After 28 days of mostly good news, the Minnesota Wild could not reach the end of their November schedule on a fully happy note.
Facing the Eastern Conference’s worst team, Minnesota saw the Buffalo Sabres rally for a 3-2 shootout win on Saturday at Grand Casino Arena.
Noah Ostlund scored the decisive goal for the Sabres in the fourth round of the shootout.
The Wild got first period goals from Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, holding the lead in all three periods, but saw their seven-game winning streak snapped. Against downtrodden Buffalo, they couldn’t build on the momentum from beating Colorado in a shootout a night earlier
Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson, under duress for much of the final 30 minutes, had 30 saves in the loss. The Wild finished November with a 11-1-2 record. It was the Wild’s fifth time in overtime or a shootout in their past seven games.
The game was barely a minute old when Sabres goalie Colten Ellis had to make a sprawling left toe save to stop Kaprizov’s wraparound shot from crossing the goal line.
The reprieve was not lengthy, as Mats Zuccarello’s cross-ice pass to Kaprizov before the first period was half over ended with Kaprizov’s team-leading 17th goal and Zuccarello’s 700th career NHL point, giving the Wild an early lead.
After Buffalo drew even, Boldly stole the puck from Alex Tuch along the boards, cut to the net and popped a low shot between Ellis’ knees.
The visitors dominated long stretches of the middle frame, but Gustavsson was solid, stopping all 11 shots the Sabres threw his way.
After pressing the Wild for around 10 minutes, Buffalo tied the game for a second time on a classic fluky bounce. A Sabres shot caromed off the glass behind Gustavsson and bounced back toward the crease. Zuccarello tried to swat the puck out of danger with his hand, only to have it bounce off his glove and into the net.
Ellis finished with 22 saves for the Sabres, as he participated in his first NHL shootout. They will face the Wild again, in Buffalo, on Jan. 17.
The Wild will begin December with a four-game western road trip, which begins Tuesday evening when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for a 8 p.m. CT first faceoff.
Briefly
The Wild’s forward unit got a bit healthier before the game. Vladimir Tarasenko returned from a lower body injury that caused him to miss the previous seven games. His return, playing left wing on the third line with Ryan Hartman at center and Liam Ohgren on the other wing, meant Ben Jones was scratched.
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