Two of the league’s youngest rosters face off for the first time this season

Game 9

Buffalo Sabres (5-3-0) vs. Detroit Red Wings (4-2-2)

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG

Radio: WGR 550

SB Nation Red Wings Blog: Winging It In Motown

Know Your Opponent

Detroit Red Wings

Record: (4-2-2)

Last Game: 2-1 win vs Wild

Division Ranking: T-3rd in Atlantic Division

PP: 19.4% (20th)

PK: 84% (7th)

What to Watch

1. Thompson returning to form

Sabres fans were excited to hear the news back in August that management had signed Tage Thompson to a long-term contract, after his breakout season in 21-22. Through the first seven games this year, however, Thompson had managed to produce only 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) despite having quality scoring chances throughout each contest.

While fans were starting to get a little restless about his lack of production to start the season, TNT showed everyone Saturday night against the Blackhawks exactly why the Sabres felt comfortable offering him the contract they did. Not only did Thompson double his season point totals against Chicago with 2 goals and an assist, he did so with phenomenal work around the net. Thompson’s effort brought the Sabres within one and tied up the game in the later stages of the third, before assisting on the game winning overtime goal.

Judging off his performance from last year, TNT is absolutely a player who gains confidence from seeing the puck go in, so I expect him to feed off his performance on Saturday night and carry it over into tonight’s game.

2. Young Guns

While Buffalo has the youngest roster in the NHL at an average age of 25.56, Detriot is not far behind, coming in at the third youngest with an average age of 25.93. Both teams seem to be on similar trajectories, after going through a few rebuilding seasons the last couple of years.

It feels as if Dylan Larkin has been playing forever, but at only 26, he is still around his prime and Detroit has done a good job surrounding him with young talent. Last season the Red Wings had two outstanding rookies vying for the Calder in Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, with Seider ultimately winning it and Raymond coming in fourth. Both Seider (21) and Raymond (20) have the skill level to progress even more this year, especially with a full season under their belt.

Comparatively, Buffalo has a few rookies of their own this year that could make a Calder push themselves. Owen Power (20), Jack Quinn (21), and JJ Peterka (21) are all playing in their first full season with the Sabres and all had a reasonable chance to win the trophy as determined by betting sites at the beginning of the season, with Power and Peterka having the best chance currently out of the three Sabres.

3. Pucks to the Net

During the first six games of year, Buffalo was outshot in every one, even with the team going 4-2. While one may argue that it’s not the amount of shots a team gets, but rather the quality of those shots, being outshot game after game can still be a recipe for disaster. The last two games against Montreal and Chicago showed improvement for Buffalo, as they registered 45 shots on net in both games, forcing opposing goalies to have to be on their A game in order to win. Unfortunately for the Sabres, that was the case against the Canadiens, but the Blackhawks weren’t able to hold up Buffalo’s barrage for all three periods. If the Sabres can continue that trend and put up 40+ shots again tonight, I see no reason the NHL’s fifth best team in goals per game won’t give themselves a good chance to win, especially with Eric Comrie between the pipes.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Kyle Okposo

Jack Quinn – Casey Mittelstadt – Victor Olofsson

JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Alex Tuch

Peyton Krebs – Rasmus Asplund – Zemgus Girgensons

Defense*

Jacob Bryson – Rasmus Dahlin

Kale Clague – Owen Power

Lawrence Pilut – Casey Fitzgerald

Goaltenders: Eric Comrie (projected starter), Craig Anderson

Scratches: Vinnie Hinostroza

Injuries: Henri Jokiharju, Mattias Samuelsson, Ilya Lyubushkin

* With Lyubushkin out, the Sabres recalled Jeremy Davies from the Amerks.

Detroit Red Wings

Forwards

Adam Erne – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Dominik Kubalik – Andrew Copp – David Perron

Filip Zadina – Joe Veleno – Matt Luff

Elmer Soderblom – Pius Suter – Givani Smith

Defense

Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider

Olli Maatta – Filip Hronek

Robert Hagg – Jordan Oesterle

Goaltenders: Alex Nedeljkovic (projected starter), Ville Husso

Scratches: Michael Rasmussen, Gustav Lindstrom

Injuries: Oskar Sundqvist