Sabres at Red Wings
A pair of sputtering Atlantic Division rivals look to change their respective fortunes when the Buffalo Sabres visit the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Detroit has seen its offense hit the skids during its six-game winless streak (0-2-4), and Sunday's 2-1 shootout loss to Colorado was no exception. "We need to find a way to score goals," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said of his team, which has mustered just six goals in as many contests. "We had lots of opportunities and didn't finish."
Detroit has enjoyed significantly better results when Buffalo visits Joe Louis Arena, posting five straight victories while compiling a 13-0-1 mark in its last 14 meetings with the Sabres. Buffalo suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to Boston on Sunday, its third straight setback overall and fourth consecutive on the road. Chris Stewart has notched an assist in three of his last four contests and scored a goal in the Sabres' 3-2 shootout victory over Detroit on Nov. 2.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE SABRES (13-18-3): With the flu bug running rampant, coach Ted Nolan opted to have his team forgo practice on Monday in a bid to get healthier. Patrick Kaleta, Matt Moulson and goaltender Michal Neuvirth are battling the illness and their respective statuses for Tuesday's tilt are unknown. Captain Brian Gionta also is questionable to face Detroit after suffering an upper-body injury following a hard hit from Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (17-8-9): Although he briefly practiced on Monday, Jimmy Howard is cautiously optimistic that he could return from a lingering groin injury to face Buffalo. "There's a chance, but I don't know. I'll probably have to talk a little bit more to (the training staff) to see what's best for myself and for the team," Howard told MLive.com. "It's responded every single day with treatments. It felt good out there on the ice today, so hopefully (Tuesday), another good work day, and you never know." Backup Petr Mrazek has dropped his last three decisions, although he stopped 22-of-23 shots in his last two appearances.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit C Stephen Weiss is expected to return versus Buffalo after missing four games with a shoulder injury.
2. Sabres D Andrej Meszaros on Sunday netted his first tally since March 30 against Philadelphia.
3. Buffalo has both scored and yielded a power-play goal in three of its last four games.