Pominville’s Return: Jason Pominville’s return to Buffalo was a success with the former Sabre netting the game-winner. Kevin Hoffman/USA Today

Jason Pominville successfully returned to Western New York last night. The former Sabre notched the winning goal in the Wild’s 2-1 win over Buffalo,  The former Sabre captain scored a power play goal with 9.7 seconds left in the second period. His emotional return was no consolation to Buffalo, who matched their worst winless streak to start a season. They’re 0-6-1 having scored only seven goals in seven games.

For the most part, the Sabres played better than recently holding the Wild to 16 shots. In fact, a strong second period had them in position for their first win. Brian Flynn steered home his own rebound with 4:56 left. However, a late penalty led to Pominville’s game-winner. With Buffalo on the verge of killing a penalty, some globe trotter passing from the Wild resulted in a sweet finish for Pominville. Jared Spurgeon gained the Buffalo zone easily and passed for Mikko Koivu, who fed Pominville for his second which just got past Jhonas Enroth. A back breaker for sure.

”It tops off a pretty emotional day in a great way,” a happy Pominville expressed after receiving cheers when he was introduced at game’s start, ”So many good memories in this building. It’s nice to get another one.”

Despite helping his new team win, he still understands what the Sabres are experiencing. There were moments where they couldn’t get the puck from Wild skaters leading to groans from a frustrated crowd.

”It’s tough for the group of guys that have been here a while,” he said. ”The team is going through a little bit of a rebuild, trusting a lot of younger players. It’s going to be a process for them.

”I definitely feel for the guys that have been here a long time. They are competitors, they want to win, and right now it’s not going their way. But I’m sure they’ll stick with it and find a way to turn it around.”

That rebuild has seen them struggle mightily. It’s definitely not a good time for Buffalo fans. Not long ago, the Sabres made two consecutive trips to the Conference Finals. Now, they’re an NHL doormat without much talent. Thomas Vanek and Cody Hodgson are the offensive leaders. They need others to step up like Tyler Ennis, Drew Stafford, Marcus Foligno and Steve Ott.

”It’s going to be hard to win with only one goal scorer,” Enroth noted after making 18 saves to give Ryan Miller a day off to prepare for the Islanders tonight. ”At the same time, I think we played pretty well. We were in charge pretty much the whole game. So it’s a good sign, I think.”

To their credit, the Sabres lifted played better after a poor first period that drew boos by close. Before Flynn scored on Zemgus Girgensons’ set up, the Bronx jeers were undeniable. They generated quality chances against Josh Harding (22 saves) threatening to surge ahead. Swedish rookie Johan Larsson had the best opportunity following a Wild giveaway but missed from 10 feet. Those are the kind of shots they have to bury.

”You’re not going to win many games scoring one goal,” Buffalo coach Ron Rolston said. ”We need our top six to step up.”

Buffalo was 0 for 4 on the power play. They couldn’t convert in the third while trailing. When you have trouble scoring, special teams are doubly important. If the Sabres can figure it out on the man-advantage, it could make life easier. For now, they’ll continue to battle. Facing an Islanders’ club with offensive capability will be a good challenge. The Isles dropped their last two on the road. At the very least, Buffalo should take something positive from Monday and bring it into tonight.

Notes: Henrik Tallinder returned to the lineup. The ex-Devil defenseman took 24 shifts finishing plus-one in 17:32. To make room, Alexander Sulzer was sent down to Rochester. … Sabres outhit the Wild 23-8 with Girgensons and Ott sharing the team lead (4). … Minnesota won the faceoff battle 27-22 thanks to Zenon Konopka, who went 6 and 1. Ott was Buffalo’s best going 7 and 4 while Mikhail Grigorenko went 3 and 1. Hodgson struggled losing 9 of 11 and Ennis lost 6 of 10. … Kyle Brodziak got the Wild’s first goal during the first from Matt Cooke and Jonas Brodin. Cooke has six points (3-3-6) with his new team. … Buffalo D Tyler Myers is without a point in seven with a minus-seven rating.