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LAST GAME
Saturday, December 13
Florida 3 at Buffalo 4
Goals: Hodgson, Foligno, Gionta, Zadorov
Goalie: Enroth (25 saves/28 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 1/1; Shots: Buffalo 32 – Florida 28
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 89)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hackett (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 30 games
Tyson Strachan (lower body, Dec. 6) – 4 games
Mike Weber (lower body, Dec. 13) – 1 game
Cody McCormick (lower body, Dec. 13) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Dec. 16: Buffalo at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 20: Colorado at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 21: Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 23: Buffalo at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 27: New York Islanders at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SENATORS at SABRES
- This is the first of five meetings between the Sabres and Senators this season.
- Next meeting: Monday, Dec. 29 in Ottawa
- Last meeting: Ottawa defeated Buffalo, 3-2, in Ottawa on Feb. 6, 2014
- The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Senators; 5-2-3 at home.
- This is the 121st game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa; Buffalo has a 58-45-17 series record.
- The Sabres are 32-20-7 at home against the Senators all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 6-7-2 all-time on December 15.
- December 15, 1977: Gilbert Perreault scores a goal in each period to help the Sabres beat the St. Louis Blues, 7-4. It was Perreault’s first of a career-high four hat tricks during the 1977-78 season.
- December 15, 2010: Buffalo gets two third-period goals from Drew Stafford to seal a 3-2 home win over the Boston Bruins, marking the 1,500th win in franchise history.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Tonight’s game is the final in a four-game homestand for the Sabres, tying the team’s four-game stretch from Nov. 2 to 8 as the second-longest homestand of the season.
- The Sabres are 9-3-0 in their last 12 games, winning nine games in a 12-game span for the first time since Feb. 19 to March 12, 2012 (9-2-1).
- Buffalo enters tonight with wins in five straight home games. A win tonight would give the team its first six-game winning streak at home since Jan. 17 to Feb. 15, 2007.
- Tyler Ennis has 14 points (4+10) in his last 14 games.
- Marcus Foligno has goals in two straight games for the first time since Dec. 17 and 19, 2013.
- Drew Stafford has a point in each of his four games (1+3) since returning from a lower-body injury, giving him the longest Sabres point streak of the season.
NIKITA NETS THE WINNER
- Nikita Zadorov recorded his first career multi-point game with a goal and an assist vs. Florida on Saturday.
- Zadorov’s overtime goal was the first game-winning tally of his career. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it made him the youngest defenseman in Sabres history (19 years, 242 days) to score an overtime goal. The only younger player to score an overtime winner in team history was Pierre Turgeon (19 years, 146 days) on Jan. 21, 1989 vs. Boston.
SABRES-SENATORS
- The Sabres are 7-4 all-time in shootouts against the Senators. Their 11 shootouts against the Senators tie their highest total against any team (9-2 vs. Montreal, 7-4 vs. New Jersey, 5-6 vs. Boston).
- Brian Gionta leads all Sabres with 29 points (18+11) in 42 career games against the Senators.
- Mike Weber has seven points (1+6) in 19 career games against the Senators, his highest total against any team.
FAMILIAR FOES
- Tonight’s game marks the fifth of nine divisional games in the month of December, more than any other month this season. Buffalo is 2-2-0 against divisional opponents so far this month.
- Including their five divisional games in November, the Sabres will play 14 of their 30 divisional games during November and December. Buffalo is 6-2-1 against divisional foes since Nov. 2.
EXPANDED ROLE FOR MYERS
Entering Sunday night’s games, Tyler Myers ranks ninth in the league with an average time on ice of 25:27 per game. He skated a career-high 31:34 on Nov. 29 at MTL and has averaged 26:42 in his last 10 games despite playing only three overtime games during that stretch; it is the highest 10-game average ice time of his career. Myers last led the Sabres in ice time in a season in his rookie season of 2009-10, when he averaged 23:44 per game.
MY NAME IS JHONAS
- In his last 10 games, Jhonas Enroth has compiled an 8-2-0 record, with a .940 save percentage and a 2.04 goals-against average.
- According to Elias Sports Bureau, Enroth’s fourth career shutout on Tuesday vs. LAK made him the first goaltender in NHL history to record his first four shutouts in 1-0 wins.
“BALSO PAR ZEMGU”
- Second-year Latvian forward Zemgus Girgensons ended week three of the 2015 NHL All-Star Game Fan Vote with 803,805 votes. This total makes him a distant leader, ahead of second-place Patrick Kane (375,758) and third-place Jonathan Toews (367,962). Nearly 82 percent of his total votes were cast by Latvians and 80 percent were from Sabres fans.
- His nine goals through the first 29 games this season have already bested his total of eight from his 70-game rookie season.
- Girgensons has topped 19 minutes of ice time in nine of his last 10 games and leads all Sabres forwards with an average ice time of 18:42 per game.
HEATING UP BEFORE WINTER
With a .500 record (6-6-1) in November, the Sabres had their best month since they went 5-5-2 in December 2013. The 13 points earned by the team last month was Buffalo’s highest total in a month since the team went 8-4-0 in April 2013.
BUF-OTT CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Clarke MacArthur played for the Sabres from 2006-2010. While with the team, MacArthur appeared in 187 games and recorded 79 points (41+38).
Former Senators:
- Andrej Meszaros was a member of the Senators from 2005-2008, tallying 110 points over 246 games (26-84). Meszaros was Ottawa’s first-round selection (23rd overall) in the 2004 NHL Draft.
- Andre Benoit played for the Senators during the 2010-11 season and once again during the 2012-13 season. Overall, he compiled 11 points (3+8) over 41 games.
Jhonas Enroth:
- Enroth and Mika Zibanejad were born in the same city of Stockholm, Sweden.
- Played with Erik Karlsson for Team Sweden at the 2012 World Hockey Championship.
Marcus Foligno:
- Played with Jared Cowen for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo. The Canadian squad was coached by Ottawa head coach Dave Cameron.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with David Legwand for the United States at the 2000, 2001 and 2005 World Hockey Championships.
Josh Gorges:
- Gorges (1984) and Kyle Turris (1989) were both born on Aug. 14.
- Played with Milan Michalek for San Jose Sharks from 2005-2007.
Cody Hodgson:
- Played with Kyle Turris for Team Canada at the 2014 World Hockey Championship.
Cody McCormick
- McCormick (1983) and Mika Zibanejad (1993) were both born on April 18.
Torrey Mitchell
- Played with Milan Michalek on the San Jose Sharks from 2007-2009.
Tyler Myers:
- Played with Kyle Turris for Team Canada at the 2014 World Hockey Championship.
Drew Stafford:
- Represented the United States alongside Craig Anderson at the 2006 and 2008 World Hockey Championships.
Chris Stewart:
- Played with Marc Methot for Team Canada at the 2011 World Hockey Championship.
NHL Draft:
- Tyler Myers, Cody Hodgson, Tyler Ennis and D Erik Karlsson were all drafted in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft. Myers was the 12th overall pick, Hodgson was chosen 10th overall, Karlsson was selected 15th overall and Ennis was drafted with the 26th overall pick.
- Zemgus Girgensons (16th overall) and Cody Ceci (17th overall) were taken one pick apart in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall), Nikita Zadorov (16th overall) and Curtis Lazar (17th overall) were all first-round picks in the 2013 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (93), Foligno (81), Weber (72)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (78), Myers (65), Weber (53)
Shots: Ennis/Moulson (68), Stewart (60), Girgensons (53)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 2-8-0 (2), 11/33, 0/32, 33/39
11-20: 3-5-2 (8), 23/36, 4/27, 28/39
21-30: 7-3-0 (14), 22/22, 2/25, 20/25
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-1; 98-99 all-time)
October 30 vs. Boston: L, 3-2 (GDG-Marchand, 1:20)
December 13 vs. Florida: W, 4-3 (GDG-Zadorov, 0:29)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (4-1; 61-47 all-time)
October 14 at Carolina: W, 4-3 (GDG-Girgensons)
November 2 vs. Detroit: W, 3-2 (GDG-Girgensons)
November 5 vs. Montreal: L, 2-1 (GDG-Parenteau)
November 29 at Montreal: W, 4-3 (GDG-Flynn)
December 2 vs. Tampa Bay: W, 2-1 (GDG-Hodgson)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Cody McCormick … 2 games … 400 career games played
Tyler Ennis … 3 games … 300 career games played
Points
Torrey Mitchell … 3 points … 100 career points
Brian Gionta … 5 points … 500 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Jhonas Enroth … 100th NHL game … Dec. 11 vs. CGY
Zemgus Girgensons … 100th NHL game … Dec. 13 vs. FLA
