Postgame Report: 10/25 vs. Tampa Bay

Final Score

1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Final SOG
Lightning
(2-3-1)
1 0 0 1 26
Sabres
(4-1-1)
1 1 3 5 36

Game Summary
Event Summary

Postgame Audio

Sabres head coach Don Granato

Sabres forward Drake Caggiula

Sabres forward Vinnie Hinostroza

Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

Lightning forward Alex Killorn

Lightning goaltender Brian Elliott

Top Notes

  • Craig Anderson’s win tonight was the 294th of his career, moving him into sole possession of 40th place in NHL history in goaltender wins.
  • Victor Olofsson opened the scoring for the Sabres tonight and added an empty-net goal to cap the scoring. He now has a point in four of his five career games against the Lightning (3+2).
  • Robert Hagg scored his first goal as a Sabre after notching his first assist as a Sabre in the first period.
  • Tage Thompson recorded two assists tonight and now has four points (2+2) in his last four games against Tampa Bay.
  • Vinnie Hinostroza’s goal tonight was his first as a member of the Sabres.
  • The Sabres scored the first goal in tonight’s game. It was the third time this season the team has scored first and Buffalo is 3-0-0 in those games this year.

Tonight’s Goaltenders

Tonight’s Stats
Team Goaltender Decision GA SA
Lightning
Bishop L 3 23
Sabres Anderson W 1 36
Updated Season Stats
Team Goaltender Record SV% GAA
Lightning Bishop 0-1-0 .870 3.15
Sabres Anderson 3-1-0 .944 1.76

 

Game Preview: 10/25/21 vs. Tampa Bay

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

Game Notes NHL Stats Rosters

LAST GAME
Saturday, October 23
Buffalo 1 at New Jersey 2 (OT)
Goals: Cozens
Goalie: Tokarski (37 saves/39 shots)
PP: 1/2; PK: 2/3; Shots: New Jersey 39 – Buffalo 25

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 20)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 5 games
Jack Eichel (Upper body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 5 games
Casey Mittelstadt (Upper body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 4 games
Henri Jokiharju (Lower body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 4 games
Cody Eakin (Undisclosed) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/23: Recalled F Brett Murray from Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Oct. 28: Buffalo at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 2: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 4: Buffalo at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 6: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
LIGHTNING at SABRES

  • This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
  • Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 6-4 in Buffalo on Dec. 31, 2019.
  • Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 11 in Buffalo
  • The Sabres are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 2-7-1 at home.
  • This is the 107th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-42-9 series record.
  • The Sabres are 26-21-5 at home against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

  • The Sabres are 10-11-3 all-time on October 25.
  • October 25, 1991: The Sabres acquire Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood and Randy Hillier from the Islanders in exchange for Pierre Turgeon, Uwe Krupp, Dave McLlwain and Benoit Hogue.
  • October 25, 1991: The Sabres get 31 saves from Clint Malarchuk as they top the Sharks 3-1 in the first-ever game between the teams, earning the 800th win in franchise history.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

  • 21 of the last 24 meetings between Buffalo and Tampa Bay have been decided in regulation, including each of the last four contests.
  • Will Butcher has five assists ana a plus-6 rating in eight career games against the Lightning.
  • Among Sabres defensive pairs to have played at least five minutes together this season, Robert Hagg and Mark Pysyk lead Sabres defensive pairs in corsi for percentage (58.52) and expected goals for percentage (63.20).
    • The pair has the lowest offensive zone start percentage among Sabres defensive pairs at just 22.22 percent.
  • Colin Miller has a team-high five assists this season and now has eight assists in his last nine games played dating back to last season.

HOT START

  • Entering play Sunday, the Sabres ranked sixth in the NHL with a 54.7 shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 this season.
  • Buffalo has 121 scoring chances for and 82 scoring chances against at 5-on-5 through its first five games, good for third in the NHL entering play Sunday with a 59.61 scoring chance for percentage.
  • The team’s 57.25 expected goals percentage at 5-on-5 ranked second in the NHL before Sunday’s game.
  • The Sabres have successfully killed 12 of their 13 penalties to begin the season, tied for seventh in the league with a 85.7 penalty kill percentage this season entering play Sunday.

TERRIFIC TRIO

  • The line of Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson has accounted for five goals and eight points for the Sabres this season.
  • According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, the trio has skated 54:03 together and registered a 63.04 CF%, a 68.20 xGF% and a 69.57 HDCF%.
  • At all strengths, Thompson (1.78) and Asplund (1.77) lead the Sabres in individual expected goals and Thompson leads the team in individual corsi for (34).

WELCOME TO BUFFALO
The Sabres have seven new players on their roster this season:

Player, Pos. How Acquired Pronunciation Notes
Craig Anderson, G Free agency AN-duhr-suhn Ranks among the NHL’s active leaders in wins (6th, 291), saves (4th, 18,251) and shutouts (T-6th, 42).
Will Butcher, D Trade (NJD) BUH-chuhr Led all NJD defensemen in assists (92) and ranked second among Devils blueliners in points (106) since entering the NHL in 2017-18.
Robert Hagg, D Trade (PHI) HAG Averaged 15:40 of ice time over 34 games in 2020-21, recording five points (2+3) and leading PHI defensemen with 100 hits.
John Hayden, C Free Agency HAY-dihn Has compiled 31 points (13+18) in 185 career NHL games for CHI, NJD and ARI.
Vinnie Hinostroza, C Free Agency hihn-oh-STROH-za Recorded 12 points (4+8) in 17 games for CHI last season after being acquired via trade from FLA on April 2.
Mark Pysyk, D Free Agency PEH-sihk Played in 125 games for the Sabres from 2012 to 2016 after being selected by Buffalo in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.
Christian Wolanin, D Waivers woh-LA-nihn Claimed off of waivers on Oct. 16; has 18 points (5+13) in 61 career NHL games for Ottawa and Los Angeles.

2021-22 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:

  • Eight were drafted by the Sabres — five were first-round selections (Pysyk, 2010; Girgensons, 2012; Mittelstadt, 2017; Dahlin, 2018; Cozens, 2019), one was a second-round pick (Asplund, 2016), one was a fourth-round pick (Bryson, 2017) and one was a seventh-round pick (Olofsson, 2014).
    • Mark Pysyk was drafted by the Sabres in 2010 and returned as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
  • Seven were acquired in trades: Bjork, Butcher, Hagg, Jokiharju, Miller, Skinner, Thompson
  • Seven were signed as free agents: Anderson, Eakin, Hayden, Hinostroza, Okposo, Ruotsalainen, Tokarski
  • Drake Caggiula was claimed off of waivers.
  • Seventeen played in Buffalo at some point last season: Asplund, Bjork, Bryson, Caggiula, Cozens, Dahlin, Eakin, Girgensons, Jokiharju, Miller, Mittelstadt, Okposo, Olofsson, Ruotsalainen, Skinner, Thompson, Tokarski
  • One played for Buffalo previously: Pysyk
  • Five are new to the Sabres this season: Anderson, Butcher, Hagg, Hayden, Hinostroza

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 10/24 games)

  • Buffalo Sabres: 7 PTS (T-10th), 3 W (T-8th), 2.00 GA/GP (4th), 29.4 PP% (8th), 85.7% PK% (T-7th), 34.6 S/GP (8th)
  • Girgensons: 1 GWG (T-7th)
  • Skinner: 1 GWG (T-7th)
  • Thompson: 20 SOG (T-10th)
  • Tokarski: .950 SV% (T-6th), 1.40 GAA (5th) 

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Hagg (17), Dahlin (10), Caggiula/Miller (8)
Blocked Shots: Hagg (12), Pysyk (8), Dahlin/Miller (5)
Shots: Thompson (20), Okposo (16), Skinner (15)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-1-1 (7), 14/10, 5/17, 12/14

OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 126-138 all-time)
Oct. 23 at NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Zacha)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-0; 82-74 all-time)
Oct. 16 vs. ARI: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ruotsalainen)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Zemgus Girgensons … 6 games played … 500 career games played

Assists
Will Butcher … 7 assists … 100 career assists
Rasmus Dahlin … 9 assists … 100 career assists

Points
Mark Pysyk … 8 points … 100 career points

Wins
Craig Anderson … 7 wins … 300 career wins 

RECENT MILESTONES
Kyle Okposo scored his 200th career NHL goal on Oct. 19 vs. Vancouver
Rasmus Dahlin played in his 200th career NHL game on Oct. 19 vs. Vancouver
Colin Miller recorded his 100 career NHL assist on Oct. 22 vs. Boston

SABRES RECALL MURRAY FROM ROCHESTER

The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Brett Murray from the Rochester Americans (AHL).

Highlights:
  • Led the Rochester Americans (AHL) with 20 points (9+11) in 27 games in his second pro season in 2020-21.
  • Made his NHL debut for the Sabres on May 6, 2021 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Skated in two games for the Sabres last season, recording one shot on goal and averaging 10:38 of ice time.
  • Named to the USHL First All-Star Team in 2018-19 after leading the league in goals (41) and recording 76 points (41+35) in 62 games played for the Youngstown Phantoms.

Game Preview: 10/23/21 at New Jersey

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

Game Notes NHL Stats Rosters

LAST GAME
Friday, October 22
Boston 4 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Olofsson
Goalie: Anderson (22 saves/25 shots); 1 ENG
PP: 0/4; PK: 1/1; Shots: Buffalo 36 – Boston 26

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 15)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 4 games
Jack Eichel (Upper body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 4 games
Casey Mittelstadt (Upper body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 3 games
Henri Jokiharju (Lower body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 3 games
Cody Eakin (Undisclosed) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/23: Recalled F Brett Murray from Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Oct. 25: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 28: Buffalo at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 2: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 4: Buffalo at Seattle, 10 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at DEVILS

  • This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Devils this season.
  • Last meeting: New Jersey defeated Buffalo 6-3 in Buffalo on April 8, 2021
  • Next meeting: Wednesday, Dec. 29 in Buffalo
  • The Sabres are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games against the Devils; 5-5-0 on the road.
  • This is the 168th game all-time between Buffalo and New Jersey; Buffalo has a 82-58-27 series record.
  • The Sabres are 38-29-15 on the road against the Devils all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

  • The Sabres are 11-9-1 all-time on October 23.
  • October 23, 1983: The Sabres top the Winnipeg Jets, 5-2, to earn the 500th win in franchise history.
  • October 23, 1992: Dominik Hasek relieves Daren Puppa to start the third period vs. San Jose and earns his first of 234 wins with the Sabres.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

  • The Sabres have scored at least one power-play goal in nine of their last 10 games against the Devils dating back to the 2019-20 season. The team has gone 13-for-29 (44.8 percent) in those games
  • Rasmus Dahlin has recorded a point in 10 of his 12 career meetings with the Devils. His 13 points against New Jersey represent Dahlin’s highest point total against a single opponent.
  • Victor Olofsson’s six career goals and 10 career points against the Devils are his most against any NHL opponent.
  • Drake Caggiula has three points (2+1) in his last three games against New Jersey.
  • Kyle Okposo has an assist in each of his last three games against the Devils.
  • Mark Pysyk tied his career high with three points (1+2) in his last meeting with New Jersey on Feb. 11, 2020.
  • Colin Miller has a team-high five assists this season and now has eight assists in his last eight games played dating back to last season.

HOT START

  • The Sabres lead the NHL with a 59.25 shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 this season.
  • Buffalo has 98 scoring chances for and 49 scoring chances against at 5-on-5 through its first four games, good for the NHL lead with a 66.67 scoring chance for percentage.
  • The team’s 63.78 expected goals percentage at 5-on-5 ranks second in the NHL.
  • The Sabres have successfully killed 10 of their 11 penalties to begin the season, ranking fifth in the league with a 90.9 penalty kill percentage this season.

TERRIFIC TRIO

  • The line of Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson has accounted for five goals and eight points for the Sabres this season.
  • According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, the trio has skated 42:31 together and registered a 66.67 SAT%, a 79.76 xGF% and a 78.95 HDCF%.
  • At all strengths, Thompson (1.71) and Asplund (1.65) lead the Sabres in individual expected goals and Thompson leads the team in individual shot attempts (30).

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s first of 17 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began last night with a 4-1 loss vs. Boston. The Sabres went 4-10-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 4-9-1 in the second game in 2020-21. Buffalo’s point breakdown in back-to-back sets last season was: four points (1), three points (1), two points (5), one point (0) and zero points (7).

WELCOME TO BUFFALO
The Sabres have seven new players on their roster this season:

Player, Pos. How Acquired Pronunciation Notes
Craig Anderson, G Free agency AN-duhr-suhn Ranks among the NHL’s active leaders in wins (6th, 291), saves (4th, 18,251) and shutouts (T-6th, 42).
Will Butcher, D Trade (NJD) BUH-chuhr Led all NJD defensemen in assists (92) and ranked second among Devils blueliners in points (106) since entering the NHL in 2017-18.
Robert Hagg, D Trade (PHI) HAG Averaged 15:40 of ice time over 34 games in 2020-21, recording five points (2+3) and leading PHI defensemen with 100 hits.
John Hayden, C Free Agency HAY-dihn Has compiled 31 points (13+18) in 185 career NHL games for CHI, NJD and ARI.
Vinnie Hinostroza, C Free Agency hihn-oh-STROH-za Recorded 12 points (4+8) in 17 games for CHI last season after being acquired via trade from FLA on April 2.
Mark Pysyk, D Free Agency PEH-sihk Played in 125 games for the Sabres from 2012 to 2016 after being selected by Buffalo in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.
Christian Wolanin, D Waivers woh-LA-nihn Claimed off of waivers on Oct. 16; has 18 points (5+13) in 61 career NHL games for Ottawa and Los Angeles.

2021-22 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:

  • Eight were drafted by the Sabres — five were first-round selections (Pysyk, 2010; Girgensons, 2012; Mittelstadt, 2017; Dahlin, 2018; Cozens, 2019), one was a second-round pick (Asplund, 2016), one was a fourth-round pick (Bryson, 2017) and one was a seventh-round pick (Olofsson, 2014).
    • Mark Pysyk was drafted by the Sabres in 2010 and returned as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
  • Seven were acquired in trades: Bjork, Butcher, Hagg, Jokiharju, Miller, Skinner, Thompson
  • Seven were signed as free agents: Anderson, Eakin, Hayden, Hinostroza, Okposo, Ruotsalainen, Tokarski
  • Drake Caggiula was claimed off of waivers.
  • Seventeen played in Buffalo at some point last season: Asplund, Bjork, Bryson, Caggiula, Cozens, Dahlin, Eakin, Girgensons, Jokiharju, Miller, Mittelstadt, Okposo, Olofsson, Ruotsalainen, Skinner, Thompson, Tokarski
  • One played for Buffalo previously: Pysyk
  • Five are new to the Sabres this season: Anderson, Butcher, Hagg, Hayden, Hinostroza

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 10/23 games)

  • Buffalo Sabres: 6 PTS (T-6th), 3 W (T-4th), 2.00 GA/GP (T-4th), 90.9% PK% (5th), 53.7 % FO% (8th), 37.0 S/GP (4th), 28.0 SA/GP (5th)
  • Anderson: 2 W (T-3rd), .954 SV% (5th), 1.50 GAA (T-9th)
  • Girgensons: 1 GWG (T-5th)
  • Skinner: 1 GWG (T-5th)
  • Thompson: 18 SOG (T-8th)
  • Tokarski: .952 SV% (T-8th), 0.92 GAA (1st) 

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Hagg (11), Caggiula/Miller (7), Dahlin (5)
Blocked Shots: Hagg (9), Pysyk (7), Dahlin (4)
Shots: Thompson (18), Okposo (14), Olofsson/Skinner (13)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-1-0 (6), 13/8, 4/15, 10/11

OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 126-138 all-time)
N/A

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-0; 82-74 all-time)
Oct. 16 vs. ARI: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ruotsalainen)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Zemgus Girgensons … 7 games played … 500 career games played

Assists
Will Butcher … 7 assists … 100 career assists
Rasmus Dahlin … 9 assists … 100 career assists

Points
Mark Pysyk … 8 points … 100 career points

Wins
Craig Anderson … 7 wins … 300 career wins 

RECENT MILESTONES
Kyle Okposo scored his 200th career NHL goal on Oct. 19 vs. Vancouver
Rasmus Dahlin played in his 200th career NHL game on Oct. 19 vs. Vancouver
Colin Miller recorded his 100 career NHL assist on Oct. 22 vs. Boston

Postgame Report: 10/22 vs. Boston

Final Score

1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Final SOG
Bruins
(2-1-0)
2 1 1 4 26
Sabres
(3-1-0)
0l 0 1 1 36

Game Summary
Event Summary

Postgame Audio

Sabres head coach Don Granato

Sabres forward Dylan Cozens

Sabres forward Victor Olofsson

Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy

Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo

Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark

Top Notes

  • Rasmus Asplund earned the primary assist on Victor Olofsson’s goal and now has an assist in each of his last three games against the Bruins.
  • Colin Miller’s assist tonight gives him a team-high five assists through Buffalo’s first four games of the season. Dating back to 2020-21, Miller now has eight assists in his last eight games played.
    • Miller’s assist tonight was the 100th if his NHL career.

Tonight’s Goaltenders

Tonight’s Stats
Team Goaltender Decision GA SA
Bruins
Ullmark W 1 36
Sabres Anderson L 3 25
Updated Season Stats
Team Goaltender Record SV% GAA
Bruins Ullmark 1-0-0 .972 1.00
Sabres Anderson 2-1-0 .933 2.01