While Red Wings rookie Emmitt Finnie remained hot by scoring his third goal in the last two games to knot the score at 2-2 late in the middle frame, the Sabres pushed ahead in the third period after a penalty to Michael Rasmussen proved costly.

The Detroit Red Wings were stymied Wednesday night by a goalie making his NHL debut. On Thursday night, the Red Wings get the task no one has been able to master yet: slowing down New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård gets the nod to fill in Patrick Kane's spot for the Detroit Red Wings due to an upper-body injury.

James van Riemsdyk, who is playing his first season with the Red Wings, said he and his teammates have completely bought in to a team-first mentality in the absences of key players like Lucas Raymond and Patrick Kane.

The Red Wings made us collectively groan at our TVs just one game into the season as they fell 5-1 to the in-your-face Canadiens. It was another brutal defensive and goaltending performance -- exactly what the Red Wings had hoped to improve upon as they opened the season.

The 29-year-old center has led the Red Wings to a 5-1-0 start entering their game at the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, FDSNDETX, TNT). He has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in six games.

DETROIT - The next time you attend a Lions, Pistons, Red Wings or Tigers game, you may want to leave your tobacco products at home. According to reports from WXYZ and WJBK, Detroit City Council voted 7-2 in favor of an ordinance banning smokeless tobacco usage at sports venues in the city.