Wild at Sabres
The Minnesota Wild say coach Mike Yeo's job is safe - at least, for now. But Yeo remains on the hot seat as he and the Wild look to end a season-high six-game losing streak Thursday night against the host Buffalo Sabres. Minnesota was expected to be a postseason contender but has fallen out of the race in the Western Conference, while the Sabres are even worse off - having lost eight in a row to fall back into a fight with Edmonton for last in the league.
The Wild are playing their worst hockey of the season, punctuated by an ugly 7-2 defeat in Pittsburgh on Tuesday; Minnesota has been outscored 29-10 during the skid, and the players are ticked. "I feel like we've been asked (how to end the slump) for the last three weeks now," Zach Parise told reporters. "We're not getting out of it. We're so easy to play against." The Sabres can relate - they've been outscored by a 32-9 margin over their last eight games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS-N (Minnesota), FS-WI, MSG-B (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE WILD (18-19-5): Parise wasn't the only player steamed at the team's latest dismal effort. "It's everything," captain Mikko Koivu said when asked what specifically had gone wrong. "Every single detail. Everything. It has to be better. With this effort and the kind of game we've been playing lately, it's embarrassing and every single guy should feel that." The Wild will be without defenseman Ryan Suter, who was handed a two-game suspension Wednesday after elbowing Penguins forward Steve Downie in the head.
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-27-3): Special teams play has been anything but special for Buffalo, which remains far and away the least productive team in the league on the power play. The Sabres have just 11 goals with the man advantage through their first 44 games, and have allowed a league-high seven short-handed goals - making them a pitiful plus-4 with the power play. "Power plays should give you some momentum," coach Ted Nolan told the Buffalo News after Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Detroit. "Unfortunately, lately ours is taking momentum away."
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota acquired G Devan Dubnyk from Arizona on Wednesday for a third-round pick in 2015.
2. The Wild have won the last three meetings, most recently a 6-3 decision Nov. 13 in Minnesota.
3. The road team has won 10 of the last 14 encounters.