National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 7, Buffalo 0
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 15, 2015
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Paul Devorski, Garrett Rank
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 18963

Wild 7, Sabres 0: Zach Parise was one of four players with a goal and an assist and Devan Dubnyk recorded a shutout in his debut with visiting Minnesota, which ended its six-game winless streak in style.

Dubnyk - acquired from Arizona on Wednesday - turned aside 18 shots for the Wild, who broke out in a big way after scoring just 10 goals during their skid. Thomas Vanek, Eric Haula and Kyle Brodziak also registered a goal and an assist apiece, Matt Cooke and defensemen Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon also scored and Jason Pominville collected three assists.

Jhonas Enroth made 30 saves in the Sabres' ninth straight loss. Buffalo has been outscored 39-9 over the course of the slide.

Parise put Minnesota on the board 5:13 into the contest, chipping a loose puck over Enroth for a goal that was upheld after video review. Vanek doubled the advantage with just under a minute remaining in the first period, one-timing captain Mikko Koivu's pass from the slot during a power play.

Brodziak (short-handed) and Dumba struck 3:06 apart in the second to extend the lead to 4-0, and Spurgeon added to the onslaught at 18:54 with a shot from the point that eluded a wave of traffic in front to beat Enroth. Cooke made it 6-0 at 4:26 of the third as his attempted pass glanced off the skate of Buffalo's Phil Varone and past Enroth, and Haula capped the rout with a man-advantage tally with 93 seconds remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Enroth prevented Vanek from scoring a second goal in the middle period, robbing him twice from point-blank range. ... Buffalo went 0-for-3 on the power play and has scored just 11 times with the man advantage while allowing a league-high eight short-handed tallies. ... The seven-goal victory margin for the Wild was the most lopsided in franchise history. ... Dubnyk, who posted his 10th career shutout and second this season, became the first Minnesota goaltender to debut with a blanking.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Buffalo
Jason Pominville 3 Points N/A
Kyle Brodziak 1 Goals N/A
Jason Pominville 3 Assists N/A
Erik Haula 1 Power Play Goals N/A
Kyle Brodziak 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Devan Dubnyk 1.000 Save Percentage Jhonas Enroth .811
Devan Dubnyk 18 Saves Jhonas Enroth 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 37 7 2-6 3-3 11 34
Buffalo 18 0 0-3 4-6 17 25
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Sabres have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .226 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Arizona. The Wild have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .458 after a loss.