Wild vs. Sabres Recap: Power Wins It in OT, Over and Wallstedt Cash

The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in overtime. Minnesota built a 2-0 lead with two goals in the 2nd, Buffalo tied it with two in the 3rd, and Owen Power won it 4:22 into overtime. Buffalo outshot Minnesota 28-20. Minnesota scored once on four power plays, and Buffalo came up empty on its two. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 25 of 28 shots for Minnesota, and Colten Ellis stopped 18 of 20 for Buffalo. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

ALT: Over 4.5 total goals (alt): CASHED - Our read: Buffalo was expected to start Colten Ellis, and its goalies had a .784 save percentage through 2 games. The main total was 6.5, and we played the alt over 4.5 below it. - What happened: The game finished with 5 total goals, 0.5 over the line. It sat at 2-2 after regulation, so the over still needed one more goal. Power's overtime winner at 4:22 was the goal that cashed it. - Worth watching: The over came in on a night Ellis posted a .900 save percentage, and it still took overtime to get there. The 2-2 regulation score shows how thin that margin was, so the price on any alt total matters.

Jesper Wallstedt over 24.5 saves (-110 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Wallstedt made 25 or more saves in 23 of 33 starts last season (70%), and this was his third straight start. Buffalo had put 26 and 28 shots on net in its two games. At 62 confidence, this was a longer shot that landed. - What happened: Wallstedt made 25 saves on 28 shots (3 GA, .893 save percentage) in 64:22. That is 0.5 over the line, and 21 of those saves came at even strength. The game ran 4:22 into overtime, so he played more than a full 60 minutes. - Worth watching: Buffalo got 28 shots on net again, matching the higher of the two totals in our pregame read. Tage Thompson alone had 9 of them. Save props on a goalie facing this kind of volume are worth a look, but the margin here was a single save.

How the game played out

Neither team scored in the 1st. Minnesota broke through on the power play at 13:53 of the 2nd, when Danila Yurov scored on a slap shot from Jared Spurgeon and Blake Coleman. Minnesota made it 2-0 at 15:38 on an even-strength snap shot set up by Quinn Hughes and Michael McCarron. Buffalo answered in the 3rd: Noah Ostlund deflected one in at 3:55 off Power and Rasmus Dahlin, and Thompson tied it with a snap shot at 9:38 from Peyton Krebs. In overtime, Power finished a wrist shot from Jiri Kulich and Thompson at 4:22.

Trends to watch

• Thompson led the game with 9 shots on goal in 20:23 of ice time, and he finished with a goal and an assist. That shot volume is a number to track in his props.
• The top defensemen carried huge minutes: Hughes played 29:30 for Minnesota, while Dahlin (29:15) and Power (29:04) both topped 29 minutes for Buffalo. Power also put 2 shots on goal, one of them the winner.
• Matt Boldy put 7 shots on goal for Minnesota in 23:24, including 4:45 on the power play. He is a volume name to keep an eye on.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More NHL reads live at /nhl and past games at /recaps/nhl. New to alt lines? Start with our alt line glossary entry.