Buffalo hosts Minnesota following Thompson’s hat trick

Minnesota Wild (26-13-9, in the Central Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (26-16-4, in the Atlantic Division)

Buffalo, New York; Saturday, 12:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres host the Minnesota Wild after Tage Thompson recorded a hat trick in the Sabres’ 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Buffalo has gone 16-6-2 at home and 26-16-4 overall. The Sabres have gone 9-3-2 in games they score one or more power-play goals.

Minnesota is 26-13-9 overall and 13-7-3 on the road. The Wild have allowed 133 goals while scoring 147 for a +14 scoring differential.

Saturday’s game is the second time these teams meet this season. The Sabres won the previous matchup 3-2 in a shootout.

TOP PERFORMERS: Thompson has scored 25 goals with 24 assists for the Sabres. Bowen Byram has two goals and six assists over the past 10 games.

Matthew Boldy has 27 goals and 24 assists for the Wild. Mats Zuccarello has three goals and four assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 8-2-0, averaging 4.1 goals, 6.8 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.

Wild: 4-3-3, averaging 3.3 goals, 6.2 assists, 2.5 penalties and 5.3 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game.

INJURIES: Sabres: None listed.

Wild: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.