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LAST GAME
Saturday, January 4
New Jersey 1 at Buffalo 2
Goals: Moulson, D’Agostini
Goalie: Miller (21 saves/22 shots)
PP: 2/5; PK: 3/4; Shots: Buffalo 22 – New Jersey 22
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 120)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (upper body, Dec. 17; injured reserve) – 9 games
Cody Hodgson (upper body, Dec. 21; injured reserve) – 7 games
Kevin Porter (lower body, Dec. 23; injured reserve) – 7 games
Henrik Tallinder (upper body, Dec. 31; injured reserve) – 3 games
Ville Leino (lower body, Jan. 2) – 2 games
Drew Stafford (upper body, Jan. 4) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/3: Claimed F Zenon Konopka off waivers from the Minnesota Wild; Placed D Henrik Tallinder on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, Jan. 12: Buffalo at Washington, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan, 14: Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 15: Buffalo at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18: Columbus at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 21: Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
PANTHERS at SABRES
- This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Panthers this season.
- Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 21 in Buffalo
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Florida, 3-1, in Florida on Oct. 25
- The Sabres are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Panthers; 6-4-0 at home.
- This is the 77th game all-time between Buffalo and Florida; Buffalo has a 44-26-6 series record.
- The Sabres are 24-11-3 at home against the Panthers all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 7-7-3 all-time on January 9.
- January 9, 2007: Ryan Miller, Danny Briere and Brian Campbell are announced as starters for the 2007 NHL All-Star Game.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- If he is in the lineup, tonight will be Marcus Foligno’s 100th NHL game.
- Ryan Miller enters tonight’s game with a 5-1-1 record in his last seven starts. In his last 11 games, Miller is 7-3-1 with a .943 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average.
- Jhonas Enroth has faced the Panthers once in his career, stopping 44 of 45 shots to lead the Sabres to their 3-1 win the last time these teams met.
- Steve Ott has seven points (2+5) in his last seven games against the Panthers.
- Matt Moulson has recorded a point in each of his last four games against Florida (2+2).
PLAYING FOR THEIR COUNTRIES
- The following Sabres will represent their countries at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia: Ryan Miller (USA), Jhonas Enroth (Sweden), Henrik Tallinder (Sweden), Girgensons (Latvia)
- Interim head coach Ted Nolan will serve as the head coach of Team Latvia.
- Sabres 2013 first-round picks Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov were both named to the media All-Star Team at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship in Malmö, Sweden, joining Mike Moller (1982), Brian Campbell (1999) and Jake McCabe (2013) as the only players ever to earn this honor while in the Sabres’ system.
- Ristolainen, who scored the golden goal in the gold-medal game, also received the Directorate Award as the tournament’s best defenseman, joining Maxim Afinogenov (1999) as the only other Sabres player to earn a Directorate Award.
- Mikhail Grigorenko also found success at the tournament, leading bronze-medal winners Russia in scoring with eight points (5+3) in seven games.
HOME SWEET HOME
- Entering tonight, the Sabres have won five consecutive home games for the first time since they did it from Feb. 19 to March 12, 2012.
- The Sabres haven’t won six straight in Buffalo since Jan. 17 to Feb. 15, 2007.
- Buffalo technically won six consecutive “home” games when they won the last five home games of the 2010-11 season and the first one in 2011-12 (held in Helsinki, Finland), but the streak officially ended at the end of the 2010-11 season.
- The Sabres are 6-0-1 in their last seven home games, getting points in seven straight for the first time since they went 7-0-2 at home from Feb. 17 to March 24, 2012.
TRENDING UPWARD
- In the 22 games since Ted Nolan was hired, the Sabres have taken 46.4% of all shots in their games (a minus-4.2 differential per game), up from 40.2% (a minus-12 differential per game) in the 20 games before his hiring.
- Five Sabres have a positive on-ice shot differential with the team this season: Ennis (53.6%), Moulson (52.2%), Omark (51.9%), D’Agostini (51.8%), Leino (51.1%)
- The team has improved its team 5-on-5 Corsi for Percentage* from 35.6% before Ted Nolan’s hiring to 46.5% in the 22 games under his guidance.
*Corsi for Percentage: The percentage of all shot attempts (shots on goal/missed shots/blocked shots) in 5-on-5 situations which are taken by the team. (Data via ExtraSkater.com)
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.
BUF-FLA CONNECTIONS
Drafted by the Sabres in the sixth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, FLA D Brian Campbell played in Buffalo for parts of eight seasons (1999-00 – 2007-08). As a member of the Sabres, Campbell tallied 176 points (32+144) in 391 games. Campbell was selected as an NHL All-Star in 2007 and 2008.
FLA RW Brad Boyes skated as a member of the Sabres from 2010-2012. During his two seasons in Buffalo, Boyes played in 86 games, recording 37 points (13+24).
BUF D Alexander Sulzer was a member of the Panthers briefly during the 2010-11 season, recording one assist in nine games.
BUF C Zenon Konopka played alongside Campbell for the Ottawa 67’s (OHL) during the 1998-99 season.
Sulzer played with FLA C Marcel Goc for the Nashville Predators from 2009-11.
BUF LW Matt Moulson played with FLA LW Sean Bergenheim for the New York Islanders during the 2009-10 season.
Moulson and Boyes were teammates for the New York Islanders for the 2012-13 season.
BUF RW Matt D’Agostini played together for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season.
D’Agostini and Boyes were teammates for the St. Louis Blues from 2009-11.
BUF G Ryan Miller and FLA D Mike Weaver played together for one season at Michigan State University.
D’Agostini and Weaver both played for the St. Louis Blues during the 2009-10 season.
Miller was teammates with FLA G Tim Thomas at the 2010 Olympic Games.
Thomas, FLA D Tom Gilbert and BUF RW Drew Stafford all represented the United States at the 2008 World Hockey Championship.
FLA C Nick Bjugstad (19th overall), FLA D Erik Gudbranson (3rd overall) and BUF D Mark Pysyk (23rd overall) were all selected in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Gudbranson played with BUF LW Marcus Foligno for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo.
BUF G Jhonas Enroth, BUF D Mike Weber, BUF D Jamie McBain and FLA C Shawn Matthias were all drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Enroth was the 46th overall selection, Matthias was selected by Detroit with the 47th overall selection, Weber was the 57th overall selection and McBain was chosen by Carolina 63rd overall.
Campbell and BUF LW John Scott were teammates with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2010-11 season.
FLA LW Tomas Fleischmann played for current BUF AC Joe Sacco as a member of the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010-11 season, when Sacco served as the team’s HC.
BUF C Mikhail Grigorenko shares a birthday with Fleischmann. Grigorenko, born on May 16, 1994, is exactly 10 years younger than Fleischmann, who was born in 1984.
BUF C Steve Ott and FLA LW Krystofer Barch played together for the Dallas Stars from 2006-2012.
D’Agostini, Tallinder and Barch all played for the New Jersey Devils during the 2012-13 season.
BUF C Ville Leino played alongside FLA RW Tomas Kopecky during the 2008-09 season on the Detroit Red Wings.
Leino (Oct. 6, 1983) was born just one day before FLA LW Scottie Upshall.
BUF C Kevin Porter played with Upshall for the Phoenix Coyotes for two seasons from 2008-10.
Porter was also teammates with Fleischmann for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010-11 season.
Porter and FLA D Ed Jovanovski played together for the Phoenix Coyotes from 2008-10.
Ott and Boyes were both first-round draft selections in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Boyes, selected by Toronto with the 24th overall pick, was selected just one pick ahead of Ott, who was picked 25th overall by Dallas. The pair also played together for Team Canada at the 2001 and 2002 World Junior Championships, while Upshall was a member of the 2002 squad as well.
Boyes and BUF D Christian Ehrhoff were teammates briefly with the San Jose Sharks during the 2003-04 season.
Ehrhoff and Goc played together for four seasons on the San Jose Sharks from 2005-2009.
Goc also played with Ehrhoff on the German Olympic Team for the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games.
Miller (1980) and Bjugstad (1992) were both born on July 17.
D’Agostini and FLA C Scott Gomez both played for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Moulson (100), Stafford (97), Ennis (91)
Hits: Ott (137), Foligno (97), Weber (87)
Blocked Shots: Ehrhoff (61), Myers (59), Weber (58)
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: 2-7-1 (5), 15/28, 4/26, 20/28
31-40: 5-3-2 (12), 20/22, 3/36, 27/29
41-50: 1-1-0 (2), 3/5, 2/9, 7/8
OVERTIME RESULTS (2-3; 96-96 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)
November 30 at New Jersey: L, 1-0 (GWG-Bernier, 4:19)
December 14 vs. Calgary: L, 2-1 (GWG-Stajan, 0:42)
December 23 vs. Phoenix: W, 2-1 (GWG-Pysyk, 3:47)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (5-1; 55-42 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)
December 10 vs. Ottawa: W, 2-1 (GDG-Girgensons)
December 27 at Toronto: L, 4-3 (GDG-Lupul)
December 29 vs. Washington: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ott)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Marcus Foligno … 1 game … 100 career games played
Tyler Myers … 2 games … 300 career games played
Matt D’Agostini … 9 games … 300 career games played
Goals
Steve Ott … 1 goal … 100 career goals
Assists
Tyler Myers … 8 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Matt D’Agostini … 2 points … 100 career points
Cody Hodgson … 4 points … 100 career points
Christian Ehrhoff … 5 points … 300 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
