The Minnesota Wild were beaten in their first exhibition game of the season Monday night falling to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center.
Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund led the Wild in the loss. Parise had a pair of assists, while Granlund finished with a goal and an assist on the night.
But it wasn’t enough as Matt Moulson and Jack Eichel netted goals early in the third period, turning the momentum in favor of the Sabres.
Minnesota got on the scoreboard first when Jared Spurgeon scored at the 12:12 mark of the first period. Parise and Granlund both assisted.
He went to Jared! Check out Spurgeon's goal: http://t.co/Vpejoli5Tv #mnwild pic.twitter.com/7e6Hc9xdgD
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) September 22, 2015
The lead didn’t last long, though. The Sabres tied it moments later on a goal from Marcus Foligno.
It stayed that way until Granlund put Minnesota on top 2-1 in the second period.
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But things quickly changed in the third. Moulson scored just 96 seconds into the period, then Eichel netted the game winner with his short-handed goal at the 5:44 mark.
Darcy Kuemper started in net for Minnesota. He stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced.
Scoring Summary
1st period – MIN Jared Spurgeon (1) Slap shot – Assist: Zach Parise (1), Mikael Granlund (1) 1-0 MIN
1st period – BUF Nicolas Deslauries (1) Snap shot – Assist: Marcus Foligno (1), Johan Larsson (1) 1-1 Tie
2nd period – MIN PPG Granlund (1) Wrist shot – Assist: Parise (2), Ryan Suter (1)
3rd period – BUF Matt Moulson (1) Deflected shot – Assist: Jack Eichel (1), Zemgus Girgensons (1) 2-2 Tie
3rd period – BUF Eichel (1) Backhand shot – Assist: Cody Franson (1)
