Buffalo Sabres Pregame Skate: Detroit Red Wings

Talk about a hangover, right?

The Buffalo Sabres left Pittsburgh last night, travelled all the way back to Buffalo, only to be right back at it again, taking on division opponent in the Detroit Red Wings today at a 5 p.m. faceoff.

Nov 1, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie

Marc-Andre Fleury

(29) makes a save as Buffalo Sabres left wing

Marcus Foligno

(82) looks for a rebound during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This is not how I would imagine they would want to spend their Sunday after a humiliating loss. But nevertheless, they are back at it.

The 2-9-1 Buffalo Sabres are 4-25-3 in their last 32 games, and it doesn’t look like the light at the end of the tunnel is any closer to arriving at. They take on a Detroit team that is third in the Atlantic Division and tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference with 14 points, standing at 6-2-2 through 10 games this season.

Tonight, the Buffalo Sabres try once again to salvage some points, but face a strong Detroit team that has had Buffalo’s number in recent years. Over the past 10 games, Buffalo has a 1-7-2 against Detroit and have a 2-7-1 record at home. However, throughout the history of the Detroit and Buffalo match-up, Buffalo holds the 53-51-16 overall record.

Coming into this season, it looks like that may read a completely different outlook come April.

Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?

Through the first month of the season, Buffalo holds an abysmal record. 2-9-1 is obviously not good, but it gets even worse when you look at everything else. The Buffalo Sabres are a fantastic -28 in goal differential. With 13 goals for and 41 goals against, it’s a miracle that Buffalo hasn’t been shut out more than five times already.

Speaking of shut outs, Buffalo must be the team to play against if you want to get your goalies confidence back and up your goals against average. During those shut outs, the Buffalo Sabres have been outscored 17-0. So when they lose, they go hard, essentially.

Tyler Ennis leads the pack in goals scored, however, he only has four goals through Buffalo’s first 12 games. The lead then drops to Zemgus Girgensons and Marcus Foligno with 2 goals.This lead is then followed by Drew Stafford, Cody Hodgson, Torrey Mitchell and Nicolas Deslauriers with one goal apiece.

Out of all the players on the roster, only three of the Sabres usual seven defensemen have contributed a point. New call-up Tyson Strachan, Andrej Meszaros and Tyler Myers each have put up just one point.

On the other hand, they face a Detroit team that lights the lamp fairly often. Gustav Nyquist leads the Wings with seven goals and nine points, followed by Justin Abdelkader with five goals and nine points. Plenty of other Detroit players have combined for multiple points that would outscore half of the Buffalo Sabres roster. Even Henrik Zetterberg, who’s game has dipped slightly, not much, has seen his points rise, scoring three goals and 11 assists to lead the Red Wings in points.

Starting in net, obviously Detroit would roll with Jimmy Howard, the Detroit mainstay looking to get his next shutout tonight. ON Buffalo’s side, however, the question of who is in net is always a hot topic. Do they roll with Jhonas Enroth? The young guy who hasn’t really panned out how Buffalo imagined, or do they go with Michal Neuvirth, who may not be a brick wall all of the time, but has definitely, in my opinion, proved to be a stable workhorse. He was a brick wall to start the game against the Maple Leafs a few nights ago, and you can’t really blame him for the collapse that night. He had no support, so something had to give.

If I were Nolan, I would give Neuvirth some more time to grow into the netminder that he can be. He isn’t bad, he can be good for us. Let the goalie battle continue between the two. In the end, the best one should start to tear more minutes away.

Matt Moulson has eight points over his last six games against Detroit, going for five goals and three assists in that frame. Chris Stewart, who has yet to score a goal this season, has the lead for points against Detroit, with six goals and eight assists in 24 games agaisnt the Red Wings. Be aware, however, that most of those games are from his tenure with St. Louis, so that is likely to differ now.

Looking at a bright side, if any, Josh Gorges is leading the league so far in blocked shots, averaging about 13.3% of shots blocked he has faced. He has been kept very busy, as you can already tell. But nice work Gorges!

Sit back, prepare your heart for what could be another heart-breaking game and pray for a win. Come back here after the game ends for your Knee Jerk and Three Stars!