Detroit Red Wings lose to Buffalo Sabres, 6-3: Game thread replay
Detroit Red Wings (15-11-7) vs. Buffalo Sabres (16-14-2)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; Red Wings radio affiliates).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT:Red Wings fight back from 4-goal deficit, beat Penguins, 5-4
COMING BACK SOON?Red Wings send Jakub Vrana to Grand Rapids for conditioning stint
Game notes: The Wings won’t get much time to revel in their stunning rally from a 4-0 deficit in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, as the city of Buffalo finally rescinded a driving ban brought on by a weekend snowstorm — meaning it’s GAME ON! in western New York.
If you thought the Wings were rusty after said storm postponed their Friday game in Ottawa and resulted in a six-day break, brother, meet the Sabres, who haven’t played since beating the Golden Knights in Las Vegas back on Dec. 19. They haven’t played in Buffalo since Dec. 13, when they beat the L.A. Kings, 6-0. Those two games bookended wins on the road in Colorado and Arizona, meaning the Sabres would be one of the NHL’s hottest teams, with four straight wins … if they weren’t one of the league’s coldest, ’cause, y’know, snow.
The Wings will definitely be hoping super-sized forward Tage Thompson — who’s listed at 6 feet 7 — has cooled off. The 2016 first-rounder (No. 26 overall, six spots after the Wings took defenseman Dennis Cholowski at No. 20) has points in 10 of his 12 games this month, including a four-game streak. He’s second in the NHL in goals (26) and fourth in points (50) despite not playing for nine days. That’s in part because of how he has terrorized the Wings: Three goals and four assists in two games, including a three-goal, three-assist mauling of Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic on Halloweeen, with the Sabres winning 8-3.
After Thursday’s second half of the back-to-back, the Wings get a whole day off before hosting the Ottawa Senators for their traditional New Year’s Eve game at The Joe … er, we mean, Little Caesars Arena. The Sabres, meanwhile, head back on the road after Thursday’s game, shippin’ off to Boston for a New Year’s Eve matinee against the Bruins (whose Winter Classic game against the Penguins at Fenway Park is set for Jan. 2 this season).
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings loses to Buffalo Sabres, 6-3: Game thread replay
