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Buffalo started the season terribly

The host still don't have a victory, and in six games they scored only six goals. Minnesota, on the other side, have raised its form and is definitely a favorite here

Buffalo are sinking deeper and deeper. In the first six games, they suffered six defeats and won only one point. Another disconcerting fact is that they scored only six goals, which is a disaster for them. The only person who is in form and up to the task is the goalkeeper Miller, who has returned after an injury and played against Chicago. He was again the best and saved 38/40 shots. If not for him, the goal difference would have been far greater.

- In every previous match, for some other reason, we put ourselves in a bad situation. In this game these were expulsions. We had to defend a lot and here we spent all the energy - said Miller after the defeat against the Blackhawks.

They do not create enough opportunities, and that's not enough to take the points. Too much is spent on the defensive and they leave the initiative to the opponent. Against Tampa a week ago, they were on the trail of what they really need to do, they controlled the puck and were better in the neutral third, so they managed to score two goals and take advantage of the powerplay. We are still waiting for Vanek's goals, because when he enters the series, Buffalo will enter as well.

The situation with injuries is unchanged. There is no Armie, Tropp, Zadorov, Tallinder, Leain, and the attacker Kaleta is suspended (and he still does not know his fine).

After a slow start of the season and three defeats, Minnesota has started to play and found its way to victories. First they beat the Jets, and then Dallas with a brilliant game. Obviously, they just get to the operating temperature and gained a little experience, and in the last two games they looked good.

Defense is the foundation of their game, and in the last two games they have received only two goals. Harding at their goal is in great shape, and with this they are also limiting the opponents to a small number of strokes ( in the last game against Dallas they kept them at only 19). Wild played great in the attack, he had 36 shots, five goals, two out of four players, all of this simply sounds great, and each of the three lines found its chemistry and scored many points. Harding, as in the game against the Jets, was brilliant at the goal, recording 94% of saves and giving security to his team.

- The most important thing for me is to win. In this game we made ​​a step in the right direction. This was our first game that we played at the same pace for all 60 minutes - said the attacker from Minnesota, Matt Cooke.

Powerplay works perfectly for now and it is at 30 percent, which is very important for the rest of the season, and also for this game, where they will have to use it. A play with a player less for now has a bad average, but this is from the first three games (and five games is too small a sample to make a more detailed judgment). They raised their level of play, confidence and now they certainly aspire to a victory against Buffalo.

These two clubs have not played each other in a long time, so their head-to-head ratio is not relevant because the teams have changed. It will also be interesting to see the Buffalo's former captain Jeson Pominvill play against his former club. There will be missing  a striker Coyle and goalkeeper Backstrom, but Harding is already in a great shape, so there are no problems.

Buffalo have made the worst start to the season in the League, losing all of their six matches, scoring only six goals. Their best player so far is the goalie Miller, but he is not a miracle-maker to stop all the shots. They have a lot of problems with injuries to both defenders and forwards, and have forward Kaleta out on suspension as well. Thomas Vanek is still cold, trying to find his form - when he doesn't perform, Buffalo don't win. Minnesota are starting a winning streak, with two in a row, finding form in defense and attack - their forwards started scoring, the defense tightened and Harding looks good between the posts. They are an impressive team with a number of fantastic players - at this point, the momentum is on their side. Despite three defeats at the start of the season, their played well. More important, they won't play an open game with Buffalo, as they did with Edmonton and Colorado, so the Sabres shouldn't have a chance to pluck out something out of it. Minnesota have much more quality, they are in better form and are big favourites to win here.