Wild at Sabres
THE STORY: A hot streak has powered the Buffalo Sabres into the thick of the postseason race. They’ll look to improve on that playoff positioning and vie for a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday when they host the Minnesota Wild. Buffalo is tied with Washington for the eighth seed in the East and is two points shy of seventh-place Ottawa. The Wild have excelled at the First Niagara Center, winning four straight.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports North, MSGB
ABOUT THE WILD (31-32-10): Despite playing themselves out of a playoff spot, the Wild are in position to win three in a row for the first time since a seven-game streak in mid-December. The return of captain Mikko Koivu will certainly help. The Finnish center had missed 15 games with a shoulder injury before returning in Thursday’s 3-2 shootout win over Calgary. Koivu went scoreless in the triumph but promises to help Minnesota’s attack as his 37 points are third on the team.
ABOUT THE SABRES (36-29-10): Buffalo has risen through the standings in part to strong play at home, where the Sabres are 6-0-1 over their past seven -including a 4-1 over the New York Rangers on Friday. Drew Stafford, Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis did a bulk of the damage, combining for eight points. “We're not worried about the other teams around us,” Stafford said. “We know if we play well, take care of our business and win the games, we'll be sitting just fine. Right now we haven't accomplished anything."
OVERTIME:
1. Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon has been ruled out after leaving Thursday’s game following an elbow to the head.
2. Ryan Miller has led the Sabres’ surge. The former Vezina Trophy winner has stopped 448 of 477 shots during his last 15 starts.