The Minnesota Wild came out of their most recent contest victorious on Saturday. The exhibition came in Buffalo against the Sabres, whom of which had won 15 of their last 17 games in the lead-up.
The victory occurred in overtime off of a Mats Zuccarello goal with helpers from Filip Gustavsson and Kirill Kaprizov.
After taking a 3-1 lead in the second period, the Wild gave up 3 unanswered goals to Buffalo. They were able to tie it up and force overtime, going into extra time with a powerplay.
Minnesota won the game off of the stick of Zuccarello with less than five seconds left on the man-advantage.
This was a gritty victory against the hottest team in hockey, something the Wild were not too long ago. It would’ve been impressive enough if Minnesota gained victory with a full lineup, but that isn’t what happened.
Minnesota Wild Victorious on Saturday Despite Major Injury Misfortune
GettyST PAUL, MINNESOTA – JANUARY 12: Ryan Hartman #38 of the Minnesota Wild celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils in the second period at Grand Casino Arena on January 12, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Brad Rempel/Getty Images)
The vibes were at a deep low after the Wild dropped two games in a row on home ice by a combined score of 11-4 by the Devils and Jets. After the Jets game, the Wild had only won 2 of the previous 8 contests, including 1 of the previous 6.
The feel around the “State of Hockey” worsened with surprise injury announcements on two major contributors, when they were already down three. These new additions to the injury report were Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson.
Michael Russo had the shocking report on Matt Boldy on Friday afternoon.
“Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek have been placed on injured reserve. Hunter Haight and Nicolas Aube-Kubel have been recalled. Means Boldy has to miss at least the next 4 games. Ek, Bogosian, Brodin and Boldy all on IR.”
He kept the surprises coming on Saturday morning, announcing the news on Marcus Johansson.
“Add Marcus Johansson to those not on the 3-game trip. So the entire second line of Johansson, Eriksson Ek and Boldy, their shutdown left D in Brodin and most physical defenseman, Bogosian, all back in Minnesota.“
Matt Boldy leads the Wild in goals this season with 27, and is second behind Kirill Kaprizov (55) in points with 51. Marcus Johansson (34) is third in points on the team, and leads the team in +/- with a +18.
Knocking on wood, only three players have played in all 49 games for the Wild this season. They are Kirill Kaprizov, Yakov Trenin, and Brock Faber.
Minnesota Looks for More Gritty Wins on Eastern Road Trip
GettyST PAUL, MINNESOTA – JANUARY 12: Kirill Kaprizov #97 of the Minnesota Wild skates with the puck against the New Jersey Devils in the first period at Grand Casino Arena on January 12, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Brad Rempel/Getty Images)
The Wild next play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena. This is the first game of a back-to-back, as they then travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens.
Minnesota returns home on Thursday to play the Red Wings. Both the Canadiens and Red Wings sit in the top 3 of the Atlantic Conference, meaning the Wild’s competition does not worsen as they chug along this season with mounting injuries.
The Wild sit at third in the Central, where it feels they’ve been for the last two months. Their 63 points are tied with the Dallas Stars, and is only topped around the league by the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche.
Minnesota Wild Again Severely Bitten by Injury Bug