- Stats
- Picks
- Odds
Sabres vs Wild Game Overview
BUF vs MINRecords
Head-To-HeadLast 10
Win / Loss
6-4
Over / Under
3-7-0
| Date | Home | Result | ML | O/U | HSOG | ASOG | HPP | APP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, '25 | MIN |
4 - 1
|
MIN -140 | u5.5 | 21 | 21 | 0-2 | 0-2 |
| Nov 27, '24 | BUF |
1 - 0
|
MIN -139 | u5.5 | 39 | 30 | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| Feb 17, '24 | MIN |
3 - 2 (OT)
|
BUF +125 | u6.0 | 32 | 28 | 1-4 | 0-3 |
| Nov 10, '23 | BUF |
3 - 2
|
BUF -108 | u6.5 | 25 | 35 | 0-4 | 2-5 |
| Jan 28, '23 | MIN |
3 - 2 (SO)
|
MIN -172 | u6.5 | 35 | 31 | 1-4 | 0-1 |
| Jan 07, '23 | BUF |
6 - 5 (OT)
|
BUF -101 | o6.5 | 37 | 44 | 2-3 | 2-4 |
| Mar 04, '22 | BUF |
5 - 4
|
BUF +172 | o6.5 | 38 | 33 | 2-3 | 1-2 |
| Dec 16, '21 | MIN |
3 - 2 (SO)
|
BUF +245 | u6.0 | 32 | 40 | 0-2 | 0-2 |
| Nov 19, '19 | BUF |
4 - 1
|
MIN +106 | u5.5 | 31 | 26 | 0-3 | 1-7 |
| Feb 05, '19 | BUF |
5 - 4 (SO)
|
BUF +102 | o6.0 | 39 | 45 | 2-2 | 0-3 |
BUF vs MIN Preview
Last Meeting ( Mar 22, 2025 ) Buffalo 1, Minnesota 4
The Minnesota Wild will try for their eighth straight victory when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
The Wild are also 11-1-1 in their past 13 games, most recently beating the team with the best record in the NHL that was riding a 10-game winning streak.
Minnesota took down the visiting Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout on Friday, marking just the eighth time in NHL history that two teams met with winning streaks of at least six games, and the second time that happened with the Wild.
They were on a 12-game winning streak when the Columbus Blue Jackets beat them 4-2 on Dec. 31, 2016 to run their winning streak to 15 games.
"They're the best team in the league right now," Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin said of Colorado. "They [have] great players, but we're a good team, too, and I think we showed that."
The Wild will be up against a Buffalo team that's also playing its second game in two days. The Sabres were shut out 5-0 by the visiting New Jersey Devils on Friday and now head on the road, where they're 1-6-2 this season without a regulation victory.
The Wild would appear in good position to maintain their winning streak.
"I hope we keep doing it," Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt said after making 39 saves against the Avalanche and stopping two of three attempts in the shootout.
Buffalo forward Tage Thompson said the Sabres played better against the Devils than the score indicated.
"I thought there was a lot of energy on the bench, and I thought our team was playing well," Thompson said. "I thought we controlled the first two periods pretty handily. Obviously, the score didn't indicate that, but I thought we had a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities."
The Wild placed Marcus Foligno on injured reserve on Friday with a lower-body injury and activated fellow forward Ryan Hartman, who had missed four games with a lower-body injury.
Foligno is week-to-week after leaving during the second period of a 4-3 overtime win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. He has two assists in 23 games this season, while Hartman has four goals and four assists in 21 games.
Hartman assisted on the first of two goals by Kirill Kaprizov in his return to action on Friday.
Filip Gustavsson will start in goal for the Wild. Gustavsson is 2-1-1 in his career against the Sabres with a .938 save percentage and 1.75 goals against average
Pekka Luukkonen will start in goal for the Sabres after Alex Lyon made 18 saves against the Devils on Friday.
Luukkonen is 3-2-1 in his career against the Wild with a .922 save percentage and 2.44 goals-against average.
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went to the locker room after taking an elbow to the face from Timo Meier in the third period. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff did not have an update on Samuelsson immediately following the game.
Samuelsson is second on the team in ice time at 21:47 minutes a game.
-Field Level Media
BUF vs MINInjury report
Buffalo's Injuries
| Player | POS | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Tuch | RW | Day To Day - Illness( Mar 17, '26) | Mar 17, '26 | |
| Tuch did not play for Tuesday's (Mar. 17) matchup versus the Golden Knight. | ||||
| T. Pearson | LW | Day To Day - Lower-Body( Mar 17, '26) | Mar 17, '26 | |
| Pearson did not play in Tuesday's (Mar. 17) versus the Golden Knights. | ||||
| J. Kulich | C | Out For Season - Ear( Mar 05, '26) | Mar 05, '26 | |
| The Sabres said that Kulich is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. | ||||
| J. Greenway | LW | Out - Abdomen( Feb 24, '26) | Feb 24, '26 | |
| The Buffalo Sabres placed F Jordan Greenway on injured reserve on Wednesday (Feb. 25). | ||||
| C. Timmins | D | Out - Leg( Feb 17, '26) | Feb 17, '26 | |
| The Buffalo Sabres said on Wednesday (Feb. 18) that Timmins is now skating but not in day-to-day status. | ||||
| J. Danforth | RW | Out - Lower Body( Jan 25, '26) | Jan 25, '26 | |
| The Buffalo Sabres said on Monday (Jan. 26) that Danforth is trending toward a post-Olympic return to action, per Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. | ||||
Minnesota's Injuries
| Player | POS | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Eriksson Ek | C | Day To Day - Lower-Body( Mar 17, '26) | Mar 17, '26 | |
| Eriksson Ek did not play in Tuesday's (Mar. 17) game versus the Blackhawks. | ||||
| B. Brink | RW | Day To Day - Upper-Body( Mar 17, '26) | Mar 17, '26 | |
| Brink did not play in Tuesday's (Mar. 17) game against the Blackhawks. | ||||
| M. Foligno | LW | Out - Lower-Body( Mar 02, '26) | Mar 02, '26 | |
| The Wild said on Tuesday (Mar. 3) that Foligno is week-to-week, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic. | ||||
GoaltendersLast 5
W/L
2-3-0-0
GAA
3.60
Save %
.856
| Date | Score | W/L | GA | SA | SV% | SO | ML | O/U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.Lyon | Nov 28, 2025 | BUF 0 - NJ 5 | L | 5 | 23 | .783 | - | L -110 | u6.5 |
| U.Luukkonen | Nov 26, 2025 | PIT 4 - BUF 2 | L | 3 | 18 | .833 | - | L -105 | u6.5 |
| U.Luukkonen | Nov 23, 2025 | BUF 4 - CAR 1 | W | 1 | 30 | .967 | - | W +162 | u6.5 |
| U.Luukkonen | Nov 21, 2025 | BUF 9 - CHI 3 | W | 3 | 23 | .870 | - | W -188 | o6.5 |
| C.Ellis | Nov 19, 2025 | BUF 2 - CAL 6 | L | 6 | 35 | .829 | - | L -160 | o6.5 |
W/L
5-0-0-0
GAA
1.60
Save %
.961
| Date | Score | W/L | GA | SA | SV% | SO | ML | O/U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.Wallstedt | Nov 28, 2025 | MIN 3 - COL 2 (SO) | W | 2 | 41 | .951 | - | W +152 | u6.5 |
| F.Gustavsson | Nov 26, 2025 | CHI 3 - MIN 4 (OT) | W | 3 | 37 | .919 | - | W -142 | o5.5 |
| J.Wallstedt | Nov 23, 2025 | WIN 0 - MIN 3 | W | 0 | 32 | 1.00 | - | W +116 | u5.5 |
| F.Gustavsson | Nov 21, 2025 | PIT 0 - MIN 5 | W | 0 | 19 | 1.00 | - | W -102 | u5.5 |
| J.Wallstedt | Nov 19, 2025 | MIN 4 - CAR 3 (SO) | W | 3 | 45 | .933 | - | W +150 | o6.5 |
BUF vs MINStats
Offense vs Defense
Goals
| OFFENSE |
Stat | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|
| 3.04 | Total | 2.76 |
| 0.79 | 1st Period | 0.72 |
| 1.12 | 2nd Period | 0.64 |
| 1.04 | 3rd Period | 1.24 |
| 0.04 | OT | 0.16 |
Shots
| OFFENSE |
Stat | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|
| 28.50 | Total | 30.40 |
| 8.25 | 1st Period | 9.52 |
| 10.62 | 2nd Period | 10.40 |
| 9.42 | 3rd Period | 9.96 |
| 0.21 | OT | 0.52 |
Shot Pct vs. Save Pct
| SHOOTING |
Stat | SAVE PCT. |
|---|---|---|
| 0.11 | Total | 0.91 |
| 0.10 | 1st Period | 0.92 |
| 0.11 | 2nd Period | 0.94 |
| 0.11 | 3rd Period | 0.88 |
| 0.20 | OT | 0.69 |
Power Play vs Penalty Kill
| POWERPLAY |
Stat | PENALTY KILL |
|---|---|---|
| 12 - 69 | G/Att vs. GA/Att | 13 - 59 |
| 17.39 | PP % vs. PK % | 77.97 |
Goaltenders
| Buffalo Goaltenders |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | S | SV | SV% | WL | ||
| Colten Ellis | 163 | 146 | 0.896 | 3-2-0 | ||
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 174 | 155 | 0.891 | 3-3-1 | ||
| Alex Lyon | 388 | 349 | 0.899 | 3-6-3 | ||