The Minnesota Wild are off to a perfect start despite missing one of their best players.
That might surprise some people outside the Wild’s locker room. But for defenseman Quinn Hughes, whose regular defense partner, Brock Faber, is sidelined by a skull fracture sustained in the final preseason game, the team’s resilience is no surprise at all.
“Honestly, it’s played out exactly how I thought it would,” Hughes said. “We have a really good team.”
Minnesota will seek its third win in as many games when it faces the host Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. The Wild have opened their season with wins over the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins, while the Sabres bounced back from an opening loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in their second game.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with three goals in his first two games. Hughes also has three points, with one goal and two assists.
The Sabres’ leading scorer is Owen Power, who has three assists from his position on the blue line. Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson are tied for second with two points apiece — one goal and one assist.
Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis is expected to make his first start of the season. Last season, he went 8-4-2 with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage in 16 games (14 starts).
Ellis, who turned 26 on Monday, said his career changed when the Sabres claimed him off waivers from the St. Louis Blues and gave him a chance to compete for a backup job in the NHL.
“Looking back, it’s pretty crazy with all that’s happened in the past year,” Ellis said. “I’m super grateful for the opportunity. … To be able to get picked up here and play the whole season here was a dream come true. You’re just kind of living the dream and doing it day in and day out.”
Ellis faced the Wild once last season. He earned the win and stopped 22 of 24 shots for a .917 save percentage to go along with a 1.85 GAA.
Minnesota is expected to counter with Jesper Wallstedt in net. Wallstedt is 2-0-0 with a 1.01 GAA and a .957 save percentage to start the season, and he has turned aside 45 of 47 shots.
Wallstedt has never faced the Sabres during his brief career.
After visiting Buffalo, the Wild will continue a three-game road trip with matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
Wild forward Blake Coleman knows Faber will be unavailable for those games, too, but he and his teammates are confident they can maintain their winning ways.
“Brock is a big hole for us to fill, and we’re going to have to do it by committee,” Coleman said. “That’s the way we have to play to win, especially on the road. I’ve learned over the years that simplifying on the road and winning ugly is actually a pretty solid recipe.”