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LAST GAME
Thursday, February 6
Buffalo 2 at Ottawa 3
Goals: Ennis, Stafford
Goalie: Enroth (33 saves/36 shots)
PP: 0/7; PK: 3/3; Shots: Ottawa 36 – Buffalo 32
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 169)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (upper body, Dec. 17; injured reserve) – 24 games
Matt Moulson (upper body, Feb. 1; injured reserve) – 4 games
Tyler Myers (lower body, Feb. 5) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Wednesday, Feb. 26: Boston at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 28: San Jose at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 3: Buffalo at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 6: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 7: Buffalo at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
HURRICANES at SABRES
- This is the second of three meetings between the Sabres and Hurricanes this season.
- Last meeting: Carolina defeated Buffalo, 5-3, in Buffalo on Jan. 23
- Next meeting: Thursday, March 13 at Carolina
- The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Hurricanes; 4-6-0 at home.
- This is the 188th game all-time between Buffalo and Carolina/Hartford; Buffalo has a 96-67-24 series record.
- The Sabres are 54-31-8 at home against the Hurricanes/Whalers all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-7-3 all-time on February 25.
- February 25, 1978: The Sabres and Cleveland Barons combine for 16 goals as the Sabres pick up a 13-3 road victory. Danny Gare tallied five points (3+2) and Andre Savard, Jerry Korab and Gary McAdam each scored two goals in the game.
- February 25, 1995: Alexander Mogilny scores twice and Dominik Hasek stops 28 of 29 shots as the Sabres defeat the Hartford Whalers, 3-1, on the road.
- February 25, 1998: Dominik Hasek makes 33 saves in his return from Olympic action and Geoff Sanderson scores just 1:22 into his Sabres debut as the Sabres battle to a 2-2 tie at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs, extending their unbeaten streak to 10 games (5-0-5).
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Tonight’s game was rescheduled from Jan. 7 due to weather.
- The Sabres are looking to snap their first four-game losing streak against the Hurricanes/Whalers since 1988-89. The Sabres haven’t lost five straight games to the Hurricanes/Whalers since they lost seven in a row from Feb. 19 to Nov. 26, 1986.
- The Sabres terminated the contract of forward Linus Omark during the Olympic break. As a result, they have retained the conditional sixth-round draft pick that they traded to Edmonton to acquire him in December.
- Drew Stafford has recorded nine points (6+3) in his last seven games, making it his most prolific seven-game stretch since 2011-12.
- Cody Hodgson has four goals in his last four games against the Hurricanes.
CANE KILLER
Forward Matt Moulson leads all Sabres with eight goals and 20 points in 18 career games against the Hurricanes. Entering tonight’s game, Moulson has points (6+10) in eight of his last 10 games against the Hurricanes, including 14 points (5+9) in the last seven.
HAPPY DREW YEAR
- Drew Stafford’s career point rate from October through December is .486 (105 points in 216 games), putting him on a 40-point pace for an 82-game season. His rate from January through April is .656 (181 points in 276 games), putting him on a 54-point pace. So far this season, he is on a point-per-game pace in 2014.
- In his career, Stafford has recorded 49 points (24+25) in 70 games during the month of February (.700 PTS/GP), his highest point-scoring rate of any month of the season.
OLYMPIC RECAP
- As members of Team Sweden, Henrik Tallinder and Jhonas Enroth each earned a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
- Ryan Miller won his sole start for the United States, a 5-1 win over Slovenia. With the win, Miller improved to 6-1 in seven Olympic games with a .945 save percentage and a 1.30 goals against average. His six wins for the United States rank him second in the nation’s Olympic history behind Jack McCartan (7).
- Ted Nolan led Latvia to the nation’s first ever quarterfinal Olympic game (a 2-1 loss to Canada) after a 3-1 win over Switzerland in the qualification round. The team’s eighth-place finish in Sochi was the best in the nation’s five Olympic Games appearances.
- Zemgus Girgensons (Latvia) registered two points (1+1) in the tournament, scoring his first Olympic goal on the power play in a 5-3 qualifying-round loss to Sweden.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game opens up Buffalo’s 10th of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season. The Sabres are 3-6-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-5-3 in the second game this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to-back sets this season is: four points (0), three points (1), two points (3), one point (2) and zero points (3).
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.
BUF-CAR CONNECTIONS
BUF D Jamie 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). He was acquired from the Hurricanes with a second-round pick (J.T. Compher) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for CAR D Andrej Sekera on June 30, 2013.
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).
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.
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.
BUF G Ryan Miller and CAR D John-Michael Liles were teammates at Michigan State University from 1999-2002.
Miller and CAR D Justin Faulk both represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Ennis (141), Moulson/Ehrhoff (125), Stafford (120)
Hits: Ott (186), Foligno (149), Weber (143)
Blocked Shots: Weber (90), Ehrhoff (76), Myers (71)
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: 3-4-3 (9), 26/31, 7/36, 28/32
51-60: 1-5-1 (3), 13/28, 4/26, 19/25
OVERTIME RESULTS (2-4; 96-97 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)
January 28 vs. Washington: L, 5-4 (GWG-Green, 1:00)
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
Drew Stafford … 8 games … 500 career games played
Matt Ellis … 8 games … 300 career games played
Assists
Tyler Myers … 6 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
Matt D’Agostini … 300th career game … Feb. 6 at Ottawa
