Sharpen Up: December 16, 2021 | Sabres road trip continues in Minnesota

It's a game night in Minnesota. The Buffalo Sabres are in the Twin Cities to face the Minnesota Wild tonight.
Faceoff is at 8 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550 with pregame coverage on MSG starting at 7:30.
Here's what you need to know.

Yesterday's practice

Alex Tuch has been practicing with the team as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery, but up until Wednesday, he'd done so in a non-contact. Tuch was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and could enter the lineup by the end of the calendar year.
From yesterday's Practice Report:

"He is close," Granato told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. "He's going to go through a couple days of contact and then we'll get a better picture of strength, response. It won't be within the next five days but … it could be soon after that."
The addition of Tuch, 25, would bolster Buffalo's offensive skill at forward. Tuch tallied 33 points (18+15) in 55 games with Vegas last season. He posted career highs in goals (20) and points (52) in 74 contests during the NHL's last full season in 2018-19.

Defenseman Robert Hagg did not practice with team in Minnesota and has returned to Buffalo for further evaluations after missing the third period of Tuesday's 4-2 victory in Winnipeg with an injury. He will miss the remainder of the road trip.
"We're going to get some imaging on him and we'll wait for the doctors to let us know where they feel it's at, but he was sore after the game," Granato said.
Read the full practice report here and stay tuned for updates from today's morning skate.

Tonight's matchup

From the Game Notes:
• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Wild this season.
• Last meeting: Minnesota defeated Buffalo 4-1 in Buffalo on Nov. 19, 2019.
• The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games against the Wild: 6-4-0 on the road.
• This is the 26th game all-time between Buffalo and Minnesota; Buffalo has a 11-13-1 series record.
• The Sabres are 8-4-0 on the road against the Wild all-time.

• Rookie goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned his first win of the season on Tuesday in Winnipeg, stopping 34 of the 36 shots he faced.
• Luukkonen's effort came on the heels of his career-high 40 saves on Saturday vs. Washington.
• He ranks second among qualified NHL goaltenders in save percentage (.939) and is tied for seventh in goals-against average (1.99) this season. His numbers are also good for the NHL lead among rookie goaltenders in both categories.
• Luukkonen has posted a .913 save percentage or better in all four of his starts this season.
• Buffalo has held its opponents without a power-play goal in seven of its last nine games dating back to Nov. 26 vs. Montreal.
• The team has gone 15-for-17 (88.2%) and ranks sixth in the NHL on the penalty kill during that stretch.
• Rasmus Dahlin has registered eight points (3+5) in his last eight road games.
• He has also totaled three points (2+1) in three career games against Minnesota
• Colin Miller has recorded six assists in his last six games against the Wild.
• Jeff Skinner has five points (3+2) in his last five visits to Minnesota.
• Will Butcher scored a goal in both of his previous two career road games against the Wild.

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