Game Preview: 3/13/14 at Carolina Hurricanes

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Tuesday, March 11
Nashville 4 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Stafford
Goalie: Enroth (29 saves/31 shots)
PP: 0/5; PK: 5/5; Shots: Chicago 31 – Buffalo 21

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 184)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zemgus Girgensons (undisclosed, March 7) – 3 games
Chris Stewart (lower body, March 7) – 3 games
Torrey Mitchell (lower body, March 7) – 3 games
Alexander Sulzer (undisclosed, March 9) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
3/7: Recalled F Luke Adam and F Nicolas Deslauriers from Rochester (AHL)
3/8: Assigned F Luke Adam to Rochester (AHL); Recalled D Chad Ruhwedel from Rochester

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, March 15: Buffalo at NY Islanders, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 16: Montreal at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 18: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 20: Buffalo at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 23: Buffalo at Vancouver, 8 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at HURRICANES

• This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Hurricanes this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Carolina, 3-2, in Buffalo on Feb. 25
• The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Hurricanes; 4-3-3 on the road.
• This is the 189^th game all-time between Buffalo and Carolina/Hartford; Buffalo has a 97-67-24 series record.
• The Sabres are 42-36-16 on the road against the Hurricanes/Whalers all-time.

THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 7-6-4 all-time on March 13.
• March 13, 1977: Don Edwards turns aside 32 of 33 Toronto shots and the Sabres get goals from five different scorers as they defeat the Maple Leafs, 6-1, in Buffalo.
• March 13, 1991: The Sabres top the Jets, 6-2, on the strength of a Dale Hawerchuk hat trick and a 37-save performance by Clint Malarchuk.
• March 13, 2001: The Sabres acquire Donald Audette from Atlanta for Kamil Piros and a fourth-round pick in 2001 NHL Entry Draft and acquire Steve Heinze from Columbus for a third-round draft pick in 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The Sabres are looking for their first win at Carolina since Nov. 18, 2011. They will try to avoid their first four-game losing streak at Carolina/Hartford since they lost six in a row in Hartford from April 8, 1995 to April 7, 1997.
• Stafford, who scored the Sabres’ lone goal on Tuesday, has 14 points (8+6) in his last 15 games. He hasn’t played three games without recording a point since Dec. 31 to Jan. 15.
• Tyler Ennis has 11 points (4+7) in his last 12 games and 19 points (8+11) in his last 22 games. Ennis has a point in each of his last three games against Carolina (2+1).
• Cody Hodgson has four goals in his last five games against the Hurricanes.
• Cory Conacher has a point in five of six career games against the Hurricanes (1+4).

A NEW LOOK

• Only 10 Sabres players dressed for both the first game of the season and Tuesday’s game vs. Nashville:
  • Ehrhoff, Ennis, Enroth, Flynn, Hodgson, Leino, Myers, Stafford, Tallinder, Weber
• 41 different players have played at least one game for the Sabres this year.
• According to Elias Sports Bureau, this is the highest total since they tied the franchise record with 43 players in the 1991-92 season:
  • 1991-92: 43 players, 1986-87: 43 players, 1988-89: 42 players, 2013-14: 41 players

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 .655 (186 points in 284 games), putting him on a 54-point pace. He has 14 points (8+6) in 17 games so far in 2014 (.824 PTS/GP).

TRADE DEADLINE RECAP
A list of players and picks traded to and from the Sabres yesterday, sorted by position:

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 (63^rd 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 (71^st 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 (142^nd 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.

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 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 G Jhonas Enroth and CAR D Brett Bellemore were both born on June 25, 1988.

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.

BUF C Torrey Mitchell and Malhotra were teammates for the San Jose Sharks during the 2009-10 season.

Sulzer played with Dvorak for the Florida Panthers during the 2010-11 season.

BUF G Michal Neuvirth and CAR RW Alexander Semin both played for the Washington Capitals from 2008-2012.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Ennis (156), Stafford (147), Ehrhoff (136)
Hits: Foligno (172), Weber (163), Girgensons (135)
Blocked Shots: Weber (113), Ehrhoff (91), McBain (80)

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: 4-5-1 (9), 25/36, 7/36, 28/36
61-70: 1-4-0 (2), 7/13, 1/14, 19/23

OVERTIME RESULTS (3-4; 97-97 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)
February 26 vs. Boston: W, 5-4 (GWG-D’Agostini, 0:22)

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
Cody Hodgson … 6 games … 200 career games played
Assists
Tyler Myers … 4 assists … 100 career assists
Tyler Ennis … 7 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Drew Stafford … 9 points … 300 career points
Torrey Mitchell … 10 points … 100 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Nicolas Deslauriers … 1^st NHL game … March 7 at FLA
Drew Stafford … 500th NHL game … March 11 vs. NSH
Matt Ellis … 300^th NHL game … March 11 vs. NSH