Two struggling teams will face off at First Niagara Center tonight when the Buffalo Sabres will host the Minnesota Wild. The visitors opened 2015 with a 3-1 win versus Toronto, but have lost six straight contests since. The Sabres are even worse for wear though, still looking for their first win in 2015 and are off eight straight losses.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. The Sabres Lack Of Offense - The Sabres rank dead last in scoring averaging 1.73 goals per game. They're the only club in the NHL averaging less than two goals per game, and have not scored more than two goals in any of their eight most recent games (all losses). It can hardly be blamed on bad luck either, they're firing a league worst 23.3 shots per game on average so creating chances is definitely an issue.

2. Recent Meetings - There has been no home ice advantage when these two teams have battled it out over recent seasons. The road team is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings, and the Wild have done particularly well winning five of the last six match-ups in Buffalo

3. X-Factor - Nino Niederreiter is second on the Wild with 14 goals and scored a hat-trick when the Wild won the first meeting this season 6-3 in Minnesota on Nov 13.

Selection: This is a play on the Minnesota Wild (8*)