Pluses, minuses for Sabres-Red Wings, Oilers-Blackhawks

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Buffalo Sabres (9-12-1) visit the Detroit Red Wings (11-6-4) at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, TNT, SN NOW). Then the Edmonton Oilers (12-10-0) play the Chicago Blackhawks (6-11-4) at United Center (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, SN360, SNW).
Here's my breakdown of the games.

Sabres at Red Wings

Sabres
Pluses: Tage Thompson is proving last season, when he scored 38 goals, was no fluke. He leads the Sabres in goals (14) and points (28) and is one of the bright young stars in the NHL who doesn't get enough credit. Rasmus Dahlin has improved his game tremendously, both offensively and defensively (24 points, plus-10 rating). Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner are each point-per-game players (22 points in 22 games) and coach Don Granato has done a great job changing the culture in Buffalo.

Minuses:They're struggling since a 7-3-0 start, losing 10 of 12 (2-9-1) and allowing at least four goals in eight of the games. This is something we've seen from them the past few seasons. They've gotten off to good starts but then go on long losing streaks. It's a young team but there's certainly areas they can improve, like the penalty kill (70.4 percent).
Red Wings
Pluses:The Red Wings have won four of five (4-1-0), scoring 4.20 goals per game. New coach Derek Lalonde has done a great job. They're getting offense up and down the lineup. Eight players have at least 10 points, led by Dylan Larkin (24) and Dominik Kubalik (22). Ville Husso, acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on July 8, is 9-3-3 with a 2.58 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and three shutouts. Veteran additions Ben Chiarot, David Perron and Andrew Copp have also sparked them.

Minuses:It was a tough 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, when they outshot the Maple Leafs 44-25 and outchanced them 73-33. Although they got forward Tyler Bertuzzi back recently, top-six forwards Jakub Vrana has played two games and Robby Fabbri none this season.

Oilers at Blackhawks

Oilers
Pluses:They've had two big wins in a row, coming back in each, first from down 3-0 in the third period against the New York Rangers on Saturday (4-3) and then tying the game in the final seconds before a 4-3 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Monday. In addition to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two of the best players in the NHL, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman have each averaged more than a point per game. Goalie Stuart Skinner, who entered the season as the backup, has outplayed Jack Campbell, going 5-5-0 with a 2.80 GAA and .919 save percentage.

Minuses:The Oilers haven't been consistent, winning more than two straight games once. Though their power play is 28.8 percent, the penalty kill is near bottom of the NHL (73.3 percent). Edmonton went to the Western Conference Final last season and is pretty much a .500 team through the first quarter of the season.
Blackhawks
Pluses:I've liked what I've seen from Max Domi, who played for Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson when he was an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens from 2018-20. Domi and forward Jonathan Toews (team-leading eight goals) have been two offensive surprises for Chicago this season. There haven't been too many positives since a 4-2-0 start.

Minuses:We knew it was going to be a rebuilding year. They've lost eight straight (0-7-1) and most of them haven't been close. The Blackhawks rank in the bottom five in goals scored (52) and have allowed 76 goals against, never a good combination. Patrick Kane leads them with 16 points (three goals, 13 assists). That's tied for the fewest points for any player leading his team in scoring this season (Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Rasmus Andersson, 16 each for the Calgary Flames).