{"id":486067,"date":"2026-03-27T08:48:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T12:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=486067"},"modified":"2026-03-27T08:48:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T12:48:01","slug":"nhl-predictions-detroit-red-wings-vs-buffalo-sabres-march-27th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/03\/27\/nhl-predictions-detroit-red-wings-vs-buffalo-sabres-march-27th\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Detroit Red Wings vs Buffalo Sabres, March 27th"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to NHL Predictions, where tonight\u2019s matchup features two teams who are facing the NHL\u2019s longest playoff droughts. The Detroit Red Wings<\/a> and Buffalo Sabres<\/a> are raring to erase the futility that has been surrounding them since the mid-2010s. For the Sabres, that has gone even longer.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions, With the Red Wings and Sabres<\/h2>\n

Season Series:<\/strong> 0-1-1 (Red Wings), 2-0-0 (Sabres)<\/p>\n

Puck Drop:<\/strong> 7:00 p.m. EDT<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a>: NHL Network, FDSNDetroit, MSG-Buffalo<\/h3>\n

Nobody saw this coming for the Sabres. Over the summer, Buffalo looked like a team in regression when they traded star winger JJ Peterka<\/a> to the Utah Mammoth for Josh Doan<\/a> and Michael Kesselring<\/a>. Another rebuild looked like it was further underway when the Sabres fired general manager Kevyn Adams and replaced him with Jarmo Kekalainen. Then, they went on a 30-6-4 odyssey since hiring Kekalainen, and have proven they can beat anyone.<\/p>\n

As for the Red Wings, they are 4-5-2 in March, and once again collapsing under the pressure. While the Wings have played better hockey in March than they have in recent seasons, this was a team entrenched in a Wild Card spot<\/a> at the beginning of the month. Now, they\u2019re once again on the outside and looking in.<\/p>\n

Wild Card Standings<\/h3>\n

Team \u2013 GP \u2013 Pts \u2013 RW<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. BOS \u2013 72 \u2013 88 \u2013 29<\/li>\n
  2. NYI \u2013 73 \u2013 87 \u2013 27<\/li>\n
  3. OTT \u2013 72 \u2013 86 \u2013 32<\/li>\n
  4. DET \u2013 71 \u2013 84 \u2013 27<\/li>\n
  5. PHI \u2013 71 \u2013 82 \u2013 22<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As the above standings show, the Red Wings have ground to make up, and the Bruins are pulling away. Ironically, the Bruins beating the Sabres on Wednesday night hurt Detroit, and the Red Wings are slowly watching the top Wild Card slot slip away unless they get back on track immediately.<\/p>\n

    Biggest Storyline for the Red Wings<\/h3>\n

    Detroit just can\u2019t catch a break in March. They lost Andrew Copp<\/a> and Dylan Larkin<\/a> to injuries earlier in the month. While both made their returns, Emmitt Finnie<\/a> went down with a concussion on Larkin\u2019s first night back. Larkin and Copp are both trusted playmakers. That isn\u2019t the case with Finnie just yet, but he\u2019s a high-energy forward who can play on any line and fit in well, so losing him will hurt the Wings.<\/p>\n

    The upside is that the Wings continue to battle despite their poor showing once again in March. They lost to a Boston Bruins team on a night when goaltender Jeremy Swayman<\/a> was saving everything, so that\u2019s not a knock on their effort. Detroit also got it together against the Senators after falling into a 3-0 hole but couldn’t complete the comeback, so the resilience is there.<\/p>\n

    <\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

    (Credit Image: \u00a9 Steve Roberts\/Cal Sport Media\/Cal Sport Media)<\/span><\/p>\n

    A Golden Opportunity for the Sabres<\/h3>\n

    The Sabres haven\u2019t had 96 points<\/a> in a single season since 2010-11, ironically the last time they made the playoffs. They\u2019re four away from 100, which hasn\u2019t occurred since 2009-10. It was also the last time the Sabres won their division.<\/p>\n

    A season like the one the Sabres have been having is once again proof that it doesn\u2019t matter where you are when you start the season, but how you finish it. As for the Red Wings, the opposite is true. They had gotten off to an outstanding start following a crushing loss to the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and have been up and down since.<\/p>\n

    NHL Predictions<\/h3>\n

    The Sabres and Red Wings have both dropped two straight games, but Buffalo has at least found ways to skate away with a point. With the Sabres still finding ways to minimize their losses in regulation and the Red Wings falling down a slippery slope, momentum is in the Blue and Gold\u2019s corner.<\/p>\n

    Sabres 4 – Red Wings 3<\/em><\/p>\n

    Prop Bets<\/h3>\n

    For the goal scorers, go with Tage Thompson<\/a> and Alex DeBrincat<\/a>. Thompson is once again on pace to hit 40 goals, while DeBrincat has scored 35 times and continues to prove doubters wrong that he was left off the U.S. Men\u2019s Olympic Team.<\/p>\n

    Main photo by: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

    Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Welcome to NHL Predictions, where tonight\u2019s matchup features two teams who are facing the NHL\u2019s longest playoff droughts. The Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are raring to erase the futility that has been surrounding them since the mid-2010s. For the Sabres, that has gone even longer. NHL Predictions, With the Red Wings and Sabres […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5796,"featured_media":486082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6254,6201,344,2139],"class_list":["post-486067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sabres","category-redwings","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-buffalo-sabres-predictions","tag-detroit-red-wings-predictions","tag-dylan-larkin","tag-rasmus-dahlin"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5796"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486067"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":486083,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486067\/revisions\/486083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}