Nick Foligno’s night ended early Tuesday in Buffalo after the Minnesota Wild forward left with an upper-body injury.
The team did not say exactly when or where the injury happened, but Foligno had already taken part in one notable collision earlier in the game. Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin powered through an attempted hit from the 38-year-old veteran, a play that stood out in an otherwise brief outing for Foligno.
He skated just 3:29 over five shifts before exiting. Minnesota had carried a 2-0 lead on the road against brother Marcus’ former team, but the Sabres came back, forced overtime and finished off a 3-2 win.
Foligno had appeared in the Wild’s first three games of the season and scored in the club’s opener against the Nashville Predators last Thursday. That goal remains his only point so far in 2026-27. Entering Tuesday, the Buffalo native had a plus/minus of +2 and was averaging 13:11 of ice time per game.
This is Foligno’s first full season in Minnesota. The Wild got him from the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the trade deadline last March in exchange for future considerations. He finished the 2025-26 regular season with four points in 17 games, then added two goals and an assist in 11 playoff appearances as Minnesota reached the second round before losing to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
He re-signed with the Wild this offseason on a one-year deal with a cap hit of $900,000.
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The forward group has taken its own hit with Nick Foligno leaving the Buffalo game with an upper-body injury and landing on the day-to-day list. To help steady the roster, the Wild brought up Tyler Pitlick from the Iowa Wild, giving the bench a little more flexibility at a time when every healthy body matters. [Read more 🡒]