Wild at Sabres
After defeating one struggling Eastern Conference representative, the Minnesota Wild look to continue their winning ways against another located toward the basement when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Captain Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund each scored on the power play as Minnesota posted its third straight win with a 2-1 victory over Toronto on Thursday.
"That's all that matters - wins. We don't care how we get them," Koivu told the St. Paul Pioneer Press after the club improved to 7-3-0 under interim coach John Torchetti to cling to the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota's potent power play has aided in that regard, as the team has scored at least once with the man advantage in 15 of the past 19 contests, including at least once in a franchise-best 11 consecutive road games. Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored in Thursday's 6-3 victory over Calgary to end a 21-game goal drought dating to the team's 3-2 win over Minnesota on Jan. 12. Evander Kane has had no such trouble as the 24-year-old has scored goals in 10 of his last 20 contests.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), MSG-B (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE WILD (30-25-10): Forward Jason Zucker is expected to return to the lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion in the outdoor game versus Chicago on Feb. 21. "I don't think there was a whole lot of change (in his health)," Zucker told the team's website after he was activated from injured reserve and was a full participant in Friday's practice. "It was just making sure I got cleared in every way, and just made sure that my practices were getting better, and contact was getting better, and it felt good after all those skates and contact."
ABOUT THE SABRES (26-31-8): Buffalo general manager Tim Murray didn't pull any punches when addressing Matt Moulson's difficult season during his weekly appearance on WGR-AM 550. "I see a player that maybe has neglected some things in the last couple years as far as how workouts are changing, how we as an organization are changing with our young players and even our players on the team," Murray said of Moulson, who has one goal in his last 52 contests - including a 44-game drought. Moulson defended his summer workout regimen to the Buffalo News, but noted a lack of confidence has led to the less-than-desirable results.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota D Ryan Suter has five assists in his last four games and scored and set up a goal in the first meeting with Buffalo.
2. Sabres G Robin Lehner, who shut out the Wild while playing with Ottawa, has yielded 14 goals in his last eight contests (3-3-2).
3. Former Sabre RW Jason Pominville is set to play in his 230th consecutive game for Minnesota.