Very suddenly, it seems like the Minnesota Wild could have a little bit of wiggle room at the trade deadline. If Joel Eriksson Ek's injury keeps him out until the end of the regular season, the Wild could take advantage of LTIR and free up $5.

MONTREAL – Special-teams shortcomings stung the Buffalo Sabres – and cost them a point in the standings – as they lost 4-3 in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday. The Sabres overcame a three-goal deficit in the final 22 minutes of regulation before Montreal’s Mike Matheson scored the 3-on-3 game winner.

Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson scored goals for the Sabres to ignite the comeback. Buffalo finished with a 36-20 lead in shots but went 0-for-4 on the power play. Montreal went 2-for-5 with the extra man, with four of its opportunities coming during the first period.

The Buffalo Sabres could be the most talked-about team in terms of players being on the move prior to the NHL trade deadline, but whether anything comes to fruition will be up to the quality of offers GM Kevyn Adams receives before 3 pm Friday.