The Buffalo Sabres will play the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 8 p.m. EST at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota. The matchup comes less than 24 hours after the Sabres were shut out 5-0 by the New Jersey Devils. Despite taking 42 shots—the second-most in a shutout loss in franchise history—the team was unable to score against goaltender Jake Allen.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff commented after the defeat, “That first 40 minutes, we had opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net, and we missed those opportunities. The opportunities we gave them on a couple of our poor plays, they took advantage of it.” Tage Thompson added, “You’re going to run into hot goalies sometimes, but you’ve just got to find ways to get it in the net.”
Minnesota enters Saturday’s game with a seven-game winning streak and strong goaltending from Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson. Wallstedt has gone 6-0-0 with a .967 save percentage, a 1.14 goals-against average, and three shutouts during November. Gustavsson is also performing well with a record of 5-1-1 and one shutout this month.
Wallstedt played Friday night in Minnesota’s shootout win over Colorado, making it likely that Buffalo will face Gustavsson as they attempt to rebound from their recent loss.
“Fortunately for us,” Thompson said, “we’ve got another opportunity tomorrow to get another crack at a game here and put this one behind us.”
Coverage for fans includes MSG for television viewers in Buffalo (pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m.), streaming via Gotham Sports App or ESPN+ for out-of-market viewers, and radio broadcasts on WGR 550 or the Buffalo Sabres App.
On the roster front, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson is expected to play after being evaluated for a concussion following an elbow to the face during Friday’s game. Forward Josh Norris remains on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury and did not travel with the team; Josh Dunne returns to the lineup while Jordan Greenway sits out again as part of load management. Colten Ellis will start in goal for Buffalo—his first appearance since November 19.
Minnesota has improved defensively this month compared to October, allowing only 1.67 goals per game versus nearly four previously. Offensively, wingers Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov have each scored nine goals so far in November; Kaprizov tallied twice against Colorado on Friday. Defenseman Brock Faber has contributed ten points over his last thirteen games.
Last season, Buffalo lost both meetings against Minnesota.
