The final contest on Tuesday of the 2011 NHL Prospects Tournament between the Buffalo Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings was essentially played as a formality. Buffalo entered the day 2-0 after victories over defending tourney champ Minnesota and Columbus, and had already earned a place in the championship tilt (with the other half of that card being the New York Rangers, despite losing in double OT to Carolina earlier in the day). On the other hand, Detroit would be relegated to the 7th place game following losses to the Blue Jackets and Wild to start the tourney. Their sloppy play - especially versus Columbus – was quite uncharacteristic for a team wearing the winged wheel, and they sought to amend their game plan and please the very pro-Red Wing crowd at Centre ICE.
