New-Look Sabres Second Line to Debut Against Red Wings

The Buffalo Sabres have their first home Saturday matinee against the Detroit Red Wings. The Sabres are looking for a boost to their secondary scoring, moving Jason Zucker alongside Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn in practice on Friday. The Red Wings are coming off strong goaltending performances that have propelled them to three straight wins.

Where to Watch

Gametime: 1:00 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: MSG; FDSNDET; Sportsnet

Stream: MSG+; ESPN+ (Out of market)

Radio: WGR550

Sabres Gameday

Friday’s practice saw a jumbled lineup, with Zach Benson still not practicing and Nicolas Aube-Kubel joining the group for a full-go. Aube-Kubel took Zucker’s spot on the proficient third line with Ryan McLeod and Jordan Greenway, rotating reps with Jiri Kulich. Zucker, who has become the steadying presence of the forward group, will get the first crack at getting Cozens and Quinn going offensively.

Head coach Lindy Ruff seemed uneasy about inserting Aube-Kubel into the lineup after only one practice. With a ready and willing Kulich available, he’ll likely sit another game.

The defense pairs remained unchanged, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in the starter’s net. Luukkonen is coming off two strong games in the crease, leading the Sabres to two straight wins.

Detroit Red Wings

Cam Talbot stopped 37 of 40 shots on Thursday in a 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Alex Lyon, who will start Saturday against Buffalo, had a 30-save shutout against the New York Islanders and stopped 37 of 39 in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators leading up to that.

The Red Wings may be without former Sabres draft pick J.T. Compher, who is ill with the flu. If so, Detroit is likely to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, rotating the defense pairs to keep them fresh.

As always when he comes to town, Patrick Kane is the featured player in the Red Wings lineup against his hometown Sabres. Kane has 14 goals and 30 points in 28 games all-time versus Buffalo.

Injury Report

Buffalo Sabres

• Zach Benson (Lower Body) Day-to-day
• Nicolas Aube-Kubel (Lower Body) Day-to-day [IR]

Detroit Red Wings

• J.T. Compher (Illness) Day-to-day
• Tyler Motte (Upper Body) Day-to-day
• Tim Gettinger (Undisclosed) Out [IR]
• Jack Campbell (Player Assistance) Out [IR]

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards (Projected)

JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Jordan Greenway – Ryan McLeod – Jiri Kulich

Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Sam Lafferty

Defense (Projected)

Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju

Owen Power – Bowen Byram

Mattias Samuelsson – Connor Clifton

Goalie (Likely)

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Detroit Red Wings

Forwards (Projected)

Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Vladimir Tarasenko – Marco Kasper – Patrick Kane

Michael Rasmussen – Andrew Copp – Christian Fischer

Jonatan Berggren – Joe Veleno

Defense (Projected)

Simon Edvinsson – Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry

Erik Gustafsson – Justin Holl

Olli Maatta

Goalie (Confirmed)

Alex Lyon

Source: Ansar Khan, MLive.com

Betting Breakdown

The Buffalo Sabres are getting bet up at home against the Detroit Red Wings, although the PuckLuck model projects this game to be a lot closer than the sportsbooks. The Sabres are hovering around -150, implying a 60% chance of winning. The Red Wings, who have a better record on the season, have an implied 44% chance of winning according to the sportsbooks.

The moneyline and puckline become good buys thanks to this, as PuckLuck has the Sabres and Red Wings separated by only three percentage points. PuckLuck is +61.58 units on the season, so it’s hard not to believe in the model over the long term.

If you’re not already signed up, here are a couple of places offering exclusive deals through Buffalo Hockey Now:

Fanatics: https://fanatics.onelink.me/5kut/1v32imkp

(Up to $1000 back.)

MGM: https://mediaserver.betmgmpartners.com/renderBanner.do?zoneId=1714117

(Up to $1,500 back.)

For more betting analysis across the NHL, head over to PuckLuck.com.

*PuckLuck.com provides data related to gambling and cannot guarantee the success of any suggested or related wagers. Please gamble responsibly.*