The Buffalo Sabres are heading into their second of six road games before the NHL All-Star Break that begins January 26, 2012. The Sabres will be taking on some of the hottest teams in the Midwest on this road trip which begins with a trip to Hockeytown, USA to take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight. Despite both being strong hockey towns and neighboring countries with Canada, the similarities end there.
The Sabres and Red Wings couldn't be more polar opposites at this time in the season. Buffalo has struggled through most of the season and continues to slip out of the playoff picture. With only a record of 3-5-2 in the last 10 games, fans continue to beg for some sort of change to the team that might turn the season around. The Sabres also continue to battle tons of injuries through out the lineup which has been where they have been able to center most of the blame. Key offensive forwards like Derek Roy and Drew Stafford continue to play mediocre at best most games and the defense continues to give up odd-man rushes that are too much for the lackluster goaltending of their starter, Ryan Miller.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings continue to stay competitive in the tight Central Division of the wild, wild Western Conference. The Red Wings have had to play well to keep up with the Chicago Blackhawks, earning a 7-3-0 record in their last ten games and maintaining an extraordinary home record of 17-2-1 so far this season. In fact, Detroit is looking for a franchise record of 15 home wins in a row tonight with a victory over Buffalo who can't seem to win at home or away. The Red Wings continue to get good offensive production from their lineup led by star forward Pavel Datsyuk who is just a head of the Sabres' point leader, Jason Pominville in total points. Detroit also continues to play solid defense and is ranked 6th in the NHL with 2.34 goals against per game. Of course much of the credit for keeping pucks out of the net goes to their All-Star goaltender, Jimmy Howard who leads the NHL in wins and is tied for 3rd in shutouts with 4 this season.
Opposites will collide tonight in Detroit, MI as the Sabres hope to create some momentum on the road while the Red Wings hope to maintain it in front of their sure to be sellout crowd in Joe Lewis Arena. As Hockeytown and Hockey Heaven meet tonight, the teams' situations contrast even more then their red and blue sweaters do.
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