Pregame: Red Wings @ Sabres – 11/2

The Red Wings visit the Buffalo Sabres tonight, in what has all the makings of a trap game for Detroit.

The Wings are coming off a 5-2 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, a game in which their power play finally started clicking with two goals by Gustav Nyquist. Additionally, they’re finally “completely” healthy up front, as Johan Franzen returns to the lineup (Stephen Weiss, who has only played in one game this season, is on injured reserve).

The Sabres, meanwhile sit in last place in the Atlantic and second-worst in the league and are winless at home.

It’s a game the Red Wings absolutely should win, but those games have a history of being trouble for them.

In addition to Franzen’s return, Brian Lashoff will make his season debut on defense, as Kyle Quincey is out with an ankle injury. Daniel Cleary and Andrej Nestrasil are the healthy scratches up front.

Jimmy Howard gets the start in goal.

Stupid stat of the day: They sing both the Canadian and American national anthems in Buffalo. Every Detroit loss on November 2 since 1991 has been in a place where they sing O Canada.

Game time is 5:00 PM on FSD.