Sabres at Red Wings preview

Detroit started the season 3-1-0 but hasn't won since, and has been outscored 27-9 during its losing streak. The Red Wings have allowed at least five goals in five of their six losses.

The Sabres will go for their seventh win in their past nine games. They had their three-game winning streak end with a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Players to watch

Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games.

Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi has three points (one goal, two assists) during a three-game point streak.

They said it

"We have been making mistakes. We made mistakes in past games and were able to find ways to win. Today we just couldn't recover from the hole we dug ourselves into. This is not a big problem." -- Sabres coach Ralph Krueger after the loss to the Rangers on Thursday

"This is the goal from Day One. You are always working to get to this moment. I was excited to get the call but I'm not sure it is really going to hit me until I get on the ice in a Red Wings jersey. The first person I called was my brother (Tampa Bay Lightning center Gemel Smith), because we've waited so long to both be here." -- Red Wings forward Givani Smith, who will make his NHL debut

Sabres projected lineup

Victor Olofsson -- Jack Eichel -- Sam Reinhart

Jeff Skinner -- Marcus Johansson -- Vladimir Sobotka

Conor Sheary -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Evan Rodrigues

Zemgus Girgensons -- Johan Larsson -- Kyle Okposo

Rasmus Dahlin -- Colin Miller

Jake McCabe -- Rasmus Ristolainen

William Borgen -- Henri Jokiharju

Linus Ullmark

Carter Hutton

Scratched: John Gilmour

Injured: Brandon Montour (hand), Zach Bogosian (hip), Matt Hunwick (neck), Marco Scandella (lower body), Jimmy Vesey (upper body)

Red Wings projected lineup

Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Darren Helm

Anthony Mantha -- Valtteri Filppula -- Andreas Athanasiou

Evgeny Svechnikov -- Frans Nielsen -- Taro Hirose

Christoffer Ehn -- Jacob de la Rose -- Givani Smith

Patrik Nemeth -- Trevor Daley

Mike Green -- Filip Hronek

Madison Bowey -- Dennis Cholowski

Jimmy Howard

Jonathan Bernier

Scratched: Alex Biega, Adam Erne

Injured: Luke Glendening (upper body), Danny DeKeyser (lower body), Justin Abdelkader (lower body)

Status report

The Sabres did not have a morning skate. Borgen was called up from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Friday after Scandella was injured against the Rangers. Vesey is out after being injured during the second period Thursday. … Smith was recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL after Abdelkader and Glendening were injured during a 5-2 loss against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Glendening is expected to miss 2-4 weeks while Abdelkader is considered day-to-day. … DeKeyser, who was injured during a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, is expected to be out two weeks.

Stat pack

Johansson will play in his 600th NHL game. … The Red Wings have scored more than two goals once in their past eight games.