"Bruce was telling us, 'Let's win the week,'" said Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. "This was a big game for that. Now we've got a tough challenge going back home, so we have to make sure we're ready for that and come out on home ice the way we finished the road trip here."
Loose Pucks
• Jason Zucker scored Minnesota's second goal in the first period and has now lit the lamp in back-to-back games.
• After assisting on Zucker's goal, Suter scored on a snipe from the left point early in the third. Suter, who tied a career high with eight goals and established a new best with 51 points last season, is on pace to shatter those numbers in the early going. Thursday's game marked Suter's third multi-point effort in Minnesota's first eight games.
• Mikko Koivu scored the Wild's final goal into the empty net.
• Nate Prosser and Christian Folin each earned assists on Thursday, meaning every skater on the Wild's active roster has scored at least one point this season.
• With 28 goals through eight games, the Wild is the highest scoring team in the Western Conference and sits one goal behind NHL-leading Montreal.
• Attendance: 18,122
He Said It
"That's how we have to win. We don't, like I've always said, we don't have the superstars. We need everybody on the team participating and so far we've been able to do that. Hopefully we can keep that going." -- Wild defenseman Ryan Suter on Minnesota's balanced scoring
They Said It
"In old school terms, grinding the sawdust. We weren't able to execute, got a little nervous with the puck. I don't know if that's from the [Philadelphia] game [on Tuesday] but that's what it felt like in the first." -- Sabres coach Dan Bylsma on Buffalo's sluggish start to the game offensively
Dan's Three Stars
* Devan Dubnyk
\\ Ryan Suter
\\* Joel Eriksson Ek