MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
UPCOMING WILD GAMES
GAME BROADCASTS
BUFFALO SABRES
All-Time Wild Record:14-9-4 (4-6-3 at Xcel Energy Center, 10-3-1 at Buffalo)
2021-22: Minnesota went 0-1-1 against Buffalo…The Wild lost the first game, 3-2, in a shootout at Xcel Energy Center (12/16) and dropped a 4-2 decision in the second game at Buffalo (3/4)…LW Kirill Kaprizov led Minnesota with four points (3-1=4)…D Jared Spurgeon tallied three assists…D Alex Goligoski registered two assists…G Cam Talbot made 38 saves in the first meeting…G Kaapo Kahkonen made 33 saves in the second contest…D Rasmus Dahlin (0-2=2), C Casey Mittelstadt (1-1=2), RW Kyle Okposo (1-1=2) and LW Jeff Skinner (2-0=2) tallied two points each…G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves in his first career appearance against the Wild in the first meeting…G Craig Anderson made 29 saves in the second game.
WILD LEADERS: Goligoski leads Minnesota with 22 points (7-15=22) in 28 contests against Buffalo…RW Mats Zuccarello has 16 points (5-11=16) in 23 matches…Spurgeon owns 10 points (4-6=10) in 15 contests…C Frederick Gaudreau has seven assists in seven games.
WILD GOALIES: G Marc Andre-Fleury is 22-7-3 with a 2.11 GAA, a .923 SV% and four shutouts in 34 games (31 starts) vs. the Sabres…G Filip Gustavsson has not faced Buffalo.
SABRES LEADERS: Okposo leads the Sabres with 12 points (4-8=12) in 20 contests against Minnesota…Skinner has 10 points (5-5=10) in 16 matches… RW Alex Tuch owns seven points (4-3=7) in 16 games.
SABRES GOALIES: Anderson is 7-11-3 with a 3.04 GAA, a .900 SV% and one shutout in 22 games (21 starts) vs. the Wild…Luukkonen is 1-0-0 with a 1.86 GAA and a .938 SV% in one career start…G Eric Comrie is 0-1-0 with a 4.95 GAA and a .846 SV% in two games (one start).
FAST FACTS: Minnesota’s 7-0 win at Buffalo (1/15/15) is tied for the largest margin of victory in franchise history…The Wild is 11-5-4 in its last 20 games against the Sabres, outscoring Buffalo 70-46 in those games, including shootout goals.
BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Tuesday, Jan. 3
Buffalo 5 at Washington 4 (OT)
Goal: Thompson (3), Tuch, Jost
Goalie: Luukkonen (28 saves/32 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 1/1; Shots: Washington 32 – Buffalo 29
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 96)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Eric Comrie (Lower body, Nov. 19; IR) – 19 games
Henri Jokiharju (Lower body, Dec. 10; IR) – 9 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST SEVEN DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Jan. 9: Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 10: Seattle at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 12: Winnipeg at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14: Buffalo at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 16: Florida at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
WILD AT SABRES
• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Wild this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Minnesota 5-4 in Buffalo on March 4, 2022.
• Next meeting: Saturday, Jan. 28 in Minnesota.
• The Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games against the Wild; 3-6-1 at home.
• This is the 28th game all-time between Buffalo and Minnesota; Buffalo has a 13-13-1 series record.
• The Sabres are 4-9-1 at home against the Wild all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Buffalo has emerged victorious in four of its last five meetings with Minnesota.
• Four of the last five meetings between the Sabres and the Wild have been decided by one goal, including two games that were decided in a shootout.
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has earned a win in seven of his last eight games, including wins in five straight.
• A win in tonight’s game would give Luukkonen the first winning streak of six or more games by a Sabres goaltender since Carter Hutton from Oct. 3 to 22, 2019.
• Ilya Lyubushkin is riding a three-game point streak (0+3), the longest of his career.
• Alex Tuch has notched 31 points (11+20) in his last 21 games, including seven points (3+4) in his last three games.
• Tage Thompson has recorded 29 goals in his last 29 games, including 52 points (29+23) in that span.
• Dylan Cozens has tallied 27 points (8+19) in his last 23 games and owns four points (1+3) in his last four games.
• Cozens is one goal, two assists and three points away from matching his previous career highs in those categories, both of which were set in 79 games in 2021-22.
• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 22 points (3+19) in his last 21 games.
• Dahlin is three goals away from matching his previous career high of 13, set in 80 games in 2021-22.
• In his last 14 games, Jeff Skinner has recorded 25 points (12+13).
• Skinner has notched at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games.
• In his last 14 games, Jeff Skinner has recorded 25 points (12+13).
• Skinner has notched at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games.
• Casey Mittelstadt is one assist away from eclipsing his previous career high in assists (13), which he accomplished in 77 games in 2018-19 and 40 games in 2021-22.
• Jacob Bryson needs three points to surpass his previous career high for points in a single season (10 in 2021-22).
