GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Tuesday, April 1
New Jersey 2 at Buffalo 3 (SO)
Goals: Ennis (2); GDG-Leino
Goalie: Lieuwen (33 saves/35 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 1/2; Shots: New Jersey 35 – Buffalo 27
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 245)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Chris Stewart (lower body, March 7) – 13 games
Alexander Sulzer (upper body, March 15) – 9 games
Michal Neuvirth (lower body, March 16) – 8 games
Jhonas Enroth (lower body, March 18) – 7 games
Zenon Konopka (back, March 25) – 4 games
Tyler Myers (undisclosed, March 27) – 3 games
Torrey Mitchell (undisclosed, March 27) – 3 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
4/1: Signed F Justin Kea to a three-year, entry-level contract
4/2: Signed D Jake McCabe to a three-year, entry-level contract
UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, April 4: Buffalo at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 6: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 10: Buffalo at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 12: Buffalo at Boston, 12:30 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at BLUES
- This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Blues this season.
- Last meeting: St. Louis defeated Buffalo, 4-1, in Buffalo on Nov. 19
- The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Blues; 4-3-3 on the road.
- This is the 110th game all-time between Buffalo and St. Louis; Buffalo has a 45-49-15 series record.
- The Sabres are 15-29-9 on the road against the Blues all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-8-2 all-time on April 3.
- April 3, 1982: Gilbert Perreault records his 1,000th NHL point in a 5-4 win vs. Montreal. Perreault, who finished his Sabres career with 1,326 points, remains the only player to record 1,000 points for the club.
- April 3, 2011: Drew Stafford picks up his 100th career assist in a 2-1 win at Carolina.
- April 3, 2013: Acquired forward Johan Larsson, goaltender Matt Hackett, a 2013 first round draft selection (Nikita Zadorov) and a 2014 second round selection from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Pominville.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Ted Nolan has been named the head coach of the Sabres and signed to a three-year extension, after serving as the club’s interim head coach since Nov. 13.
- If he is in the lineup, tonight will be Brian Flynn’s 100th NHL game.
- The Sabres are looking for their first win over the Blues since Dec. 27, 2009.
- Ville Leino has five points (1+4) in seven career games against the Blues, including an assist in each of the last three.
- April is the Sabres’ best month since 2005-06; they have a 32-15-3 (.670) April record in that span.
SECOND-HALF SURGE
Tyler Ennis has made the most of an increased role during the second half of the season, logging 19:41 per game and notching 25 points (13+12) in his 32 games following the season’s halfway mark. Ennis averaged 18:07 of ice time and recorded 15 points (8+7) through the first 41 games of the season.
Drew Stafford has also seen the most ice time of his career in the second half of this season after leaving with an injury just four shifts into the team’s 41st game. Stafford has averaged 20:04 of ice time and posted 20 points (11+9) in 26 games since the season’s halfway mark. In the 41 games prior to the midway point, Stafford had 13 points (4+9) in and averaged 17:36 per game.
For a graphical look at the career ice time progression for each player, visit www.SabresDigitalPressBox.com/2014/04/02/timeonice
B1G ADDITION
On April 2, the Sabres signed defenseman Jake McCabe to an entry-level deal. Selected by the Sabres in the second round (44th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, McCabe recently completed his junior season with the University of Wisconsin (Big Ten), earning first-team All-Big Ten honors by registering a career-high 25 points (8+17) through 33 games and serving as the team’s assistant captain in 2013-14.
STEPPING IN AND STEPPING UP
- The Sabres have iced five different goaltenders this year (Enroth, Hackett, Lieuwen, Miller, Neuvirth), the most since 1995-96 (Biron, Blue, Hasek, Shields, Trefilov).
- Since the team traded Ryan Miller to the Blues, the Sabres’ goaltenders have combined to post a save percentage of .925, including a .937 save percentage at even strength.
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 .653 (192 points in 294 games), putting him on a 54-point pace. He has 20 points (11+9) in 28 games so far in 2014 (.714 PTS/GP).
A NEW LOOK
- Only 10 Sabres players dressed for both the first game of the season and Tuesday’s game vs. New Jersey: Ehrhoff, Ennis, Flynn, Girgensons, Hodgson, Leino, Ristolainen, Stafford, Tallinder, Weber
- With Matt Hackett’s Sabres debut on March 20 at Edmonton, 43 different players have played at least one game for the Sabres this season.
- According to Elias Sports Bureau, this ties the franchise record, set in the 1986-87 season and matched in 1991-92. If Jake McCabe suits up for the Sabres tonight, the team would break that record.
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-STL CONNECTIONS
BUF RW Chris Stewart played for the Blues for parts of four seasons from 2011-2014. Stewart contributed 115 points (63+52) over a total of 211 games while with St. Louis.
BUF RW Matt D’Agostini spent parts of four seasons with the Blues from 2009-2013. Appearing in a total of 160 games, he contributed 66 points (31+35). The 2010-11 campaign saw D’Agostini tally career highs in goals (21), assists (25) and points (46).
STL G Ryan Miller spent parts of 11 seasons as a member of the Sabres from 2002-2014. Drafted by Buffalo in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (138th overall), Miller compiled a record of 284-186-56 over a total of 541 games, earning franchise-record totals in games played and wins.
STL C Steve Ott played for Buffalo for parts of two seasons from 2012-2014. Appearing in a total of 107 games with the club, Ott registered 44 points (18+26).
STL C Derek Roy spent eight seasons as a member of the Sabres from 2003-2012. Originally drafted by Buffalo in the second-round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (32nd overall), Roy tallied 427 points (161+266) in 549 games with the team.
STL D Jordan Leopold also played for the Sabres, from 2010-2013. He recorded 67 points (25+42) in 174 games during his time in Buffalo.
RW Drew Stafford and Leopold both represented the United States at the 2008 World Hockey Championship.
Stafford and STL C David Backes played together for Team USA at the 2008 and 2009 World Hockey Championships.
Stafford and STL RW TJ Oshie were both part of the 2005-06 North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
BUF AC Joe Sacco coached STL D Kevin Shattenkirk for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010-11 season.
BUF G Jhonas Enroth, STL LW Magnus Paajarvi and STL C Patrik Berglund were all part of Team Sweden at the 2008 World Junior Championship.
Enroth, BUF D Henrik Tallinder, Berglund and STL LW Alexander Steen all played together for Team Sweden at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Enroth and STL LW Jaden Schwartz share the same birthday. Enroth was born on June 25, 1988, while Schwartz was born four years later on June 25, 1992.
BUF LW Marcus Foligno and Schwartz both played for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship, held in Buffalo.
BUF C Tyler Ennis, BUF LW John Scott and STL D Jay Bouwmeester were all born in Edmonton, Alberta.
Ennis (26th overall), Hodgson (10th overall), BUF D Tyler Myers (12th overall) and STL D Alex Pietrangelo (4th overall) were all selected in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. All four also represented Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship.
BUF D Jamie McBain and STL G Brian Elliot played together at the University of Wisconsin during the 2006-07 season.
D’Agostini was teammates with STL RW Maxim Lapierre for the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) during the 2007-08 season and the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season.
BUF D Alexander Sulzer was teammates with Lapierre for the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011-12 season.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Ennis (186), Stafford (175), Hodgson (160)
Hits: Foligno (199), Weber (185), Girgensons (146)
Blocked Shots: Weber (131), Ehrhoff (109), McBain (96)
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: 2-8-0 (4), 14/27, 3/29, 34/41
71-80: 1-3-1 (3), 9/18, 1/13, 11/16
OVERTIME RESULTS (3-5; 97-98 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)
March 29 vs. Tampa Bay: L, 4-3 (GWG-Stamkos, 1:53)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (7-4; 57-45 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)
April 1 vs. New Jersey: W, 3-2 (GDG-Leino)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs… Milestone)
Games Played
Brian Flynn … 1 game … 100 career games played
Assists
Tyler Myers … 3 assists … 100 career assists
Tyler Ennis … 6 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Drew Stafford … 3 points … 300 career points
Jamie McBain … 10 points … 100 career points
Torrey Mitchell … 10 points … 100 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Nathan Lieuwen … 1st NHL win … April 1 vs. NJD
