Depth means being able to overcome the absence of a key player. The Detroit Red Wings are deeper this season, but they are not the same without one of their ‘engines’ in action.
Detroit is 0-3 without Tyler Bertuzzi and 1-2 while missing Dylan Larkin.
Bertuzzi returned on Thursday, but Larkin will miss his third game in a row tonight for undisclosed personal reasons when the Red Wings face the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit).
The Red Wings (4-5-2) are winless in four (0-3-1) and have lost three in a row in regulation. The Sabres (5-4-0) have dropped three consecutive games following a surprising start.
“Dylan’s an engine for us. Tyler’s an engine. They’re two of our best players,” coach Jeff Blashill said after the morning skate. “But the degree to which you miss guys always depends on the degree to which the guys who are in those spots, how good they play. If we get an effort tonight where the 12 forwards that are dressed are playing their ‘A’ game, I think you don’t feel the loss nearly as much. I think if we get an effort tonight where the 12 forwards are playing their ‘C’ game, you’re going to wish maybe that you have Dylan in the lineup. That’s the reality. We’re going to have 20 dressed good enough to win.”
Blashill has not disclosed the nature of Larkin’s absence but said he remains on the active 23-man roster.
Pius Suter (one goal, one assist in 11 games) is expected to center the top line with Bertuzzi (six goals, nine points) and Lucas Raymond (five goals, 10 points).
The Red Wings have scored only one goal in the past two games and have registered just 26 shots on goal over the past five periods. Blashill said they passed up too many shooting opportunities in Thursday’s 5-1 loss at Boston.
“We haven’t been as good with the puck in the last little bit. We don’t seem to have as much confidence with it,” Blashill said. “We got to make sure we get the puck, we have good support, we talk to each other, we go tape-to-tape if we can, and if we don’t, we put it in a spot where we can get it back. The more you have the puck the more you feel good about yourself.”
The Red Wings haven’t resembled the confident team they appeared to be during a 4-2-1 start.
“We need to get as many guys as close to their ‘A’ game as possible on a night to night basis,” Blashill said. “Has the play of a number of guys dipped in last couple of games? Yeah. That’s why the results have been what the results have been. We need the individuals to pick up and play at a higher level.”
The Red Wings will try to take advantage of a Sabres team coming off a West Coast trip, something they couldn’t do against Montreal Tuesday, losing 3-0.
“Obviously, it didn’t happen in Montreal, so you hope you can get a jump on them early,” Blashill said. “Sometimes when you come back from the West Coast you feel tired the next day, sometimes it’s a couple days later.”
The Sabres traded star center Jack Eichel earlier in the week to Vegas for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs and first- and second-round draft picks. Eichel (neck) and Tuch (shoulder) are both out long-term.
- Blashill said he anticipates defenseman Marc Staal being available tonight but won’t know until pregame.
- Gustav Lindstrom (lower-body injury) will miss his sixth game in a row but is closer to returning, possibly Sunday at home against Vegas or Tuesday vs. Edmonton.
More: Anthony Mantha joins Jakub Vrana on injured list for same reason
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November 06, 2021 at 11:54PM
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Red Wings try again to get back on track without one of their engines - MLive.com
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