The Detroit Red Wings dressed a blended roster of prospects and established players opposite the Buffalo Sabres for today’s matinee affair. With the Wings nursing injuries to Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith (per MLive’s Ansar Khan) the status of the Red Wings’ 23-man roster, as will be submitted to the NHL at 3 PM on Monday, looked like it was “to be determined.”

The Buffalo Sabres were slightly undermanned as well, but as far as regular season dress rehearsals are concerned, these were the best rosters that both teams could muster.

So the Red Wings wrapped up a slate of 8 exhibition games played over the course of only 11 days and nights, and they did so by dropping a 3-1 decision to the Buffalo Sabres.

During an afternoon in which Sam Gagner was probably the best player on the ice, and the Wings’ only scorer, Detroit was out-shot 38-19 by a more energetic Sabres team, and out-attempted 55-31 during a game where the Wings were just plain old mentally and physically exhausted from the grind–and Buffalo was all too happy to grind them down as a result.

Detroit ends the preseason with a 4-and-4 record, and the first game that counts is Thursday vs. Tampa Bay.

Of prospect-related note in Europe this afternoon:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro finished at -1 with 3 shots in 17:42 played as TPS Turku lost 2-1 to Karpat in a shootout;

In the SHL, Albert Johansson had 2 assists, finishing at +3 in 14:04 played as Farjestads BK won 5-2 over Brynas:

Per Chris Johnston:

Full list of today’s NHL waivers: John Moore (BOS), Chris Wagner (BOS), Byron Froese (CGY), Justi Kirkland (CGY), Calvin Pickard (DET), Thomas Hickey (NYI), Richard Panik (NYI), Anthony Angello (PIT), Dylan Gambrell (SJ), Logan Brown (STL), Mackenzie MacEachern (STL) …— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 9, 2021

Alex Biega (TOR), Kurtis Gabriel (TOR) and Michal Kempny (WSH).— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 9, 2021

The Red Wings waived Luke Witkowski and Dan Renouf on Friday, with the intent of sending both players to Grand Rapids, and both players cleared waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

All waivers from yesterday clear— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 9, 2021

The Score’s Sean O’Leary suggests that Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is among a group of NHL coaches who are not only “on the hot seat,” but also “in the pressure cooker” heading into the 2021-2022 season:

Jeff Blashill, Red Wings: Blashill is also on an expiring deal. Detroit has been uninspiring for years, and he’ll have to make a noticeable impact this season to be re-upped in Hockeytown.

Continued; If the Wings make tangible improvements upon their previous seasons’ records, I wouldn’t be surprised if Blashill remains as the Red Wings’ coach.

Sportsnet’s Mike Johnston penned an Atlantic Division preview today, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings:

DETROIT RED WINGS

2021 season outcome: 19-27-10, seventh place in Central Division, missed playoffs.

Notable off-season additions: Pius Suter, Mitchell Stephens, Alex Nedeljkovic, Nick Leddy, Jordan Oesterle, Luke Witkowski

Notable off-season subtractions: Jonathan Bernier, Valtteri Filppula, Frans Nielsen, Luke Glendening, Richard Panik

The good news: Overall, just knowing that Steve Yzerman is the one making decisions and building this roster is reason enough for optimism. In terms of the offence, there’s really nowhere to go but up after the team scored just one more goal than the lowly Ducks last season.

It was a slightly under-the-radar move but trading for Nedeljkovic from Carolina could help jumpstart a turnaround. The young netminder posted a .932 save percentage and 1.90 goals-against average which were league bests among goalies with more than 10 starts.

The bad news: There remains a dearth of elite talent. Detroit lost seven games in regulation by just one goal plus another 10 in overtime or a shootout. Their .227 winning percentage in one-goal games was worst in the NHL and a lack of proven scorers could mean similar results. If minor improvements result in winning more of these close games, though, then we’ll begin seeing Detroit climb up from the league’s lower tiers.

Continued; I believe that the Red Wings’ roster additions and special teams renovations could give the team the opportunity to be much more competitive in one-goal games, but we’ll see how things pan out.

No Dylan Larkin for today’s game against the Buffalo Sabres (3 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com/MSG B):

3:00 in Buffalo. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/RKB2x6nAOw

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2021

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan notes the injury situation:

#RedWings lineup for today’s preseason finale at Buffalo, 3 p.m. Rasmussen and Smith still out with day to day injuries. Larkin and Fabbri, Erne, Namestnikov not playing. pic.twitter.com/o6ESBSKPtT

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 9, 2021

Update #2: Here’s the Sabres’ roster:

Your #Sabres and #RedWings rosters. High drama faces off today at 3 (it’s on MSG). pic.twitter.com/xrIePNyIVG

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) October 9, 2021

The Associated Press’s Larry Lage asked Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill about the NHL’s intent to use pucks which include tracking hardware this season, and coach Blashill was less than thrilled with the news–which might be a good thing:

After a bumpy start last season with microchipped pucks that didn’t slide right, the latest versions have worked so well that at least one coach wasn’t sure if they were in play yet.

“I’m not aware that we have used those pucks yet this season,” Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “I wish we would so we could feel them.”

That seems to be a good sign. The NHL attempted to track pucks last January, but took them off the ice six days into the season.

“We went away from it because the puck didn’t glide right,” Blashill recalled. “It didn’t feel like a real puck. Obviously, that’s the trick. I think puck tracking is a great thing that will really help the analytics a lot.”

Blashill told Lage that the puck-tracking hardware will be good news, assuming that the pucks perform properly:

“The puck tracking piece is critical and we’re excited about it with our analytics group,” Blashill said. “We think it take some of the things we have in place and bring it to a whole other level.”

Of prospect-related note in North America on Friday night:

In the QMJHL, Oscar Plandowski finished at +1 with 3 shots in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 4-1 win over Halifax;

Jan Bednar served as the back-up in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 5-2 win over Saint John;

In the OHL, Pasquale Zito had a goal and an assist, finishing at +1 with 3 shots and a 13-for-26 faceoff record in the Windsor Spitfires’ 3-2 overtime victory over Sarnia;

In the WHL, Sebastian Cossa stopped 23 of 24 shots and earned second star status in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ 2-1 victory over Swift Current;

Cross Hanas finished at -1 with 2 shots in the Portland Winterhawks’ 4-0 loss to Everett;

In the BCHL, Kienan Draper finished even with an assist in the Chilliwack Chiefs’ 7-5 loss to Langley;

And in NCAA Division I Hockey, Robert Mastrosimone scored the game-winning goal in the Boston University Terriers’ 2-1 victory over UConn.

Mastrosimone had 7 shots and finished even; Ethan Philips finished even with 5 shots; Chase Bradley finished even with 3 shots for UConn;

According to the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe, forward T.J. Hensick is attending the Toledo Walleye’s training camp as a pro try-out:

Veteran forward T.J. Hensick signed a tryout agreement with the Toledo Walleye and was on the ice for the opening day of training camp on Friday.

Hensick, who has played in 900 games in his pro career, served as Toledo’s captain the last time the Walleye were ice during the 2019-20 season.

Hensick, the former University of Michigan star, turned pro in 2007-08 and went to play in 112 games in the NHL with Colorado and St. Louis. After playing in 653 career games in the American Hockey League, Hensick suited up for the Walleye in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

The native of Howell, Mich., has played in 104 career regular-season games for Toledo. Hensick has racked up 114 points with 33 goals and 81 assists.

Continued