BUFFALO, N.Y.-Devan Dubnyk made 38 saves to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
It was the second consecutive shutout victory for Dubnyk and the Wild (5-2-1), who picked up a 5-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Ryan Suter had a goal and an assist in the win. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jason Zucker and Mikko Koivu also scored for Minnesota.
The Wild dominated the Sabres (1-3-2) from start to finish and had few problems with a struggling Sabres attack.
Anders Nilsson made 18 saves for Buffalo in place of starting goaltender Robin Lehner. Lehner missed his second consecutive game due to illness.
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The Sabres have lost four consecutive games, with their only win of the season coming on Oct. 16 against Edmonton. Buffalo is without top forwards Jack Eichel (high ankle sprain) and Evander Kane (cracked ribs).
Eriksson Ek opened the scoring 4:51 into the game with a tremendous wrist shot. Eriksson Ek deftly made his way down the right wing before cutting into the circle and scoring on a high shot to the far side of the net.
Zucker made it 2-0 on a partial breakaway with 4:47 remaining in the first period. Zucker took the breakout pass from right winger Chris Stewart, sped up ice and ripped a backhand shot to the glove side.
Buffalo's only positive moments of the game came at the start of the second period. The Sabres had a burst of activity to open the period, outshooting Minnesota 16-1 through the first nine minutes, but were unable to take advantage on the scoresheet.
Suter made it 3-0 2:58 into the third off a hard wrist shot from the left circle. Suter beat Nilsson high with a perfectly placed shot with traffic in front of the net.
Koivu added an empty-net goal with 1:09 remaining.
NOTES: Sabres G Robin Lehner missed his second straight game due to illness. Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said Lehner has a chance of returning to the team on Friday. RW Evander Kane (cracked ribs) and D Casey Nelson were also scratched for Buffalo. ... C Erik Haula and D Jared Spurgeon were scratched for Minnesota. ... Minnesota LW Jason Pominville spent nine seasons as a member of the Sabres (2003-13) and was Buffalo's captain from 2011-13. He played in a total of 578 games for Buffalo. ... This was the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Their next meeting takes place Tuesday in Minnesota.
