Powered by Roundtable
Sabres Hope To Finish Off Homestand Against Minnesota On Winning Note cover image

Buffalo Sabres - Minnesota Wild Game Preview

1/17/26 - 12:30pm at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

Buffalo – 26-16-4 | - 56  points – 4th place in the Atlantic Division

Minnesota  – 26-13-9 | - 61 points – 3rd place in the Central Division

 

Special Teams

Buffalo

Power Play – 19.4% (20th)

Penalty Kill – 83.3% (5th)

Minnesota

Power Play – 22.3% (11th)

Penalty Kill - 76.7% (26th)

Top Scorers

Buffalo

Tage Thompson: 46 GP, 25 G, 24 A, 49 PTS

Alex Tuch: 45 GP, 16 G, 23 A, 39 PTS

Josh Doan: 46 GP, 15 G, 19 A, 34 PTS

Minnesota

Kirill Kaprizov: 48 GP, 25 G, 27 A, 52 PTS

Matt Boldy: 48 GP, 27 G, 24 A, 51 PTS

Quinn Hughes: 42 GP, 3 G, 36 A, 39 PTS

 

Starting Goalies(projected)

Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (10-6-1, 2.59 GAA, .904 Sv %)

Minnesota –  Filip Gustavsson (14-9-5, 2.50 GAA, .912 Sv%)

Other Sabres Stories

The 2026 NHL Draft is coming to Buffalo

Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)

Forwards

Peyton Krebs - Tage Thompson - Josh Doan

Jason Zucker - Noah Ostlund - Alex Tuch 

Zach Benson - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn 

Jordan Greenway - Tyson Kozak - Beck Malenstyn

Ex. Josh Dunne

Defense

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin

Bowen Byram - Michael Kesselring

Owen Power- Zach Metsa

Jacob Bryson 

Goaltenders

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Colten Ellis

Injuries

Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)

Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve) 

Alex Lyon (day-to-day, lower-body, Dec 31) 

Conor Timmins (broken leg, Dec. 20; injured reserve)

 

Notes

The Sabres are 15-2-0 in their last 17 games.

It marks the third time Buffalo has earned 15 wins in any 17-game span in franchise history.

The Sabres have never won 16 games in an 18-game span. Buffalo is the only team in the NHL this season to have won at least 15 games in a 17-game span.

Rasmus Dahlin is currently tied for ninth on Buffalo’s all-time assists 

list and needs one assist to surpass Jason Pominville (304 assists with Buffalo) for sole possession of eighth place.

Tage Thompson has recorded 28 points (13+15) in his last 21 games, 

including 18 points (7+11) in his last 11 games and at least one point in six consecutive contests (5+7).

A point in today’s game would give Thompson his second seven-game point streak of the season.

The Sabres have gone 4-for-10 on the power play in the last two games, including two goals in each contest.

If Buffalo scores two or more power-play goals today, it would mark the team’s first three-game streak of multiple power-play goals in a game since Dec. 1 to 7, 2022 (three games).

Ryan McLeod has recorded seven points (3+4) in his last six games.

Josh Doan has registered 10 points (5+5) in his last eight games. The Sabres have earned at least one point in each home game in which Doan records a point this season (12-0-1).

Alex Tuch has nine points (5+4) in his last nine games and at least one point in each of Buffalo’s last six games.

Zach Benson has notched at least one point in four straight games and he has posted five points (1+4) in that span.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

THN.Com/FreeTHN.Com/Free
1