Detroit Red Wings prospects talk confidence, goals
Axel Sandin Pellikka, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Todd McLellan, September 2025 in Detroit.
The Detroit Red Wings gave goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa his second start of the preseason, in the arena in which he made his NHL debut.
They also took another look at several other prospects in the exhibition match on Saturday, Sept. 27, at KeyBank Arena in Buffalo. But the Wings lost for the second straight time on the road, falling, 5-2, to the Buffalo Sabres.
The Wings (2-2-0) fell behind by two in the first period before Buffalo native Patrick Kane scored on former Wings goalie Alex Lyon.
The Wings’ lineup included veterans Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Copp and Ben Chiarot, along with youngsters such as Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Carter Mazur, Amadeus Lombardi and Axel Sandin Pellikka.
The Sabres’ lineup included star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who had the first goal, as well as star forward Tage Thompson, who scored twice. Radim Mrtka also scored for the Sabres (3-1-0). Oxford native (and Michigan alumnus) Josh Norris scored into an empty net with 13 seconds remaining.
Cossa, a first-round pick from 2021 (No. 15 overall) who made what is so far his only NHL appearance in December in relief in a shootout victory at Buffalo, made 16 saves in his second full exhibition game this fall.
Marco Kasper had the Wings’ second goal.
The Wings are off Sunday, then resume their exhibition schedule against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Monday, Sept. 29 (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). The regular-season opener is Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens at LCA.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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