Free NHL Picks Today: Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres 1/28/23

The Minnesota Wild (26-17-4) welcome the Buffalo Sabres (26-19-3), who will be out to prolong their winning run, at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. Buffalo is playing their last of four games on the road coming off a 3-2 win over the Jets on Thursday, their fifth consecutive win.

The Sabres took advantage of their limited power play opportunities, scoring once on two shots, while also conceding a power play goal. Tage Thompson, Owen Power, and Victor Olofsson scored one apiece for the Sabres.

Eric Comrie allowed two goals on 21 shots against (.904%) in the win. Minnesota beat the Flyers 3-2 (OT) on Thursday. Matt Boldy was the leading goal scorer for the Wild, netting twice. Marc-Andre Fleury was impressive in the win, making 28 saves (.933%).

HEAD TO HEAD

The Sabres won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 6-5 (OT) victory on January 7, their third straight win against Minnesota. Rasmus Dahlin led Buffalo with five points (2G 3A).

Ryan Hartman (1G 1A), Joel Eriksson Ek (1G 1A), and Calen Addison (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Minnesota. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the win despite saving only 39 of 44 shots (.886%).

FACING OFF

Buffalo is averaging 3.79 goals per game for the season, best in the NHL, and they are taking on a Wild team that is allowing 2.85 goals a game (11th).

Meanwhile, Minnesota has found the net 3.09 times a game on average, 18th in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 3.38 goals per game (22nd).

Power play opportunities ought to be plentiful for the Sabres, as the Wild have been penalized 4.66 times a game, second-most in the NHL, for an average of 12.40 minutes (third-highest).

The visitors are averaging 3.58 penalties (25th) and 7.71 penalty minutes a game (27th).The Sabres’ 26.04% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Wild rank eighth with a conversion rate of 24.32%.

While strong on the power play, Buffalo has been less successful at penalty killing, as the away team owns the league’s fourth-lowest PK% at 73.61%. Minnesota’s 79.50% ranks 16th in the NHL.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 68 points this season, fifth-most in the NHL, Thompson is the top skater for the Sabres. He is among the league leaders with 34 goals (3rd) and has added 34 assists. In the net, Craig Anderson (8-6-2) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.73 GAA and a .918% save percentage.

Luukkonen (13-5-1) leads the Sabres in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.34 and a save percentage of .897%. Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 58 points. He has 27 goals and 31 assists. Filip Gustavsson (11-7-1) has the best goals against average for Minnesota at 2.26, fifth-best in the league.

He has a save percentage of .922%, fourth-best. Fleury (14-10-3) has played the most games in net for the Wild this season. He has a 2.95 GAA and a .903% save percentage.