Detroit Red Wings (14-39-4, eighth in the Atlantic Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (24-24-8, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
Buffalo, New York; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jack Eichel leads Buffalo into a matchup with Detroit. He's sixth in the NHL with 69 points, scoring 31 goals and totaling 38 assists.
The Sabres are 13-15-5 in Eastern Conference games. Buffalo has given up 41 power-play goals, killing 74.4% of opponent chances.
The Red Wings are 7-11-0 against the rest of their division. Detroit is last in the league averaging only 3.6 assists per game. Dylan Larkin leads them with 25 total assists.
Anthony Mantha is expected to return from an injury. Mantha revealed recently he had a punctured lung after Jake Muzzin took him to the ice in a Red Wings' loss in Toronto.
In their last meeting on Feb. 6, Detroit won 4-3. Larkin scored a team-high two goals for the Red Wings in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eichel leads the Sabres with 31 goals, adding 38 assists and collecting 69 points. Sam Reinhart has five goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
Jimmy Howard leads the Red Wings with a plus-zero in 25 games played this season. Larkin has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Detroit.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 2-7-1, averaging 1.5 goals, 2.6 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.7 penalty minutes while allowing 2.6 goals per game with a .929 save percentage.
Sabres: 4-5-1, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.4 assists, 2.5 penalties and 5.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sabres: Kyle Okposo: out (upper body), Marcus Johansson: day to day (illness).
Red Wings: Filip Zadina: out (lower body), Robby Fabbri: day to day (upper body), Darren Helm: day to day (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
