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
Kirill Kaprizov, LW Injured Reserve Mar 30
David Jiricek, D Out Mar 28
Joel Eriksson Ek, C Injured Reserve Mar 27
Troy Grosenick, G Injured Reserve Oct 7
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jordan Greenway, LW Day-To-Day Apr 2
Tyson Kozak, C Day-To-Day Apr 1
Josh Norris, C Out Apr 1

Game Information

Xcel Energy Center

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

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 45 25 94 4
Tampa Bay 44 25 93 5
Florida 44 26 92 4
Ottawa 39 29 84 6
Montreal 35 30 79 9
Detroit 34 33 75 7
Buffalo 32 36 70 6
Boston 30 36 69 9

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 51 20 106 4
Dallas 49 21 102 4
Colorado 45 26 94 4
St. Louis 41 28 89 7
Minnesota 41 28 88 6
Utah 34 29 80 12
Nashville 27 40 62 8
Chicago 21 44 51 9
Full Standings