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Red Wings kick off road trip against Sabres

Feb 26, 2011 - 3:24 PM (Sports Network) - After some brief struggles at home, the Detroit Red Wings will try to get back on track with a five-game road trip, a swing that begins tonight versus the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena.

The Red Wings had won a season-best five straight games before consecutive home setbacks to the Sharks and Stars. Though Tuesday's setback to San Jose came by just one goal, the Red Wings managed just a late third-period tally from Tomas Holmstrom on the power play in a 4-1 setback to Dallas on Thursday.

Detroit lost for the fourth time in its last six in Motown and is just 17-10-4 at home this season. By comparison, the club is 20-8-2 on the road and has won its last four as the guest.

"You can't have success unless you're dominant at home," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said.

Jimmy Howard made 21 saves for Detroit, which still leads Chicago and Nashville by 10 points for first place in the Central Division, but trails Vancouver by seven points for the most in the Western Conference.

The Red Wings also expect to have a pair of players return to action tonight in forwards Mike Modano and Valtteri Filppula. Modano hasn't played since Nov. 26 due to a lacerated right wrist that required surgery, while Filppula has missed eight games in a row because of a sprained left MCL.

The Sabres will try to wrap a season-high six-game homestand tonight with a .500 record, a mark that seemed unlikely after the club dropped the first three games of the residency.

Buffalo, though, has rebounded with wins over Atlanta and Ottawa to remain three points behind Carolina for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ryan Miller made 29 saves and Cody McCormich had a goal and an assist in Friday night's 4-2 win over the Senators. Mike Grier, Thomas Vanek and Jochen Hecht also lit the lamp to improve the Sabres to 14-15-2 at home this season.

"We want to get better every time. I heard teams won ... that are around us [in the standings], so its a big game again [Saturday]," said Hecht. "We've got to be mentally prepared for every game now. They're all big down the stretch now."

The Sabres snapped a three-game home series losing streak against the Red Wings with a 6-2 win on Oct. 13 of last season, getting two goals from Vanek. The clubs then met in Detroit on March 13, with the Red Wings posting a 3-2 overtime victory thanks to Brian Rafalski's power-play winner that was Detroit's fourth victory in its last five versus Buffalo.

Miller made 34 stops, while Howard countered with 24 saves in his first career start versus the Sabres.