For a team that is logging three games in four days, on the road, playing more than 60 minutes in the road trip opener was probably not what the Minnesota Wild had in mind.
But when Mats Zuccarello scored a power play goal in overtime to produce a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon, it at least made the extra work worthwhile.
The Sabres, who had won 16 of their previous 18, rallied from two goals down to take a second period lead, only to see Minnesota refuse to fold. When Buffalo took a hooking penalty in the final seconds of regulation, it gave the Wild a 4-on-3 power play in sudden death, and Zuccarello ended it.
Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Vladimir Tarasenko and Quinn Hughes scored in regulation for the Wild, as they snapped a three-game winless streak. Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson had 20 saves in the victory.
“I think none of us liked how the homestand went and I think to be able to get on the road with this group – this is the group that we’re going to have for the road trip – was get to the identity and play the game that gives us the best chance to win,” Wild coach John Hynes said, as his team is missing four veterans currently injured. “And the guys bought into it, they did it, they executed and we found a way to win, which is great.”
Born in Buffalo, Foligno’s father played for the Sabres and Marcus began his NHL career in western New York, so trips to town feel like a homecoming for the family. The Wild winger definitely looked right at home on Saturday, scoring Minnesota’s first goal – his second in as many games – and dropping his gloves, twice, with Sabres defender Michael Kesselring.
Foligno, who has a sister working in the Sabres marketing department and family at the game, said scoring in front of his father, Mike, never gets old.
“I think it’s extra special, especially (since) we both played for this organization,” Foligno said. “So, yeah, I think he’ll have a lot of good things to say tonight.”
The fights came after Kesselring tackled Hughes in the first period, with the Wild leading 1-0. Buffalo tied the game on the same shift, then got a minute of two-man advantage later in the first.
But the Wild’s penalty killers, who are statistically some of the best in the NHL when playing on the road, kept the game tied, and then Hartman scored in the final 10 seconds of the period to give the visitors the lead again. For Hartman, it was his fourth goal in the past six games, and came after Hughes twice eluded Buffalo challengers with spin moves, then sent a pass across the crease for a picture perfect tip-in.
When Tarasenko scored just 68 seconds into the middle frame, then Buffalo took back-to-back penalties, the Wild were in complete control and looking for a three-goal lead. But Buffalo held the Minnesota power play harmless, then grabbed the momentum with two goals 87 seconds apart. The Sabres took the 4-3 lead with a power play goal on the second of back-to-back penalties called on Minnesota.
But before the second period ended, Hughes leaned into a slap shot from the blue line to tie the game once again. It was the second goal for Hughes since he joined the Wild in a mid-December trade with Vancouver.
The Wild pelted Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the second and third periods, but could not get a decisive shot past him until Kaprizov set up Zuccarello for the overtime winner. Luukkonen had 31 saves for the Sabres, who won in a shootout in November, in their only visit to St. Paul this season.
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