Toni Lydman will play his first game tonight against Detroit. He's been out with a hand injury. The defenseman really didn't have too much to say other than he hopes he's not rusty. He replaces Andrej Sekera who's out with a rib injury. Lydman will be paired with Steve Montador. They played together in Calgary. There are no other line up changes.
Buffalo comes into this game leading the NHL with 38.7 shots per game. The Red Wings average 31.8. The Sabres are second in the league behind Chicago giving up just 22 shots. Detroit's numbers are up there as it gives up 28.2 shots. The difference is Detroit has scored 12 goals despite not having any from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. The Sabres have just four goals.
Ryan Miller is 3rd in the NHL with a 0.98 goals against. His .955 save percentage ranks him 5th.
You'd think as bad as the Sabres power play has been this year they'd be last, but they're actually 27th. The Red Wings are 6th. On the penalty kill Buffalo is 4th while Detroit is 26th.
The Red Wings are getting back on track after losing two games in Sweden to St.Louis. Since coming home, they've beaten Chicago and Washington. Expect three goals from the Red Wings as they've scored three in all four of their games.
Any time you see a Detroit game you see Tomas Holmstrom in front of the net. He's only 6'0 and 198 pounds, but he's strong and can't be moved according to Lindy Ruff, "That's his home and I think the more you try to get rid of him, the more distraction it becomes. Teams have tried to move him, you can't move him that's just where he is and you have to play and work around it, the goaltender has to fight to see the puck, he's just one of the best net front guys there is in the league."
You'll hear from Ruff and well as Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville on the Sabres pregame with Schopp and the Bulldog beginning at 6:00.
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