The Buffalo Sabres (9-15-4) travel to Minnesota to battle the Wild (19-8-1) on Thursday night. The game is scheduled for 8 P.M. EST at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Buffalo is currently sixth in the Atlantic Division and last played on Tuesday where the Sabres defeated Winnipeg 4-2.
Minnesota leads the Central Division by two games but has not played since Sunday where they lost to Vegas by a score of 6-4. The Wild were scheduled to face the Hurricanes on Tuesday but that game was postponed due to multiple covid cases for Carolina.
Sabres at Wild Stats
Looking at the Buffalo Sabres stats
Things have been difficult in Buffalo this season. There truly is no denying that.
And if things couldn’t get any worse, the team currently has 10 players on the injury report leading into Thursday’s game. That does not mean that each player on the report will miss the game, but they all are questionable for Thursday.
The Sabres rank 20th in the NHL in total goals scored. Tage Thompson leads the way with 10 goals and 18 total points. He has been their leader from an offensive perspective.
Jeff Skinner has been productive as well with 9 goals and 17 total points.
Kyle Okposo is the team leader in assists with a total of 13.
Buffalo ranks 29th in goals allowed with an unsettling total of 98. One bright spot is the long-time veteran goalie, Craig Anderson. While Anderson is presently dealing with an upper body injury, he has compiled a record of 4-2 to go along with an appealing 2.50 GAA and .921 save percentage.
The Sabres unquestionably have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Upsetting the Wild in Minnesota with a short-handed roster will prove to be incredibly difficult. We will see if they can do the unthinkable and win this game against all odds.
Looking at the Minnesota Wild stats
Minnesota has one of the most productive scoring units in the entire NHL. But it is far from a one-man show. Rather, the Wild have multiple different players capable of scoring on any given night.
Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno lead Minnesota with 13 goals each. Joel Eriksson Ek trails them closely with 11 goals to his credit, and Kirill Kaprizov has found the back of the net on 10 different occasions.
The sheer fact that the Wild already have four players with at least 10 goals speaks to their overall talent and chemistry. Minnesota ranks second in the league in goals scored with 103.
Kaprizov has also been outstanding at getting teammates involved as evidenced by his team leading 22 assists. He is a major reason why Minnesota ranks third in the league in total assists with a mark of 178.
While the defense has not been quite as good, the Wild still rank 17th in goals allowed.
But Minnesota should continue to lead the Central if they keep scoring in an elite manner.
Betting Trends for Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild
- The under is 3-0-1 over Buffalo’s past four contests.
- The Sabres are just 4-9 in their previous meetings with Minnesota.
- Minnesota has won four straight games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The over is 6-1 over the past seven Wild matchups where Minnesota has been favored to win.
Who to Bet Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild
The Wild are the clear favorites on Thursday night. They are healthier, playing at home, and have one of the best overall records in the NHL.
Expect the Minnesota offense to come out firing in what could be a blowout affair.
Take the Wild -1.5.
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