ST. PAUL, Minn. – Bad habits are hard to break and it's hard to imagine the Buffalo Sabres are going to figure these two out this season. They're 68 games into a campaign going nowhere, so why would they suddenly solve their dilemmas now?
For the 22nd time this season, the Sabres gave up three or more goals in a period on Saturday. For the 24th time, they gave up an empty-net goal – which is now one shy of an NHL record.
That's the bulk of your story as the Minnesota Wild handed Buffalo a 4-1 loss in XCel Energy Center, dropping the Sabres to 27-35-6 overall and 1-9-1 in their last 11 road games.
After ending a strong first period in a scoreless tie, the Sabres went haywire in the middle 20 minutes. They fell behind, 3-0, in the first 8:11 of play and didn't get a sniff of this game again.
"It's been a part that has killed us when all of a sudden we give up a couple quick ones," said coach Lindy Ruff.
Sabres Alex Tuch, left, and Jason Zucker defend against Minnesota's Gustav Nyquist during the second period in St. Paul, Minn. on March 22, 2025.
What did owner Terry Pegula, again in a private box, and general manager Kevyn Adams see in the key times of this one?
Marco Rossi put Minnesota in front at 56 seconds of the second period, taking a Yakov Trenin pass between Ryan McLeod and Bowen Byram and beating Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from in tight. Buffalo defenseman Jacob Bryson, re-signed for next season on Thursday likely to fill a No. 7 role on defense, struggled on the next two goals, by Justin Brazeau at 5:07 and Mats Zuccarello at 8:11.
Ruff argued that Brazeau kicked in his goal but officials ruled a deflection and no distinct kicking motion, allowing it to stand.
On the game's first goal, Owen Power lost a battle down low with former Sabre Vinny Hinostroza and then there were coverage issues out front.
"We didn't find coverage right away, didn't get to the puck and they kind of set the tone for the period there," said Ruff.
"It felt like everyone took the second off," muttered winger JJ Peterka, who scored Buffalo's only goal off a Power pass at 6:48 of the third. "We made it way too easy for them. Just handed them rush chances after rush chances.
"We open up and obviously the momentum is carrying the other way. If you just try to force too much in the offensive zone, then you get scored on again."
The tough part for Buffalo to take was all its missed opportunities in the first period. Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson, who has given up just two goals while the Wild has won three straight, stopped Jordan Greenway and Beck Malenstyn on first-period 2-on-1 rushes and also foiled Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson in tight.
"I thought it was a model first," said Ruff. "We didn't make them pay. We could have made them pay."
Sure could have. Peterka gave the Sabres some life in the third but Buffalo could get no closer and Frederick Gaudreau scored into the empty net with 33 seconds left.
Poor play at 6 on 5 has plagued the Sabres all season. Their 24 empty-netters allowed are one shy of the NHL mark of 25, set last year by Colorado. The Sabres are well ahead of the pack this year, as Western Conference sadsacks Chicago and Nashville are next at 20.
Quinn disciplined by Ruff
Jack Quinn missed the game and it was believed he was a healthy scratch since he doesn't have a goal in 12 games and has just one over his last 21. Turns out that wasn't the case, as Ruff revealed he scratched Quinn because the 23-year-old missed the team's morning meeting.
"Over the years of coaching I've seen it numerous times," Ruff said. "So it's not alarming, but inexcusable."
Sam Lafferty played just 7:33 and didn't return for the third period due to a groin injury. He's likely to miss some time. The Sabres used an 11-7 alignment for the game and the Lafferty injury left them with 10 forwards.
Ruff shifted his centers around for spells of this one, using Ryan McLeod between Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka and putting Jordan Greenway in the middle between fellow ex-Wild players Jason Zucker and Alex Tuch.
"I just wanted to take a little look at 'Greener' in the middle of the ice," Ruff said. "I think it caught up to him just a little bit so we went back to putting him on the wing."
A debut performance
Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker made his Sabres debut and didn't have any hiccups of note during his 20 shifts totaling 11 minutes, 29 seconds. Acquired from Ottawa with Josh Norris, it was his first game since Dec. 28 as he has been dealing with an ankle issue and had become mostly a healthy scratch in his final weeks with the Senators.
"It felt really good to be back in game action, to be playing with the guys here," said Bernard-Docker. "It's been a long time coming and it felt really good. I was just trying to assert myself, be hard to play against. I'm only going to get better as time goes on here, trying to be solid and move pucks."
"I thought he played effectively for us," Ruff said. "He moved the puck and didn't get himself into any trouble."
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, left, and Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Johansson compete for the puck during the third period Saturday, March 22, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn.
Bernard-Docker moved through the lineup, as he got the most shifts with Mattias Samuelsson, but also played with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram.
"They've been really fun to watch," Bernard Docker said. "For me playing on the right side with any of those guys is just trying to put the puck in their hands, be kind of a safety net for them and hopefully be a good partner for one of them. That's the goal."
