Preview: Wild vs. Sabres

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild is on the hunt tonight, seeking to dull the Sabres and secure the season sweep against Buffalo.

The Wild is on a two-win streak, finally finding some rhythm and chemistry after a rough return from the 4 Nations Face-Off break. G Filip Gustavsson saw his best two performances since the break in Minnesota's last two games, saving 28-of-29 shots on goal against the Kings on 3/17 and 34-of-34 SOG against the Kraken on 3/19, tallying his 11th career shutout. Gustavsson now holds the title for fifth place all-time shutouts by a Wild goaltender.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, March 22nd at 1:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Additional Ticket Offers: Made in Minnesota Ticket Pack: Waggle Golf includes a game ticket and a Wild Waggle hat
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Sabres

Wild Record: 39-25-5, 83 points, 4th in Central Division

Sabres Record: 27-34-6, 60 points, 8th in Atlantic Division

2024-25 Series Record: 1-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 16-10-6 (5-6-4 at Xcel Energy Center)

This Season on Wild vs. Sabres

Minnesota won the series-opening game, 1-0, at KeyBank Center (11/27).

LW Kirill Kaprizov scored the game’s only goal, assisted by C Joel Eriksson Ek and LW Matt Boldy. Gustavsson saved all 39 shots faced to earn the shutout victory, marking the sixth-highest save total by a goaltender in a shutout victory in franchise history. The Wild also blocked 31 shots in the win over Buffalo, tied for the second-highest single-game total in franchise history (33 blocked shots at SJS, 12/6/11).

G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 29-of-30 shots faced for the Sabres.

Last Time Out

Minnesota shut out the Kraken 4-0 on Wednesday night in Saint Paul. The Wild scored its first three goals within 100 seconds in the first five minutes of the game. C Ryan Hartman netted the first, assisted by D Zach Bogosian and C Vinnie Hinostroza. About one minute later, Boldy sent the puck into the net unassisted. Just thirty seconds after Boldy's goal, LW Liam Öhgren scored the third Wild goal of the night, assisted by C Freddy Gaudreau and C Gustav Nyquist. Boldy scored the final game of the night late in the third period, netting an empty netter assisted by Bogosian. Gustavsson stopped 34-of-34 shots on goal for his 11th career shutout win.

Wild Leaders Against Sabres

• LW Marcus Johansson leads with Minnesota with 20 points (12-8=20) in 31 career games vs. Buffalo
• RW Mats Zuccarello (5-14=19 in 26 matches) and Nyquist (6-13=19 in 33 games) each own 19 points
• D Jared Spurgeon has 11 points (5-6=11) in 19 games

Sabres Leaders Against Wild

• D Rasmus Dahlin leads Buffalo with 10 points (4-6=10) in 10 career games vs. Minnesota
• RW Alex Tuch owns nine points (4-5=9) in 20 games
• LW Jason Zucker has six points (1-5=6) in eight games
• C Tage Thompson has five points (1-4=5) in 10 games

To view recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

On the Mend

Jonas Brodin: lower-body injury (nine game missed)

Joel Eriksson Ek: lower-body injury (12 games missed)

Marcus Foligno: upper-body injury (two games missed)

Marcus Johansson (one game missed)

Kirill Kaprizov: lower-body injury (19 games missed)

Connections

• LW Marcus Foligno was born in Buffalo and tallied 116 points (49-67=116) and 334 PIM in 347 games with the Sabres (2011-17)
• Foligno was drafted by the Sabres in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft
• Johansson tallied 30 points (9-21=30) in 60 games with Buffalo in 2019-20
• Bogosian collected 67 points (13-54=67) and 234 PIM in 243 games in parts of six seasons with Buffalo (2014-20)
• LW Jordan Greenway was drafted 50th overall by the Wild in the 2015 NHL Draft and recorded 119 points (38-81=119), 227 PIM and a plus-18 rating in 317 games over a span of six seasons with Minnesota (2017-23)
• Tuch was drafted 18th overall by the Wild in the 2014 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut with Minnesota, skating in six games during the 2016-17 season
• LW Jason Zucker was selected by Minnesota in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft and collected 243 points (132-111=243) in 456 games across nine seasons (2011-20) with the Wild

Fast Facts

• Minnesota’s 7-0 win at Buffalo (1/15/15) is tied for the largest margin of victory in franchise history

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.