Sabres drop second in row to Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Scoring three goals on its first five shots, the Minnesota Wild won its second straight game over the Buffalo Sabres, taking a 3-2 win in the Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night.
Minnesota built a 2-0 lead on a goal by Antti Miettinen and a power-play tally by Owen Nolan.
The lead went to 3-0 when defenseman Brent Burns was credited with a short-handed goal when his cross-ice pass was inadvertently swatted into the net by Sabres defenseman Teppo Numminen.
"We batted one in ourselves. We didn't make many mistakes, but every mistake we made went in," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "But we still made the mistakes. We took some needless penalties and gave the opposition a little bit of life."
The Sabres got on the board at 14:24 of the second period when Daniel Paille scored off an assist by Toni Lydman. After a long lead pass from Lydman, Paille's rising shot beat goaltender Josh Harding over the right shoulder.
Harding, who had 25 saves, left the game in the third period after a fluke accident in front of the Minnesota net. Buffalo’s Dylan Hunter lifted the stick of Wild defenseman Martin Skoula in the crease, causing Skoula’s blade to enter the eye hole of Harding’s mask. Harding immediately dropped to the ice and was helped off by a trainer.
"I think the tip of the blade went through his mask and hit him in the eye," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "I don't know his condition right now."
Click here for the Minneapolis Star Tribune report on the injury
Nicklas Backstrom finished the game in goal for Minnesota, stopping five of the six shots he faced as Andrej Sekera scored an unassisted power-play goal with two seconds left in the game.
Ryan Miller finished with 21 saves for the Sabres, who are 1-3-1 in the preseason. The franchise has not had a losing preseason since 2003-04.
This was the fifth all-time meeting between the teams in the preseason with the Wild winning the last four matchups, including Sunday’s 2-1 shootout victory in HSBC Arena.
The Sabres play Columbus tonight (7 p. m., Radio 550 AM) in Nationwide Arena.
Earlier Wednesday, Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced the team claimed left wing Matt Ellis off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.
Ellis, 27, started last season with the Red Wings but was claimed off waivers by the Kings on Feb. 21. He picked up eight points (3+5) in 54 games between the teams. He has played 70 career NHL games.
Ellis played with Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids from 2003 to '07, collecting 153 points (69+84) in 282 games.
The 6-foot, 207-pound native of Welland, Ont., played four years of junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. Ellis signed as an undrafted free agent with Detroit in May 2002.
The Sabres also announced they will be holding a “Party in the Plaza” prior to the season opener Oct. 10. Game time against the Montreal Canadiens is 7:30 p.m.
The pre-game festivities will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. outside HSBC Arena in the Plaza area located near Perry and Illinois streets. Strictly Hip will perform and there will also be special guest appearances throughout the night.
