Game Preview: 4/26/13 vs. NYI

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Tuesday, April 23
Winnipeg 2 at Buffalo 4
Goals: Vanek (2), Hecht, Ott
Goalie: Miller (40 saves/42 shots)
PP: 0/0; PK: 2/3; Shots: Pittsburgh 42 – Buffalo 33

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 127)
Alexander Sulzer (lower body, Feb. 26; injured reserve) – 28 games
Ville Leino (upper body, March 31) – 12 games
Tyler Myers (leg, April 13) – 6 games
Patrick Kaleta (hand, April 22) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

TONIGHT’S GAME
ISLANDERS at SABRES
-This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Islanders this season.
-Last meeting: New York defeated Buffalo, 4-0, in Buffalo on Feb. 23, 2013.
-The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Islanders; 5-4-1 at home.
-This is the 153^rd game all-time between Buffalo and New York; Buffalo has 74-56-22 series record.
-The Sabres are 41-24-11 all-time against the Islanders at home.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The Sabres are 21-14-6 all-time in the final game of the regular season.
• April is the Sabres’ best month since 2005-06; they have a 30-15-3 (.656) April record in that span, including a 7-4-0 (.636) record so far this season.
• The Sabres have had 18 of their last 28 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 8-4-2 against the Atlantic Division this season; the Islanders are 7-6-1 against the Northeast.

MILLER’S 500
If he plays tonight, Ryan Miller will appear in his 500^th NHL game. Here are some notes about the milestone:

• Miller will become the 62^nd goaltender in NHL history to achieve this milestone. The last was Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (April 5 at PIT). The last before Lundqvist was former Sabres goaltender Martin Biron, who also appeared in his 500^th NHL game as a member of the Rangers in a road game against the Penguins, exactly one year prior to Lundqvist’s milestone (April 5, 2012 at PIT).

• When added to the list of 61 goaltenders who have reached the 500 GP mark, Miller currently ranks fifth with a .915 career save percentage. Dominik Hasek (.922, 1^st) is the only retired goaltender to rank in the top 10 in save percentage among this group. Miller ranks 14^th among the group with a 2.59 goals against average. Hasek (2.20 GAA) also leads all of these goaltenders in that category.

• Miller, who has spent his entire career with the Sabres, will become the 20^th goaltender in NHL history to play at least 500 games with one team and the 12^th to play his first 500 with the same team.

• Of the 19 goaltenders with 500 NHL games played with the same team, 12 played in the NHL Entry Draft era. Of these 12, half were drafted in the fifth round or later: Billy Smith, Miika Kiprusoff, Evgeni Nabokov, Kirk McLean, Henrik Lundqvist and Marty Turco. Only two (Martin Brodeur and Olaf Kolzig) were selected in the first round.

• Despite being ranked 62^nd on the all-time games played list, Miller ranks 40^th in wins (268). His record ranks him second among these goaltenders in win percentage (.549), seventh in points percentage (.607)  and 19^th in adjusted points percentage (.564), a measure in which all ties, overtime losses, and shootout wins/losses are counted as regulation ties to better compare goaltenders from different eras.

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 (stats as of 4/25):

LOGGING BIG MINUTES
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff has averaged 25:05 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-NYI CONNECTIONS
BUF AC Kevyn Adams and NYI C Keith Aucoin played together for parts of two seasons when both were on the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06 and 2006-07. The Hurricanes were Stanley Cup Champions in 2005-06.

NYI LW Eric Boulton played for the Sabres for four seasons (2000-01 – 2003-04). Boulton appeared in172 games, scoring 17 points (5+12).

NYI D Joe Finley, who was claimed off waivers by the Islanders prior to the start of the 2012-13 season, played five games with Buffalo in 2011-12, recording 12 penalty minutes.

Finley played with BUF RW Drew Stafford for one season (2005-06) at the University of North Dakota. That season, the Fighting Sioux advanced to the Frozen Four but were beaten by Nathan Gerbe and the Boston College Eagles and took third place in the tournament.

NYI RW Brad Boyes also played for the Sabres, from 2010-11 – 2011-12. During his two seasons in Buffalo, Boyes played in 86 games, recording 37 points (13+24).

Boyes and BUF C Steve Ott were both first-round draft selections in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Boyes, selected by Toronto with the 24^th overall pick, was selected just one pick ahead of Ott, who was picked 25^th overall by Dallas.

BUF D Andrej Sekera and NYI D Lubomir Visnovsky both represented Team Slovakia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The two also were born less than an hour away from each other. Sekera was born in Bojnice, Slovakia, which is about 49 km from Topolcany, Slovakia, where Visnovsky was born.

Sekera played with NYI C Josh Bailey in 2005-2006 with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.

Bailey and BUF D Mike Weber both played for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 2006-2007.

BUF LW Marcus Foligno and NYI C Casey Cizikas were both drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Cizikas, selected by the Islanders, was the 92^nd overall pick, while Foligno, selected by the Sabres, was picked 104^th overall.

Cizikas and BUF C Cody Hodgson were both born in Toronto.

BUF D Christian Ehrhoff and NYI RW Michael Grabner were both on the 2009-10 Vancouver Canucks.

BUF G Jhonas Enroth, BUF D Mike Weber and NYI LW Jesse Joensuu were all drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Enroth, drafted by Buffalo, was the 46^th overall pick, Weber, also selected by Buffalo, was the 57^th pick while Joensuu, picked by the Islanders, was the 60^th overall selection.

BUF C Jochen Hecht played with NYI C Marty Reasoner from 1998-2001 on the St. Louis Blues, before the pair was traded to Edmonton in 2001. Hecht played only one season (2001-02) for the Oilers, while Reasoner remained until the 2005-06 season, and then again from 2006 until 2008.

BUF D Christian Ehrhoff played with NYI G Evgeni Nabokov from 2003-09 on the San Jose Sharks. NYI RW Brad Boyes was also with the Sharks for the 2003-04 season.

BUF D Tyler Myers, BUF C Cody Hodgson, BUF LW Tyler Ennis and NYI C Josh Bailey were all first-round draft selections in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Bailey was the ninth overall pick, Hodgson, selected by Vancouver, was the 10^th overall pick, Myers was picked 12^th overall, and Ennis was the 26^th overall selection.

BUF D Christian Ehrhoff played with NYI D Matt Carkner from 2003-2005 with the Cleveland Barons of the AHL.

BUF D Tyler Myers, BUF C Tyler Ennis, BUF C Cody Hodgson, NYI C John Tavares and NYI D Thomas Hickey all played for Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championships.

BUF C Steve Ott and NYI LW Matt Martin were both born in Windsor, Ontario.

BUF LW Nathan Gerbe and NYI RW Kyle Okposo both played for Team USA at the 2007 World Junior Championships. BUF HC Ron Rolston was the head coach.

BUF HC Ron Rolston coached NYI D Brian Strait in the US National Team Development Program from 2004-2006.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ott (184), Weber (120), Foligno (104)
Blocked Shots: Weber (91), Ehrhoff (80), Sekera (72)
Shots: Stafford (121), Vanek (117), Hodgson (113)

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: 4-3-0 (8), 17/20, 6/17, 18/21

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 … 1 game … 500 career games played
Adam Pardy … 1 game … 200 career games played
Goals
Thomas Vanek … 2 goals … 252 career goals (ties Craig Ramsay, 5th in franchise history)
Steve Ott … 6 goals … 100 career goals

RECENT MILESTONES
Thomas Vanek … 248 career goals (6^th in franchise history) … 4/22 vs. WPG