The Sabres' first week has gone both ways. They lost 6-3 in Columbus to open the season. Then they came home and beat a Blackhawks team that had lost its first 2, but Chicago led 2-1 after the 1st and 3-2 after the 2nd before Buffalo scored the last 2 goals. Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist, and Rasmus Dahlin and Jack Quinn also scored. The best news was Jiri Kulich. He missed most of last season with a blood clot, and his snipe at 4-on-4 midway through the 3rd was his first goal in 11 months and won the game.
The shot count against Chicago is the stat to remember. Luukkonen made 12 saves, so the Blackhawks scored 3 goals on about 15 shots while Buffalo threw 28 at Spencer Knight. The Sabres controlled the puck and still almost lost, because the few chances they allowed went in. Minnesota is a different kind of opponent. The Wild don't need many shots when 2 of their goals in one game came on the power play, and Buffalo can't give Kaprizov and Hughes easy looks with the man advantage.
Minnesota also has a big hole on its blue line. Brock Faber had surgery to repair a fractured skull and has no timetable to return. Hughes has been carrying the defense, but a Sabres team with Dahlin, Thompson and a healthy Kulich can push the pace on a thinned Wild defense. Buffalo is also without Conor Timmins, Jack Rathbone and Jason Zucker. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET at KeyBank Center. Both teams have off days before this game, so it should come down to whether the Wild's special teams beat Buffalo's edge in 5-on-5 play.