Game 21
Buffalo Sabres (10-7-3) vs. Minnesota Wild (7-11-2)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Wild Blog: Hockey Wilderness
Know Your Opponent
Minnesota Wild
Record: (7-11-2) | 16 points
Last 10: 4-4-2
Division Ranking: 7th in Central Division
Conference Ranking: 15th in Western Conference
PP: 18th (17.7%)
PK: 9th (83.6%)
What to Watch
1. It doesn’t get easier from here
The Minnesota Wild come into tonight sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings. Coming in as losers of eight of their last nine, the Sabres, really need this one tonight. The schedule ahead gets more difficult with matchups against the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames, and Toronto Maple Leafs on the horizon to close the month of November.
2. Will someone else score?
Jack Eichel scored all five goals for the Sabres over the weekend. In fact, Sam Reinhart, Jeff Skinner, Eichel have 10 of the 15 goals they’ve scored this month. No time is better than the present for the secondary scoring to start to kick in and get the team back on track.
3. Trade Chips
As I mentioned, the Wild have struggled this season and few of their players are reportedly on the trade block. Sabres fans will get a look at some of those players in the rumor mill, such as Jason Zucker, Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Ryan Donato.
Game Prediction
Projected Lineup
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Victor Olofsson – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart
Jeff Skinner – Evan Rodrigues – Conor Sheary
Jimmy Vesey – Casey Mittelstadt – Curtis Lazar
Zemgus Girgensons – Rasmus Asplund – John Gilmour
Defense
Jake McCabe – Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin – Brandon Montour
Henri Jokiharju – Colin Miller
Starting Goaltender: Linus Ullmark
Minnesota Wild
Forwards
Jason Zucker – Eric Staal – Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise – Mikko Koivu – Kevin Fiala
Jordan Greenway – Joel Eriksson Ek – Luke Kunin
Ryan Donato – Victor Rask – Ryan Hartman
Defense
Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Mathew Dumba
Carson Soucy – Brad Hunt
Starting Goaltender: Alex Stalock