Tuesday NHL: Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres
It’s the first road game of the season on this continent from Detroit, which bounced back from a tough start over in Stockholm and looks back to normal.
The Wings will get a reinforcement tonight as center Darren Helm will return to action against the Sabres, after missing four weeks with a sprained AC joint (shoulder). Helm will center the fourth line, with Brad May and Patrick Eaves.
“It’s been a long time,” Helm said. “I didn’t get expect to get hurt in camp, but it happens and you fight through it. It gave me an extra month to get even more excited to get to this point.
Helm’s speed, energy and physical play will provide a boost.
“He creates opportunities off the forecheck, he’s able to get on the (defense), which creates chances for guys he’s playing with,” goalie Chris Osgood said.”He’s a guy that creates a lot of havoc. He’s a guy we need to get back at 100 percent and playing well for us.”
Osgood will make his third consecutive start in goal tonight. He is 4-1-2 with a 1.75 goals-against average in his career at HSBC Arena. Detroit is a -115 money line favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Buffalo gets back defenseman Toni Lydman tonight. He missed the first three games of the season with a hand injury. He will take an injured Andrej Sekera’s spot.
“Andrej has got a rib injury, and he’s going to miss at least a couple weeks. It could be longer,” Ruff said. “He doesn’t really know how he got hurt, so it’s sort of a strange one.”
The Sabres are 2-0-1, but have managed to score just four goals thus far. Goalie Ryan Miller has been excellent with a 0.99 GAA and 0.955 save percentage.
Detroit has won 15 of its last 18 meetings with Buffalo. Coach Mike Babcock’s team is 6 for 20 (30.0 percent) on the power play through four games after leading the league (25.5 percent) last season.
NHL Betting at WagerWeb.com
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