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LAST GAME
Tuesday, January 21
Florida 4 at Buffalo 3
Goals: Stafford (2), Ott
Goalie: Miller (18 saves/22 shots)
PP: 2/7; PK: 1/1; Shots: Buffalo 35 – Florida 22
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 145)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (upper body, Dec. 17; injured reserve) – 15 games
Kevin Porter (lower body, Dec. 23; injured reserve) – 13 games
Matt D’Agostini (upper body, Jan. 18; injured reserve) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/21: Activated D Henrik Tallinder from IR; Placed F Matt D’Agostini on IR
1/22: Recalled F Phil Varone from Rochester (AHL); Activated F Kevin Porter from IR; Assigned Porter and D Brayden McNabb to Rochester
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Jan. 25: Buffalo at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 27: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday Jan. 28: Washington at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 30: Buffalo at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1: Buffalo at Colorado, 3 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
HURRICANES at SABRES
- This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Hurricanes this season.
- Last meeting: Carolina defeated Buffalo, 4-3, in Carolina on March 5
- Next meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Buffalo
- The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Hurricanes; 5-5-0 at home.
- This is the 187th game all-time between Buffalo and Carolina/Hartford; Buffalo has a 96-66-24 series record.
- The Sabres are 54-30-8 at home against the Hurricanes/Whalers all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 8-7-3 all-time on January 23.
- January 23, 1984: The Sabres wrap up a franchise-record 10-game winning streak on the way to an 11-0-2 January with a 5-3 win at Boston.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The last meeting between these teams (Jan. 7) was rescheduled to be played on Feb. 25 due to weather.
- The Sabres are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against the Hurricanes. The Sabres haven’t lost four straight games to the Hurricanes/Whalers since Oct. 26, 1988 to Jan. 4, 1989.
- Tyler Ennis has seven points (2+5) in his last seven games.
- With a point tonight, Christian Ehrhoff would become the 25th active NHL defenseman to reach the 300-point mark.
- After his three-point night on Tuesday vs. Florida, Drew Stafford has four points (3+1) in his last two games.
FAMILIAR FACES
Sabres defenseman Jamie McBain and Hurricanes defenseman Andrej Sekera will each face the team that drafted them for the first time since the pair were exchanged in a draft-day trade that also netted the Sabres a second-round draft pick (J.T. Compher). Hurricanes forward Nathan Gerbe will also suit up against the Sabres for the first time in his career after spending his first five NHL seasons in Buffalo.
CANE KILLER
Forward Matt Moulson leads all Sabres with eight goals and 20 points in 17 career games against the Hurricanes. Entering tonight’s game, Moulson has points (6+10) in eight of his last nine games against the Hurricanes, including 14 points (5+9) in the last six.
ENNIS EARNS MORE ICE TIME
- With 25:13 of ice time on Saturday vs. Columbus, Tyler Ennis eclipsed his previous career high (24:27, Oct. 8, 2013 vs. TBL) by nearly a full minute. Ennis again led all forwards with 23:03 TOI on Tuesday vs. Florida.
- The last five games have marked the highest five-game average TOI (21:19) of his career, and Ennis has made the most of those minutes, tying his career-best point streak with points (2+4) in all five games.
- With an average TOI of 20:27 in his last 10 games, Ennis has also logged the highest 10-game average of his career.
CLOSE GAMES
- The Sabres enter tonight’s game having played seven straight one-goal games (going 2-2-3) for the first time since Feb. 26 to March 10, 2013 (3-2-2).
- The team has played eight straight one-goal games (or ties) just once in franchise history, going 3-3-2 from March 15 to April 3, 1999.
- The Sabres have also had seven consecutive home games in the same season decided by a single goal (or tied) for just the third time in franchise history. Others: Nov. 28 to Dec. 26, 1986 (4-2-1) and Feb. 17 to March 14, 1974 (3-2-2)
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
On Jan. 9, the Sabres hired Tim Murray to serve as the seventh general manager in franchise history. Murray, a 20-year veteran of NHL front offices, comes to the Sabres after most recently serving as the assistant general manager for the Ottawa Senators, a post he held for seven years. Part of his duties as assistant general manager included serving as general manager of Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate, the 2011 Calder-Cup champion Binghamton Senators.
The Sabres also hired Craig Patrick as a special assistant and advisor to the hockey department. Patrick, whose career as a hockey executive spans more than three decades, comes to the Sabres after having served as a senior advisor in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ front office since December 2011.
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.
BUF-CAR CONNECTIONS
CAR D Andrej Sekera spent seven seasons as a member of the Sabres from 2006-2013. Initially drafted by Buffalo in the third round (71st overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Sekera appeared in 339 career games, over which he compiled 92 points (17+75). He was dealt to the Hurricanes on June 30, 2013 in exchange for current BUF D Jamie McBain and a second-round pick (J.T. Compher) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
CAR LW Nathan Gerbe was a member of the Sabres for five seasons from 2008-2013. He was selected by Buffalo in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and tallied 72 points (29+43) in 188 games with the club.
McBain was drafted by the Hurricanes in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and suited up for a total of 228 games with the club from 2009-2013. During this time, he recorded 104 points (40+64).
Gerbe and McBain were teammates for the United States at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
BUF RW Matt D’Agostini played under CAR HC Kirk Muller for the Montreal Canadiens from 2007-2010, when Muller served as an assistant coach for the club.
BUF C Steve Ott and CAR D Ron Hainsey were both taken in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Hainsey was selected 13th overall by Montreal and Ott was taken 25th overall by Dallas. The two also played together for the Hamilton Bulldogs during the 2004-05 season.
Ott and CAR D Jay Harrison were both members of Team Canada at the 2001 and 2002 World Junior Championships.
Stafford played with CAR D Mike Komisarek for the United States at the 2006 World Hockey Championship.
D’Agostini and Komisarek both played for the Montreal Canadiens from 2007-2009.
BUF AC Teppo Numminen played alongside CAR C Tuomo Ruutu and CAR D Joni Pitkanen for Team Finland in the 2006 Olympics.
BUF C Cody Hodgson and CAR C Jeff Skinner were both born in Toronto, Ontario.
BUF D Mark Pysyk (23rd overall) and Skinner (7th overall) were both chosen in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
BUF G Jhonas Enroth and CAR D Brett Bellemore were both born on June 25, 1988.
BUF C Steve Ott, Komisarek and CAR RW Radek Dvorak both played for the Dallas Stars during the 2011-12 season.
BUF LW John Scott and CAR G Anton Khudobin were teammates for the Minnesota Wild during the 2009-10 season. The two also played together with the Houston Aeros (AHL) from 2007-2009.
BUF AC Joe Sacco coached CAR G Justin Peters for the Albany River Rats (AHL) during the 2006-07 season.
Sacco coached CAR G Cam Ward for the Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) during the 2005-06 season.
BUF D Alexander Sulzer and Hodgson were teammates with CAR C Manny Malhotra for the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011-12 season.
BUF D Christian Ehrhoff also played alongside Malhotra for the Vancouver Canucks during the 2010-11 season.
Sulzer played with Dvorak for the Florida Panthers during the 2010-11 season.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Moulson (114), Ennis (112), Stafford (107)
Hits: Ott (156), Foligno (117), Weber (111)
Blocked Shots: Weber (74), Ehrhoff (69), Myers (64)
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: 2-3-3 (7), 18/24, 7/33, 21/25
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 (6-4; 56-45 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)
January 9 vs. Florida: L, 2-1 (GDG-Boyes)
January 12 at Washington: W, 2-1 (GDG-Hodgson)
January 15 at Toronto: L, 4-3 (GDG-Lupul)
January 18 vs. Columbus: L, 4-3 (GDG-Johansen)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Matt D’Agostini … 3 games … 300 career games played
Assists
Tyler Myers … 7 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Christian Ehrhoff …1 point … 300 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Tyler Myers … 300th career game … Jan. 18 vs. CBJ
Steve Ott … 100th career goal … Jan. 21 vs. FLA
