Sabres Look to Snap Six-Game Losing Streak Versus Red Wings

The Buffalo Sabres were a team on the rise after sweeping the California teams out west. Since then, six straight losses, a disparaging press conference from the general manager, and an injury to the team captain and star defenseman have dropped Buffalo’s stock significantly. The Sabres host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, hoping to reverse the trend.

The Sabres appear to be getting one of their better players back for the contest. Jordan Greenway missed Buffalo’s last 10 games with an undisclosed injury but practiced in full on Sunday, per reports. Head coach Lindy Ruff indicated during the morning skate that Greenway would play if the skate went well.

Where to Watch

Gametime: 7:00 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: MSG; FDSNDET

Stream: Gotham Sports; ESPN+ (Out of market)

Radio: WGR550

Sabres Gameday

Greenway’s return throws a wrinkle in the already-scrambling line combinations from practice on Sunday. Per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, Greenway and JJ Peterka rotated at left wing on a line with Jiri Kulich and Dylan Cozens. Peyton Krebs was moved to the top line alongside Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. The fourth line, centered by Tyson Kozak, remained the same. That left Ryan McLeod between Zach Benson and Jason Zucker.

Greenway’s chemistry with McLeod and Zucker from the beginning of the season may warrant a return there, leaving room for a complete reshuffling of the lines. The impending roster move to activate Greenway from injured reserve is perhaps the most interesting part of his return.

More Greenway: Where Does Jordan Greenway Fit on the Sabres?

Kozak has been one of Buffalo’s most effective players in his recall, making the decision tough to simply send him back to Rochester. Jack Quinn is expected to be a healthy scratch for the third-straight game but would require waivers to be sent to the AHL. Young defenseman Ryan Johnson is expected to make his season debut against the Red Wings with Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin still dealing with back spasms.

It’s possible the Sabres place Rasmus Dahlin on IR retroactively, which would clear a roster spot and still allow him to play this weekend, as projected.

In net, James Reimer did not participate in the morning skate. This indicates that he’ll likely start against his former team, although Ruff did not confirm.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings sit a point behind the Sabres in the standings, dealing with struggles of their own. Detroit’s lost five straight games and have won only three of their last 10.

Aside from their top trio of Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, and Dylan Larkin, the Red Wings are struggling to find consistent secondary scoring. They rank 29th in the NHL with 2.48 goals per game, led by a disappointing three goals and 10 points in 22 games for Patrick Kane.

The Red Wings also struggle on the penalty kill, where they rank 31st in the NHL. The Sabres are currently 30th in the league on the powerplay, so something will have to give there.

Head coach Derek Lalonde said the staff has not decided whether it will be Ville Husso or rookie Sebastian Cossa in net, with top goalies Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon out with injuries.

For more on the Red Wings, head over to Detroit Hockey Now.

Injury Report

Buffalo Sabres

• Rasmus Dahlin (Back Spasms) Day-to-day
• Sam Lafferty (Lower Body) Out [IR]
• Jordan Greenway (Undisclosed) Day-to-day [IR]
• Mattias Samuelsson (Lower Body) Day-to-day [IR]

Detroit Red Wings

• Alex Lyon (Lower Body) Out [IR]
• Cam Talbot (Lower Body) Out

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards (Projected)

Zach Benson – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka – Jiri Kulich – Dylan Cozens

Jordan Greenway – Ryan McLeod – Jason Zucker

Beck Malenstyn – Tyson Kozak – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Defense (Projected)

Ryan Johnson – Bowen Byram

Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

James Reimer

Source: Lance Lysowski, The Buffalo News

Detroit Red Wings

Forwards (Projected)

Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Michael Rasmussen – Marco Kasper – Patrick Kane

Vladimir Tarasenko – J.T. Compher – Andrew Copp

Jonatan Berggren – Tyler Motte – Christian Fischer

Defense (Projected)

Simon Edvinsson – Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry

Erik Gustafsson – Justin Holl

Goalie (Projected)

Ville Husso

Betting Breakdown

The Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are predictably close in win probability in PuckLuck’s model. The slight edge is on the road Red Wings currently, although that could change come game time with any lineup news.

One thing that we can hone in on in the betting market is the under, despite two backup goalies expected to be in net. The Red Wings are scoring at one of the league’s worst rates, including managing only four goals over their last three games. The Sabres are averaging under two goals per game over their last six.

If you can grab the under at 6.5 it’s a value, despite the juice.

A close game also provides a little value on the Red Wings, whether it’s the riskier moneyline bet or the safer +1.5 puckline.

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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.*