent improvement while the Red Wings remain red hot. Detroit also holds a clear edge in the head-to-head history, having won five of the last six meetings against Buffalo.
Leading the charge is captain Dylan Larkin, who has consistently dominated the Sabres. He enters Wednesday with three straight multi-point games and has notched five multi-point performances in his last seven outings against Buffalo. Over his past 24 matchups with the Sabres, Larkin has racked up 17 goals and 12 assists for a total of 29 points.
He’ll also be shooting against his a 25-year-old netminder in Colton Ellis, who will be making his NHL debut on Wednesday. The Sabres crease has become unstable after the team had fallen into some injuries with regular starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sidelined for an unknown amount of time.
Buffalo claimed Ellis off waivers from the Blues earlier this month after his breakout AHL season with the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he posted a .922 save percentage and 2.63 goals‑against average in 42 games.
The Red Wings will need to do their best to limit the scoring chances for Tage Thompson as the towering six-foot-six winger has also done well in this matchup. The 27-year-old has found the net in five of his last six games against Detroit, tallying 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points over his most recent 18 matchups with the Red Wings.
This matchup is shaping up to be a high-scoring affair, in line with the recent trend between these two teams. Detroit and Buffalo have totaled eight or more goals in nine of their last 12 matchups including two straight games with ten or more goals heading into Wednesday.
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Goalie Matchup
Detroit: John Gibson (Season: 2-1-0 record, 2.98 GAA, .873 SV% | VS BUF: 4-4-1 record, 2.81 GAA, .910 SV% in Nine Games)
Buffalo: Colten Ellis (NHL Debut)
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