BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The good times in Buffalo keep on coming for Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

Dubnyk's first game with the Wild was in Buffalo in January 2015, when he made 18 saves on his way to a 7-0 shutout.

The positive vibes continued Thursday night when Dubnyk made 38 saves on his way to a 4-0 win for.

It was the second consecutive shutout victory for Dubnyk and the Wild (5-2-1), who picked up a 5-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

"Unfortunately we only play here once a year but I've said it before, this is a special place for me," Dubnyk said. "It all began here with these guys so there will always be good memories."

Ryan Suter had a goal and an assist in the win. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jason Zucker and Mikko Koivu also scored for Minnesota.

"It feels good," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. "The guys wanted a win pretty bad and I thought that first period was as good of a first period as we've played in a long time."

The Wild dominated from start to finish and had a few problems with a struggling Sabres' (1-3-2) attack.

Eriksson Ek opened the scoring 4:51 into the game with a tremendous wrist shot. Eriksson Ek deftly made his way down the right wing before cutting into the circle and scoring on a high shot to the far side of the net.

Zucker made it 2-0 on a partial breakaway with 4:47 remaining in the first period. Zucker took the breakout pass from right winger Chris Stewart, sped up ice and ripped a backhand shot to the glove side.

Buffalo's only positive moments of the game came at the start of the second period. The Sabres had a burst of activity to open the period, outshooting Minnesota 16-1 through the first nine minutes, but were unable to take advantage on the scoresheet.

"We knew they were going to come back," Dubnyk said. "We played them hard in the first and we knew they were going to have a push. I don't know if we knew their push was going to be that strong but when you get a two-goal lead, you get guys working in our end and keeping the puck out of our net."

Suter made it 3-0 2:58 into the third off a hard wrist shot from the left circle. Suter beat Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson high with a perfectly placed shot with traffic in front of the net.

Koivu added an empty-net goal with 1:09 remaining.

Nilsson made 18 saves for Buffalo in place of starting goaltender Robin Lehner. Lehner missed his second consecutive game due to illness.

"I didn't like the start," Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said. "I felt like we were squeezing our sticks a little bit ... grinding the sawdust a little bit. We weren't able to execute. We were just a little nervous with the puck. Then the first goal's kind of a punch in the gut."

The Sabres have lost four consecutive games, with their only win of the season coming on Oct. 16 against Edmonton. Buffalo is without top forwards Jack Eichel (high ankle sprain) and Evander Kane (cracked ribs)

"You could just tell we were all trying to play a little too perfect," Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly said. "We didn't want to be the guy making a mistake. And it's tough to play like that. Especially against a team with a good record right now, they are winning hockey games and playing well. They went out there and they played hockey."

NOTES: Sabres G Robin Lehner missed his second straight game due to illness. Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said Lehner has a chance of returning to the team on Friday. RW Evander Kane (cracked ribs) and D Casey Nelson were also scratched for Buffalo. ... C Erik Haula and D Jared Spurgeon were scratched for Minnesota. ... Minnesota LW Jason Pominville spent nine seasons as a member of the Sabres (2003-13) and was Buffalo's captain from 2011-13. He played in a total of 578 games for Buffalo. ... This was the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Their next meeting takes place Tuesday in Minnesota.