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LAST GAME
Friday, April 4
Buffalo 2 at Detroit 3
Goals: McBain, Deslauriers
Goalie: Hackett (28 saves/31 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 2/3; Shots: Detroit 31 – Buffalo 23
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 264)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Chris Stewart (lower body, March 7) – 15 games
Alexander Sulzer (upper body, March 15) – 11 games
Michal Neuvirth (lower body, March 16) – 10 games
Jhonas Enroth (lower body, March 18) – 9 games
Zenon Konopka (back, March 25) – 6 games
Tyler Myers (undisclosed, March 27) – 5 games
Torrey Mitchell (undisclosed, March 27) – 5 games
Drew Stafford (undisclosed, April 3) – 2 games
Henrik Tallinder (lower body, April 3) – 2 games
Marcus Foligno (lower body, April 4) – 1 game
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
4/4: Recalled F Luke Adam from Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Sunday, April 13: NY Islanders at Buffalo, 5 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at FLYERS
- This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Flyers this season.
- Last meeting: Philadelphia defeated Buffalo, 4-3, in Buffalo on Jan. 14
- The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Flyers; 3-7-0 on the road.
- This is the 164th game all-time between Buffalo and Philadelphia; Buffalo has a 63-77-23 series record.
- The Sabres are 23-47-13 on the road against the Flyers all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 7-4-2 all-time on April 6.
- April 6, 1980: Danny Gare scores twice in a 7-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Aud to finish the regular season with 56 goals.
- April 6, 1995: Craig Muni appears in his 100th game as a member of the Sabres, a 1-1 tie at Boston.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are looking for their first win in Philadelphia since their 5-3 win on March 5, 2011.
- Ville Leino has an assist in each of the last three games, tying the longest point streak of his career.
- Nicolas Deslauriers (goal) and Chad Ruhwedel (assist) each tallied his first NHL point on Friday at Detroit.
- At the time of his recall, Luke Adam was tied for eighth in the AHL with 27 goals in 53 games.
- April is the Sabres’ best month since 2005-06; they have a 32-17-3 (.644) April record in that span.
- 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.
SECOND-HALF SURGE
Tyler Ennis has made the most of an increased role during the second half of the season, logging 19:44 per game and notching 26 points (13+13) in his 34 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. He now has a career-high 21 goals this 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.
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 .936 save percentage at even strength.
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.
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 eight Sabres players dressed for both the first game of the season and Friday’s game at Detroit: Ehrhoff, Ennis, Flynn, Girgensons, Hodgson, Leino, Ristolainen, Weber
- With Jake McCabe’s NHL debut Thursday night at St. Louis, 44 different players have played at least one game for the Sabres this season.
- According to Elias Sports Bureau, this tops the previous franchise record of 43, set in the 1986-87 season and matched in 1991-92.
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-PHI CONNECTIONS
BUF LW Ville Leino played for the Flyers for the better part of two seasons (2009-2011), recording 57 points (21+36) in 94 games. In the team’s run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, Leino set Flyers franchise records for goals (7) and points (21) by a rookie in a single playoff season.
BUF HC Ted Nolan coached PHI D Andrew MacDonald for the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) during the 2005-06 season.
BUF LW Marcus Foligno, PHI D Brayden Schenn and PHI C Sean Couturier all played for Team Canada in the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship, which took place in Buffalo, NY.
BUF C Tyler Ennis (26th overall),BUF D Tyler Myers (12th overall), BUF C Cody Hodgson (10th overall) and PHI D Luke Schenn (5th overall) were all first-round selections in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. All four were also teammates with Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship.
Myers and Luke Schenn also played together for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) from 2005-2008.
PHI G Ray Emery and BUF D Christian Ehrhoff were both selected in the fourth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Emerywas chosen 99th overall by the Ottawa Senators, while the San Jose Sharks picked Ehrhoff 106th overall.
BUF G Jhonas Enroth, BUF D Henrik Tallinder and PHI D Nicklas Grossman all hail from Stockholm, Sweden.
BUF C Zenon Konopka played alongside PHI RW Steve Downie and PHI C Vincent Lecavalier for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2009-10 season.
BUF RW Drew Stafford and Team USA played against Meszaros and Team Slovakia in the 2004 and 2005 IIHF World Junior Championships. The two were also both drafted in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, as Stafford was chosen 13th overall and Meszaros 23rd overall.
Stafford, PHI RW Adam Hall and PHI D Hal Gill all represented the United States at the 2006 World Hockey Championship.
BUF RW Matt D’Agostini and Gill both played for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season.
BUF D Jamie McBain and Hall were teammates with the Carolina Hurricanes briefly during the 2012-13 season.
D’Agostini and PHI D Mark Streit played together for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2007-08 season.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Ennis (195), Stafford (175), Hodgson (163)
Hits: Foligno (199), Weber (192), Girgensons (151)
Blocked Shots: Weber (136), Ehrhoff (112), McBain (104)
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: 1-5-1 (3), 12/23, 3/19, 15/21
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)
Assists
Tyler Myers … 3 assists … 100 career assists
Tyler Ennis … 5 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Drew Stafford … 3 points … 300 career points
Jamie McBain … 9 points … 100 career points
Torrey Mitchell … 10 points … 100 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Nathan Lieuwen … 1st NHL win … April 1 vs. NJD
Brian Flynn … 100th NHL game … April 3 at STL
Jake McCabe … 1st NHL game … April 3 at STL
Nicolas Deslauriers … 1st NHL point (goal) … April 4 at DET
Chad Ruhwedel … 1st NHL point (assist) … April 4 at DET
