Sabres at Wild
Consistency continues to elude the Minnesota Wild, who look to bounce back from a lackluster defeat when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in the second of a three-game homestand. One night after skating to a 2-1 victory at Western Conference-leading Dallas, Minnesota suffered a 2-1 setback to the New Jersey Devils.
The Wild managed only 18 shots against the Devils, including seven over the first two periods. “We go out and beat a top team in their own building like that and then come out like that and not play a full 60," Minnesota forward Charlie Coyle said. "We’re too good of a team to come out flat like that and not play our game. We can’t afford games like that.” The Sabres are coming off a 4-2 victory at Winnipeg, snapping a six-game skid (0-6-0) in which they scored a total of eight goals. Playing the finale of a three-game road trip, Buffalo is seeking back-to-back victories for the first time since Dec. 12-14.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG Buffalo, FSN North-Plus (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE SABRES (16-22-4): Rookie center Sam Reinhart, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, broke out of his goal-scoring slump by registering his first career hat trick in Sunday's game at Winnipeg. Reinhart connected twice in the first 20 minutes for Buffalo, which had scored a league-low 15 first-period goals entering the contest. "It has been a frustrating time not having success early in games, and we've been having to try to come back late in the third," Reinhart said. To get a couple early is great for our confidence."
ABOUT THE WILD (22-12-8): Minnesota coach Mike Yeo is flustered by his power play, which has only 22 opportunities in the past 12 games and converted one. "I can't understand why we draw one power play a game right now. It makes no sense to me whatsoever," Yeo said. "It's night after night, it doesn't matter where or who we play against, and it doesn’t matter who's officiating, it's a consistent thing. I'm trying to find reasons, and I can't understand why." Goaltender Devan Dubnyk blanked the Sabres last season in his debut with the Wild.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota outscored the Sabres 13-3 in a two-game series sweep last season.
2. Buffalo is 5-for-19 on the power play in the past five games after failing to convert on 21 straight chances in its previous seven contests.
3. Ex-Sabre Jason Pominville has two goals and four assists in four games versus Buffalo.