Sat Mar 22 17:40:00 UTC 2025: **Wild Aim for Season Sweep Against Sabres, Riding Gustavsson’s Hot Streak**
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild (39-25-5, 83 points) look to complete a season sweep against the Buffalo Sabres (27-34-6, 60 points) tonight. The Wild enter the game on a two-game winning streak, fueled by the strong play of goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Gustavsson has recorded back-to-back impressive performances, including a shutout against the Kraken on Wednesday, his 11th career shutout and fifth-best all-time for a Wild goaltender.
Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over Seattle saw the Wild score three goals in the first five minutes. Kirill Kaprizov, currently recovering from a lower-body injury, did not play in the game, but other key players including Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy, and Liam Öhgren contributed to the scoring. Boldy scored twice, and Öhgren’s goal marked his return to the NHL after being recalled under emergency conditions.
The Wild have made several roster moves recently, including recalling Öhgren and David Jiricek, signing Stevie Leskovar to an entry-level contract, and trading for Gustav Nyquist from the Nashville Predators. They also traded Reese Johnson to Toronto and Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko to Boston.
The Wild hold a 16-10-6 all-time record against Buffalo, but their record at home against the Sabres is less impressive (5-6-4). Their last meeting saw a 1-0 shutout victory for Minnesota in Buffalo with Gustavsson stopping 39 shots.
Several Wild players remain sidelined with injuries, including key players Kaprizov (lower body), Jonas Brodin (lower body), Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body), and Marcus Foligno (upper body). The team will hope to maintain their momentum and secure the victory against Buffalo tonight.
First Piper 