Game Preview: Wild vs. Sabres

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild hits the ice again today, heading into the second game in the team's post-Thanksgiving back-to-back. The first game saw the Wild win over the Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout. This was G Jesper "Wall of Saint Paul" Wallstedt's second shootout win in November.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, November 29th at 7:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Grand Casino Arena (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy No Fees Tickets
• Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
• Listen: KFAN
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Sabres

Wild Record: 14-7-4

Sabres Record: 9-11-4

2024-25 Series Record: 2-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 17-10-6 (6-6-4 at Grand Casino Arena)

Last Time Out

Last Season on Wild vs. Sabres

Minnesota went 2-0-0 against Buffalo. The Wild won the series-opening game, 1-0, at KeyBank Center (11/27), and completed the series sweep with a 4-1 win in Saint Paul (3/22).

LW Matt Boldy led Minnesota with three points (0-3=3). RW Mats Zuccarello had two points (1-1=2). LW Kirill Kaprizov, C Marco Rossi and D Zach Bogosian each recorded a goal. G Filip Gustavsson went 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA, a .983 SV% and one shutout.

D Rasmus Dahlin (0-1=1), LW JJ Peterka (1-0=1) and D Owen Power (0-1=1) all had one point. G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen went 0-2-0 with a 2.08 GAA and a .920 SV%

Wild Leaders Against Sabres

• Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 21 points (6-15=21) in 27 games vs. Buffalo
• LW Marcus Johansson (12-8=20, in 32 games) and RW Vladimir Tarasenko (11-9=20, in 25 games) each have 20 points
• D Jared Spurgeon owns 11 points (5-6=11) in 20 games

Sabres Leaders Against Wild

• Dahlin leads Buffalo with 11 points (4-7=11) in 11 career games vs. Minnesota
• RW Alex Tuch owns nine points (4-5=9) in 21 games
• LW Jason Zucker has six points (1-5=6) in nine games
• C Tage Thompson has five points (1-4=5) in 11 games

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On the Mend

Marcus Foligno: lower body (one game missed)

Vinnie Hinostroza: lower body (three games missed)

Marco Rossi: lower body (seven games missed)

Vladimir Tarasenko: lower body (seven games missed)

Full Injury Report

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) after being drafted by the team 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) in 317 games over 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
• 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
• Lyon is from Baudette

Fast Facts

• The Wild has earned a point in 16 of the last 21 meetings against Buffalo (12-5-4)
• 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.