NHL

Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild

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Wild use 3-goal second period to beat Sabres 4-1

Filip Gustavsson makes big-time save vs. Sabres

Comfortably in the Western Conference first wild-card spot, Minnesota moved within two points of third-place Colorado in the Central Division. The Wild finished a season-long seven-game homestand 4-2-1.

Filip Gustavsson improved to 6-2-1 in March by making 20 saves. He has a 1.65 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage and two shutouts this month.

JJ Peterka scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 17 shots for Buffalo, which lost its second straight game and is 3-8-1 in its past 12 outings.

Netting his career-high 22nd goal of the season, Rossi converted a pass from Yakov Trenin less than a minute into the middle period for his first goal in 12 games. Brazeau scored his first goal with the Wild about four minutes later. He was acquired from Boston on March 6.

Zuccarello converted a feed from Matt Boldy, who had two assists, to make it 3-0 before the period’s midway point.

Takeaways Sabres: Peterka has goals in back-to-back games since returning Thursday. He missed three games with a lower-body injury.

Wild: D Jonas Brodin returned after missing the past nine games with a lower-body injury.

Key moment Gustavsson slid across the crease to stop Alex Tuch on an early Buffalo power-play and made a toe save on Tage Thompson a few minutes later to keep the game scoreless after his team was badly outplayed in the opening 20 minutes.

Key stat Per NHL Stats, Boldy’s two assists give him at least 60 points in three straight seasons, tying Zuccarello (2021-24), Kirill Kaprizov (2021-24) and Mikko Koivu (2008-11) for the longest run in Wild history.

Up next Buffalo wraps up a four-game road trip Sunday at Winnipeg. Minnesota is at Dallas on Monday.

Regular Season Series

MIN wins series 2-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 2nd Period 0:56 Marco Rossi Goal (22) Wrist Shot, assists: Yakov Trenin (8), Vincent Hinostroza (4)
Goal 2nd Period 5:07 Justin Brazeau Goal (11) Deflected, assists: Brendan Gaunce (1), Matt Boldy (36)
Goal 2nd Period 8:11 Mats Zuccarello Goal (17) Wrist Shot, assists: Matt Boldy (37), Zach Bogosian (11)
Goal 3rd Period 6:48 JJ Peterka Goal (21) Wrist Shot, assists: Owen Power (29), Rasmus Dahlin (41)
Goal 3rd Period 19:27 Frederick Gaudreau Goal (16) Wrist Shot, assists: Mats Zuccarello (27), Jonas Brodin (15)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN
12 Blocked Shots 18
20 Hits 20
3 Takeaways 7
21 Shots 21
0 Power Play Goals 0
2 Power Play Opportunities 2
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
22 Faceoffs Won 27
44.9 Faceoff Win Percent 55.1
18 Giveaways 7
3 Total Penalties 3
6 Penalty Minutes 6
Minnesota Wild Minnesota Wild Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Marcus Johansson, LW Day-To-Day Apr 25
Troy Grosenick, G Injured Reserve Oct 7
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Owen Power, D Out Apr 19
Beck Malenstyn, LW Out Apr 17
Josh Norris, C Out Apr 15
Jordan Greenway, LW Out Apr 12

Game Information

Xcel Energy Center

Location: Saint Paul, MN
Attendance: 18,379 | Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 52 26 108 4
Tampa Bay 47 27 102 8
Florida 47 31 98 4
Ottawa 45 30 97 7
Montreal 40 31 91 11
Detroit 39 35 86 8
Buffalo 36 39 79 7
Boston 33 39 76 10

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 56 22 116 4
Dallas 50 26 106 6
Colorado 49 29 102 4
Minnesota 45 30 97 7
St. Louis 44 30 96 8
Utah 38 31 89 13
Nashville 30 44 68 8
Chicago 25 46 61 11
Full Standings