GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Friday, January 25
Carolina 3 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Vanek
Goalie: Miller (39 saves/41 shots); 1 ENG
PP: 1/4; PK: 3/5; Shots: Carolina 42 – Buffalo 41
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 10)
Cody McCormick (hand, Jan. 20; injured reserve) – 4 games
Ville Leino (lower body, Jan. 20; injured reserve) – 4 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/24 Activated LW Nathan Gerbe from IR; Placed LW Ville Leino on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Jan. 29 Toronto at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 31 Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 2 Buffalo at Montreal, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 3 Florida at Buffalo, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 5 Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
TODAY’S GAME
SABRES at CAPITALS
-First of three meetings between the Sabres and Capitals this season.
-Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Washington, 5-1, in Washington on March 27, 2012.
-The teams next meet on Sunday, March 17 in Washington.
-The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Capitals; 4-5-1 on the road.
-This is the 141st game all-time between Buffalo and Washington; Buffalo leads the series with an 83-41-16 record; 39-21-10 on the road.
STORYLINES
- The last time these teams met, Buffalo left Washington with their first road win against the Capitals since April 3, 2009, clinching the season series against Washington (3-1-0) for the first time since they went 3-1-0 in 2007-08. Prior to that stretch, the Sabres beat the Capitals at least three times in their four matchups every year from 2003-04 to 2007-08.
- Today is Buffalo’s second Sunday afternoon game of the season, after the Sabres opened the year with a 5-2 Sunday afternoon win vs. PHI on Jan. 20. The Sabres will play 11 Sunday games and nine afternoon games this season, up from one Sunday game and four afternoon games last season.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Christian Ehrhoff has an assist in each of the last three games… Jason Pominville has recorded at least one point in each of the Sabres’ four games this season… Jochen Hecht leads all Sabres with 22 points (11+11) in 34 career games against the Capitals.
HOW THEY STACK UP (Sabres ranked in the top 10 before today’s games)
Vanek: 9 points (T-3rd), 2 power play goals (T-3rd), 6 assists (T-4th), 20 shots (T-8th), 3 goals (T-9th)
Pominville: 8 points (T-5th), 5 assists (T-7th), 3 goals (T-9th)
Hodgson: 3 goals (T-9th)
Miller: .952 SV% (5th), 1.67 GAA (5th), 2 wins (T-7th)
DYNAMIC DUO
Thomas Vanek has been on the ice for all 11 of Buffalo’s goals this season, recording nine points (3+6); Jason Pominville has been on the ice for nine, tallying a point on eight. The pair has combined on six goals this season, tying Anaheim’s Saku Koivu and Daniel Winnik for second-most by an NHL duo. They were the seventh-most prolific pair last season, combining on 39 goals.
VANEK ATTACK
Thomas Vanek is the first Sabres player to record nine points in the first four games of the season since Brian Campbell did it in 2007-08. No Buffalo player has ever recorded more than nine. Dating back to last season, Vanek has 20 points (5+15) in his last 14 games.
LINDY’S LONGEVITY
Since Lindy Ruff was named Buffalo’s head coach on July 21, 1997, there have been 170 coaching changes in the NHL. Ruff is the second-longest tenured coach in the four major professional sports leagues. Only Gregg Popovich, who began coaching the San Antonio Spurs in 1996, has been head coach of his team longer. Ruff has 567 wins as head coach of the Sabres, second-most by a head coach with a single franchise, trailing only Al Arbour (740). Ruff has more wins than any other coach with his first NHL team.
2012-13 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:
*13 were originally drafted by the Sabres — five were first-round Buffalo selections (Vanek, 2003; Stafford, 2004; Myers and Ennis, 2008; Grigorenko, 2012)
*Six were acquired in trades: Hecht, Regehr, Ehrhoff, Hodgson, Sulzer, Ott
*Three were signed as free agents: Leopold, Leino, Scott
*One was acquired from waivers: Ellis
*20 played in Buffalo at some point last season
*Three are new to the Sabres this season: Mikhail Grigorenko was selected by the Sabres 12th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft; Scott signed as a UFA on July 1 after spending last season with the Rangers and Blackhawks; Ott was acquired in a trade with Dallas on July 2 after spending eight seasons with the Stars.
*Three players (Brennan, Foligno and Grigorenko) opened the season on an NHL roster for the first time in their careers.
BUF-WSH CONNECTIONS
BUF G Jhonas Enroth played with WSH C Nicklas Backstrom on the 2006-07 Swedish World Junior team for the IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden. Team Sweden placed fourth in the tournament.
BUF AC Kevyn Adams played alongside WSH RW Troy Brouwer on the 2007-08 Chicago Blackhawks.
Brouwer also was a teammate of BUF LW John Scott, when the two played for the Blackhawks in 2010-11.
BUF D Tyler Myers, BUF LW Tyler Ennis and WSH D John Carlson were all first-round draft picks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Myers was picked 12th overall, Ennis was the 26th overall selection and Carlson was picked with the 27th overall selection.
Ennis, BUF LW John Scott and WSH LW Jason Chimera were all born in Edmonton, Alberta.
Chimera was a teammate of BUF C Jochen Hecht when the two played for the Edmonton Oilers during the 2001-02 season.
BUF D TJ Brennan and WSH RW Joey Crabb were both born on April 3. Crabb, born in 1983, is six years older than Brennan, who was born in 1989.
BUF C Steve Ott and WSH D John Erskine were teammates for four seasons (2002-03 –2005-06) when they both played for the Dallas Stars. BUF AC Teppo Numminen was also on the Stars for the 2003-04 season.
BUF LW Thomas Vanek and WSH RW Eric Fehr were both drafted in the first-round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Vanek was the fifth overall selection while Fehr was the 18th overall pick.
BUF D Robyn Regehr and WSH D Roman Hamrlik were teammates for two seasons (2005-06, 2006-07) when the two both played for the Calgary Flames.
BUF D Jordan Leopold, BUF C Cody McCormick and WSH C Matt Hendricks all played for the Colorado Avalanche in 2008-09.
BUF LW Ville Leino, BUF C Tyler Ennis and C Marcus Johansson all share the same birthday: Oct. 6. Leino, born in 1983, is six years older than Ennis, who was born in 1989, and Johansson, born in 1990, is the youngest of the three.
BUF G Jhonas Enroth, BUF D Mike Weber and WSH G Michal Neuvirth were all drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Neuvirth was selected 34th overall, Enroth was drafted with the 46th overall pick and Weber was picked 57th overall.
BUF RW Drew Stafford was a first-round draft selection (13th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft along with four Capitals players. WSH LW Alex Ovechkin was picked first overall, WSH LW Wojtek Wolski, picked by Colorado, was the 21st pick overall, WSH D Jeff Schultz was the 27th overall selection and WSH D Mike Green was the 29th overall pick.
Wojtek was also a teammate of BUF D Jordan Leopold and BUF C Cody McCormick for three seasons (2006-07 – 2008-09).
BUF C Jochen Hecht and WSH D Tom Poti were teammates on the 2001-02 Edmonton Oilers.
BUF C Steve Ott and WSH C Mike Ribeiro played together for six seasons (2006-07 – 2011-12) on the Dallas Stars.
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 2-2-0 (4), 11/12, 4/19, 16/20
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 93-91 all-time)
N/A
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 43-37 all-time)
N/A
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Cody Hodgson … 5 games … 100 career games played
Points
Ville Leino … 2 points … 100 career points
Jordan Leopold … 5 points … 200 career points
Tyler Ennis … 7 points … 100 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Drew Stafford … 400 career games played … 1/24 at CAR
