(Best E Casino) - A pair of clubs off to hot starts this season are set to square off tonight at Xcel Energy Center, where the Minnesota Wild will host the Buffalo Sabres.

Buffalo is 5-0-1 to open the season and is coming off a 3-2 shootout victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Thomas Vanek put the Sabres ahead for good with a shootout goal and did not score in regulation for the first time this season. Vanek leads the team with nine points and seven goals.

Goaltender Ryan Miller made a huge save on a Marc Savard shot to improve to 4-0 this season. Miller stopped 30 shots in the win and has not allowed more than two goals in a game in 2008-09.

Clarke MacArthur and Drew Stafford scored in regulation for Buffalo, which battled back from a 2-0 deficit and will open a two-game trek Thursday against Minnesota and Colorado.

In injury news for the Northeast Division-leading Sabres, defenseman Craig Rivet is expected to be sidelined a minimum of two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Rivet has three points in six games since coming over in a trade from San Jose in July.

The Wild, meanwhile, have opened their third straight season with a 4-0-0 record after winning the first five games last season and the first six in the 2006-07 campaign. In Saturday's 1-0 shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Antti Miettinen's goal was the lone marker of the contest and lifted Minnesota to victory.

Miettinen leads the Wild with five goals this season while goaltender Niklas Backstrom stopped 32 shots through overtime for his 10th career shutout and made three saves in the shootout.

Wild winger Marian Gaborik, who has been the subject of trade rumors recently, missed his second straight game Saturday with a lower body injury and is expected to miss tonight's game. Forward Owen Nolan also missed his second game with the same problem and is expected to be out.

Center Mikko Koivu leads the way so far with nine points (1 goal, 8 assists) for Minnesota, which will kick off a three-game homestand Friday versus Buffalo, Columbus and Chicago.

These teams are meeting for the first time since Minnesota handed the Sabres a 5-1 defeat at HSBC Arena on March 9, 2007. The Wild have won three of four and four of the last six meetings with Buffalo.

Buffalo has won three of the four matchups at Xcel Energy Center.