Game Preview: 4/23/13 at PIT

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Monday, April 22
Winnipeg 2 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Vanek
Goalie: Enroth (37 saves/39 shots)
PP: 1/1; PK: 3/3; Shots: Winnipeg 39 – Buffalo 25

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 123)
Alexander Sulzer (lower body, Feb. 26; injured reserve) – 27 games
Ville Leino (upper body, March 31) – 11 games
Tyler Myers (leg, April 13) – 5 games
Patrick Kaleta (hand, April 22) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

REMAINING GAME
Friday, April 26: NY Islanders at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at PENGUINS
-This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Penguins this season.
-Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Pittsburgh, 4-1, in Pittsburgh on April 2.
-The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Penguins; 3-7-0 on the road.
-This is the 173^rd game all-time between Buffalo and Pittsburgh; Buffalo has a 63-68-41 series record.
-The Sabres are 23-44-19 on the road against the Penguins all-time.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Tonight’s game was rescheduled from April 20.
• The Sabres will attempt to win two straight regular-season road games against the Penguins for the first time since they won both games in Pittsburgh in 2005-06. It would be just the fifth time in franchise history the Sabres have won two or more consecutive games in Pittsburgh.
• April is the Sabres’ best month since 2005-06; they have a 29-15-3 (.649) April record in that span, including a 6-4-0 (.600) record so far this season.
• The Sabres have had 18 of their last 27 games decided by one goal. Buffalo is 9-4-5 in those 18 games and 12-9-6 in their 27 one-goal games this season.
• The Sabres are 7-4-2 against the Atlantic Division this season; the Penguins are 11-2-0 against the Northeast.

LATE-SEASON SUCCESS
The Sabres have performed at or above a .625 points percentage (103-point pace over 82 games) in the final 20 games in each of the last three seasons. This was an improvement upon their record from the first 62 games of the season each time.

So far this season, Buffalo is at .556 in games that fall in the final 20 of the season, .127 better than their performance in the 28 games leading up to that point.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
After finishing fifth in NHL rookie scoring last year with 41 points (19+22), Cody Hodgson leads all sophomores (defined as 2011-12 rookies) in both goals and points:

LOGGING BIG MINUTES
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff has averaged 25:03 TOI per game this season, the highest average of his career and the highest per-game average by a Sabres skater since Alexei Zhitnik skated 26:32 per game in the 2002-03 season.

MEET THE NEW BOSS
After being named interim head coach of the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 20, Ron Rolston became the 16^th head coach in Sabres history. Rolston joins the Sabres after spending the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons as head coach of the Rochester Americans (AHL), compiling a 63-44-17 regular-season record. Prior to joining the Americans, Rolston spent seven seasons as head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, where he led the United States Under-18 team to three gold medals and a silver medal in four tournaments as head coach at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD
The Sabres hired Ron Rolston to serve as interim head coach on Feb. 20 after the Sabres got off to a 6-10-1 (.382) start. It was the first time the Sabres had replaced their head coach mid-season since John Muckler took over for Rick Dudley on Dec. 11, 1991 after a 9-15-4 (.393) start to the season. The 1991-92 team went 22-22-8 under Muckler, ending the season 31-37-12 and finishing third in the Adams Division to clinch a playoff spot.

BUF-PIT CONNECTIONS
BUF AC Kevyn Adams and PIT RW Craig Adams played together for five seasons (2001-2007) on the Carolina Hurricanes, including the Hurricanes’ 2005-06 Stanley Cup win.  The pair would reunite in 2007-08, when they both played for the Chicago Blackhawks.

BUF D Mike Weber was born in Pittsburgh.

BUF C Tyler Ennis, BUF RW John Scott, and PIT D Deryk Engelland were all born in Edmonton.

BUF RW John Scott, PIT D Brooks Orpik and PIT LW Chris Kunitz were all born on Sept. 26. Scott, born in 1982, is the youngest while Orpik, born in 1980, and Kunitz, born in 1979, are a year apart.

BUF C Steve Ott and PIT F Brendon Morrow played together for ten seasons (2002-2012) as members of the Dallas Stars. PIT D Matt Niskanen also played in Dallas for four of those seasons (2007-2011), and PIT LW James Neal played in Dallas for three of those seasons (2008-2011). BUF D Adam Pardy played with Ott and Morrow in Dallas during the 2011-2012 season.

Ott and Orpik were both first-round draft selections in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Orpik, selected by Pittsburgh, was the 18^th overall pick and Ott, chosen by Dallas, was the 25^th overall selection.

Orpik and BUF G Ryan Miller both played for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

BUF LW Thomas Vanek and PIT G Marc-Andre Fleury were both first-round draft selections in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Fleury was the first overall pick, while Vanek was selected fifth overall.

BUF D Christian Ehrhoff and PIT LW Tanner Glass played together for two seasons (2009-10, 2010-11) on the Vancouver Canucks. BUF C Cody Hodgson also played with the Canucks for part of the 2010-11 season.

BUF RW Drew Stafford and PIT C Evgeni Malkin were both first-round selections in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Malkin was the second overall pick and Stafford was picked 13^th overall.

BUF LW Thomas Vanek and PIT D Paul Martin played together at the University of Minnesota in 2002-03, when the Golden Gophers defeated the Wildcats of New Hampshire, 5-1, in the national championship game to capture the program’s fifth title. Vanek was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and the game was played at his future home ice, HSBC Arena in Buffalo.

BUF C Steve Ott and PIT LW Jussi Jokinen played together for three seasons on the Dallas Stars (2005-06 – 2007-08).

Jokinen also played alongside BUF AC Teppo Numminen on Team Finland in the 2006 Olympics in Torino.

BUF D Adam Pardy and PIT F Jarome Iginla were both members of the Calgary Flames from 2008-2011. BUF AC James Patrick also played with Iginla in Calgary from 1996-1998.

BUF D Christian Ehrhoff and PIT D Douglas Murray played together for the San Jose Sharks from 2005-2009.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ott (184), Weber (119), Foligno (104)
Blocked Shots: Weber (88), Ehrhoff (77), Sekera (68)
Shots: Stafford (118), Vanek (112), Hodgson (109)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-6-1 (7), 30/37, 6/36, 32/40
11-20: 4-6-0 (8), 20/27, 1/36, 35/42
21-30: 4-3-3 (11), 29/31, 5/36, 26/35
31-40: 5-3-2 (12), 27/27, 4/35, 26/35
41-48: 3-3-0 (6), 13/18, 6/17, 16/18

OVERTIME RESULTS (1-2; 94-93 all-time)
January 29 vs. Toronto: L, 4-3 (GWG-Frattin, 4:58)
March 16 vs. Ottawa: L, 4-3 (GWG-Turris, 3:54)
March 19 at Montreal: W, 3-2 (GWG-Ott, 2:16)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (6-4; 49-41 all-time)
February 7 vs. Montreal: W, 5-4 (GDG-Pominville)
February 28 at Florida: W, 4-3 (GDG-Vanek)
March 2 vs. New Jersey: W, 4-3 (GDG-Pominville)
March 3 at NY Rangers: L, 3-2 (GDG-Nash)
March 7 at New Jersey: L, 3-2 (GDG-Clarkson)
March 21 vs. Toronto: W, 5-4 (GDG-Ott)
March 28 at Florida: L, 5-4 (GDG-Mike Santorelli)
March 30 vs. Washington: L, 4-3 (GDG-Matt Hendricks)
April 7 vs. New Jersey: W, 3-2 (GDG-Nathan Gerbe)
April 17 at Boston: W, 3-2 (GDG-Drew Stafford)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Ryan Miller … 2 games … 500 career games played
Adam Pardy … 2 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Steve Ott … 7 goals … 100 career goals

RECENT MILESTONES
Patrick Kaleta … 300 career games played … 4/17 at BOS
Mark Pysyk … 1^st NHL goal … 4/19 vs. NYR
Thomas Vanek … 248 career goals (6^th in franchise history) … 4/22 vs. WPG