Detroit Red Wings (12-38-4, eighth in the Atlantic Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (23-23-7, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
Buffalo, New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jack Eichel leads Buffalo into a matchup with Detroit. He currently ranks seventh in the NHL with 66 points, scoring 31 goals and recording 35 assists.
The Sabres are 8-11-1 against Atlantic Division teams. Buffalo has given up 39 power-play goals, killing 74.5% of opponent chances.
The Red Wings are 5-11-0 against the rest of their division. Detroit is last in the NHL shooting 27.8 shots per game.
Buffalo knocked off Detroit 5-1 in the last meeting between these teams on Jan. 12. Evan Rodrigues scored two goals for the Sabres in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eichel leads the Sabres with 66 points, scoring 31 goals and collecting 35 assists. Sam Reinhart has totaled 10 points over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Red Wings with 17 goals and has recorded 36 points. Dylan Larkin has three goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Detroit.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 1-8-1, averaging 1.4 goals, 2.5 assists, 3.3 penalties and 8.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game with a .893 save percentage.
Sabres: 4-6-0, averaging 2.4 goals, four assists, 2.5 penalties and five penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sabres: Curtis Lazar: day to day (illness), Rasmus Dahlin: day to day (upper body), Kyle Okposo: out (upper body), Johan Larsson: day to day (lower body).
Red Wings: Filip Zadina: out (lower body), Mike Green: out (undisclosed), Frans Nielsen: day to day (upper body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
