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LAST GAME
Friday, November 29
Toronto 2 at Buffalo 3 (OT)
Goals: Moulson, Adam, Ehrhoff
Goalie: Miller (22 saves/24 shots)
PP: 1/4; PK: 0/1; Shots: Buffalo 29 – Toronto 24
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 80)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (upper body, Nov. 24; injured reserve) – 3 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/27: Claimed F Matt D’Agostini off waivers from Pittsburgh; Placed F Corey Tropp on waivers
11/28: Lost F Corey Tropp on waivers to Columbus
UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Dec. 5: NY Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7: Buffalo at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 10: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 12: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 14: Calgary at Buffalo, 2 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at DEVILS
- This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Devils this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated New Jersey, 3-2 (SO), in Buffalo on April 7
- Next meeting: Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014 in New Jersey
- The Sabres are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Devils; 6-2-2 on the road.
- This is the 140th game all-time between Buffalo and New Jersey; Buffalo leads the series with a 71-45-23 record.
- The Sabres are 33-23-13 at home against the Devils all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 5-8-2 all-time on November 30.
- November 30, 1980: In the last matchup between these franchises on this date, the Sabres defeated the Colorado Rockies, 4-1, at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Rookie Alan Haworth scored his first NHL goal for the Sabres, who extended their unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive home games, and Rene Robert scored the lone Rockies goal as Sabres goaltender Don Edwards turned aside 22 of Colorado’s 23 shots in the win.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The last three games between the Sabres and Devils were each settled in a shootout, with the Sabres winning two of the three. The teams had all four of their matchups decided by shootouts in the 2007-08 season.
- With a win, the Sabres will have beaten the Devils in consecutive matchups for the first time since they won three in a row from Oct. 23, 2010 to March 26, 2011.
- The Devils are looking for consecutive home wins against the Sabres for the first time since they won three straight from Feb. 3, 2007 to Jan. 8, 2008.
- Steve Ott has recorded a point in each of his last five games against the Devils (1+4). His last game against New Jersey in which he didn’t record a point was on Feb. 22, 2011.
- Matt Moulson leads all Sabres with 11 points (6+5) in 25 career games against the Devils.
- Ryan Miller is 11-11-5 all-time against New Jersey with a 2.20 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.
LEINO THRIVING UNDER NOLAN
Ville Leino has averaged 16:47 of ice time in the seven games since Ted Nolan took over as interim head coach, tallying four assists and nine shots on goal. In his eight games played prior to Nolan’s arrival, Leino averaged 12:02 TOI per game with one assist and one shot. Leino’s Corsi for Percentage* (CF%) has also improved from 38.8% in his first eight games of the season to 48.9% in his last seven.
*Corsi for Percentage: The percentage of all shot attempts (shots on goal/missed shots/blocked shots) which are taken by the player’s team with that player on the ice in 5-on-5 situations. (Data via ExtraSkater.com)
TRENDING UPWARD
The Sabres have improved their team 5-on-5 Corsi for Percentage from 35.6% before Ted Nolan’s hiring to 47.4% in the seven games under his guidance. The 11.8% improvement larger than the amount (11.5%) that separates the second and 28th ranked teams in the NHL.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s sixth of 13 sets of back-to-back games this season. The Sabres are 3-3-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-4-0 in the second game this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to-back sets this season is: four points (0), three points (0), two points (3), one point (0) and zero points (2).
MEET THE NEW BOSS
After being named interim head coach of the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 13, Ted Nolan began the 20th head coaching tenure in Sabres history. He joins Scotty Bowman as the second head coach to reprise his role with the Sabres in the franchise’s 43-year history after logging a 73-72-19 record in 1995-96 and 1997-98 with the Sabres. For a complete Ted Nolan bio, visit http://www.sabresdigitalpressbox.com/tednolan.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Pat LaFontaine was appointed president of hockey operations for the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 13. In this role, he will work with Sabres assistant general manager Kevin Devine on day-to-day hockey operations while also conducting the search for the Sabres’ next general manager.
As a player, LaFontaine enjoyed an illustrious 15-year NHL career, including six seasons with the Sabres, before retiring from the league in 1998 as the second highest-scoring American-born player in NHL history with 468 goals and 1,013 points in 865 games. Today, he ranks sixth among all Americans in goals and ninth in points, and his 1.17 points-per-game average ranks 11th among the 79 1,000-point scorers in NHL history. For a complete Pat LaFontaine bio, visit http://www.sabresdigitalpressbox.com/patlafontaine.
STAYING CLEAN
Brian Flynn has played 52 regular-season NHL games without taking a penalty, giving him the most games played of any Sabres player in franchise history with zero penalty minutes (next highest: Ron Schock, 40 GP). Only two other players in Sabres history have played at least 50 games with the team and recorded fewer than 10 penalty minutes: Larry Keenan (65 GP, 8 PIM) and Donnie Marshall (62 GP, 8 PIM).
BUF-NJD CONNECTIONS
NJD RW Steve Bernier played 17 games for the Sabres during the 2007-08 season. The Sabres acquired Bernier and a 2008 first-round draft pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Brian Campbell and a 2008 seventh-round draft pick on November 26, 2008. Bernier totaled nine points (3+6) during his time in Buffalo.
NJD RW Dainius Zubrus played with the Sabres in 2006-07. He appeared in 19 games and notched eight points (4+4).
BUF D Henrik Tallinder spent three seasons with the Devils from 2010-2013. In 146 total games, he recorded 26 points (6+20).
BUF LW Marcus Foligno is the son of NJD AC Mike Foligno. The elder Foligno was also a member of the Sabres for the better part of 10 seasons from 1981-1991. During his career in Buffalo, he appeared in 664 games and registered 511 points (247+264). Foligno enjoyed the best season of his NHL career in 1985-86, when he set career-best marks in goals (41), assists (39) and points (80) as a member of the Sabres.
BUF RW Matt D’Agostini played 13 games for the Devils during the 2012-13 season, tallying four points (2+2).
D’Agostini also played for NJD AC Dave Barr for the Guelph (OHL) from 2004-2006 when Barr served as HC of the Storm.
D’Agostini was teammates with NJD RW Michael Ryder for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2007-08 season.
D’Agostini and NJD RW Cam Janssen played together for the St. Louis Blues for two seasons (2009-2011).
NJD C Stephen Gionta was born in Rochester, NY.
BUF C Steve Ott played with Ryder for the Dallas Stars during the 2011-12 season.
Ott (25th overall) and NJD D Anton Volchenkov (21st overall) were both chosen in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
BUF D Jamie McBain and Volchenkov share the same birthday. McBain was born on February 21, 1988, while Volchenkov was born six years earlier on February 21, 1982.
BUF LW Matt Moulson and NJD D Peter Harrold were teammates with the Los Angeles Kings and Manchester Monarchs (AHL) from 2007-2009.
BUF D Christian Ehrhoff and Bernier played together from 2005-2008 as members of the San Jose Sharks and then once again for the Vancouver Canucks during the 2009-10 season. NJD G Cory Schneider also spent time with the Canucks in 2009-10.
Ehrhoff and BUF D Alexander Sulzer were teammates with Schneider in Vancouver during the 2010-11 season.
Sulzer also played with Bernier and NJD LW Ryan Carter under current NJD HC Peter DeBoer for the Florida Panthers during the 2010-11 season.
Ehrhoff and NJD LW Ryane Clowe played together for the San Jose Sharks from 2005-2009.
BUF C Luke Adam and Clowe were both born in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Adam and NJD C Adam Henrique both represented Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championship.
BUF AC Joe Sacco and Zubrus both played for the Washington Capitals from 2000-2002. NJD RW Jaromir Jagr was also a member of the Capitals during the 2001-02 season.
Tallinder, BUF G Jhonas Enroth and NJD C Jacob Josefson were all born in Stockholm, Sweden.
BUF RW Drew Stafford and Harrold both represented the United States at the 2009 World Hockey Championship.
Stafford (13th overall), Schneider (26th overall) and NJD C Travis Zajac (20th overall) were all chosen in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Stafford and Schneider also both represented the United States at the 2005 World Junior Championship.
Stafford and Zajac played together at the University of North Dakota for two seasons from 2004-2006.
McBain and Carter were teammates with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2010-11 season.
Scott and NJD D Marek Zidlicky both played for the Minnesota Wild from 2008-2010.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ott (96), Foligno (70), Girgensons/Myers (50)
Blocked Shots: Ehrhoff (45), Pysyk (34), Myers (32)
Shots: Stafford (67), Hodgson (64), Moulson (56)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10-GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 1-8-1 (3), 13/28, 3/35, 27/32
11-20: 3-7-0 (6), 23/35, 5/24, 29/37
21-30: 2-5-0 (4), 12/21, 4/21, 16/23
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-1; 95-94 all-time)
October 10 vs. Tampa Bay: L, 3-2 (GWG-Killorn, 1:50)
November 29 vs. Toronto: W, 3-2 (GWG-Ehrhoff, 0:38)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (3-0; 53-41 all-time)
October 17 at NY Islanders: W, 4-3 (GDG-Ennis)
November 5 at San Jose: W, 5-4 (GDG-Hodgson)
November 12 vs. Los Angeles: W, 3-2 (GDG-Moulson)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
John Scott … 7 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Steve Ott … 3 goals … 100 career goals
Points
Matt D’Agostini … 4 points … 100 career points
Cody Hodgson … 6 points … 100 career points
