By: Brayden Peters
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Sabres fell to the Minnesota Wild in a low scoring affair 1-0 on Thanksgiving Eve. Buffalo had numerous scoring chances as they outshot the Wild 39-to-29. However, Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson stood on his head in the game and had some support as the Wild blocked 32 shots.
"We had people around the paint," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. "Didn't have a lot of puck luck...sometimes the goalie didn't see it, but it still hit him."
Buffalo's power play went zero-for-two after going in with the NHL's sixth best power play percentage (26.5) since Nov. 1.
"A lot of really good looks on the power play to score...you look at some of the point blank opportunities and he [Gustavsson] was just getting a piece of a few," Ruff said.
Although he gave up one goal, Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had 28 saves to give him a .966 save percentage on the game.
It was a very disciplined game for the Sabres as they had zero penalties taken in the loss.
Both teams started off quiet to open the first period. Limited shots were taken as each team's defense closed off shooting lanes and created multiple turnovers. After five minutes of play, the Wild were outshooting the Sabres two-to-one.
Although the Sabres started to find a rhythm offensively and create more dangerous scoring chances, Wild left winger Kirill Kaprizov took advantage of a turnover. He buried a wrist shot one-timer on a four-on-one to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
This didn't disrupt the Sabres' flow, though. By the end of the frame, Buffalo outshot Minnesota 16-to-four. However, the Wild went into the second period with the 1-0 advantage on the jumbotron.
"Made one big mistake in the first period, but I thought the first period might have been one of the best first periods we've played against a really tough team," Ruff said.
Minnesota got a solid start in the opening minutes of the second period. The Wild recorded three shots on goal five minutes into the frame while the Sabres had zero.
Buffalo started to turn things up as the period went out. The Sabres were outshooting the Wild five-to-three at the halfway mark of the frame.
The Wild, though, stayed strong as they were still up 1-0 by the end of the second period. Minnesota outshot Buffalo 11-to-nine in the frame.
Minnesota was productive in the first half of the third period as they created a good few scoring opportunities. With 10 minutes left in the frame, the Wild were outshooting the Sabres nine-to-three.
Buffalo began to turn things up in the back half of the period, recording 11 shots on goal the rest of the way. However, Gustavsson denied every shot to seal the shutout victory for Minnesota. Both teams tied in shots in goal with 14 apiece in the period.
Although the Sabres fell, they have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games, which is tied for second best in the NHL, after being 1-4-1 earlier in the season.
"I think we're growing as a team," Ruff said. "I think we understand that you really don't need to change the way you're playing. You just got to stay with it. We did it on the road trip...we've been able to play in a very consistent style."
With the loss, the Sabres drop to 11-10-1 and fall to fifth in the Atlantic. As for the Wild, they improve to 14-4-4 and are still second in the Central.
The Sabres will host the Vancouver Canucks on Friday. Puck drop is at 3 p.m.
Comments