The Buffalo Sabres will finish their five-game homestand on Saturday afternoon with a matchup against the Minnesota Wild at KeyBank Center. The Sabres have won three of their first four games in this stretch, including victories over Eastern Conference playoff contenders, bringing their home record to 16-6-2. They have also won 15 of their last 17 games overall.
Following Saturday’s game, Buffalo is set to play five consecutive games on the road.
Saturday’s contest will feature Kids Takeover Day at KeyBank Center, where young fans will participate in various roles inside the arena such as Jr. Anthem Singer and Jr. PA Announcer.
Puck drop is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. The game can be watched on MSG within the Sabres broadcast market, with pregame coverage beginning at noon. Fans outside the local area can stream the game through the Gotham Sports App or ESPN+. Radio coverage is available on WWKB 1520 and via the Buffalo Sabres App.
Coach Lindy Ruff provided lineup updates before the game, stating that forward Josh Norris remains day to day with an upper body injury and will not play on Saturday. Defenseman Michael Kesselring will return to action for the first time since aggravating a high-ankle sprain on December 31. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will start in net.
The Sabres are aiming for a franchise milestone, as they have never previously won 16 games in an 18-game span and could achieve that mark with a win against Minnesota. Rasmus Dahlin is tied with Jason Pominville—who was recently named to the Sabres Hall of Fame—for ninth place on Buffalo’s all-time assist list at 304 assists each. Both Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch enter Saturday’s contest riding six-game point streaks; Thompson recorded five points, including a hat trick, in his last outing against Montreal.
Minnesota comes into Buffalo having lost three straight games and posting a record of 1-3-2 over its past six contests. The team suffered a 6-2 defeat to Winnipeg on Thursday and has seen leading goal scorer Matt Boldy join Joel Eriksson Ek on injured reserve as of Friday.
Despite recent struggles, Minnesota has remained competitive near the top of the Western Conference throughout much of this season behind goaltenders Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson. Since losing to Buffalo in a shootout earlier this season (3-2 on November 29), Minnesota made a significant roster move by acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes in December; Hughes has tallied sixteen points (one goal, fifteen assists) in sixteen games since joining the Wild.
