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LAST GAME
Monday, December 15
Ottawa 4 at Buffalo 5 (SO)
Goals: Ristolainen, Moulson, Foligno, Flynn; GDG-Moulson
Goalie: Enroth (29 saves/33 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 5/5; Shots: Buffalo 33 – Ottawa 33
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 93)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hackett (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 31 games
Mike Weber (lower body, Dec. 13; injured reserve) – 2 games
Cody McCormick (lower body, Dec. 13) – 2 games
Josh Gorges (undisclosed, Dec. 15) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/15: Recalled F Mikhail Grigorenko from Rochester (AHL); Placed D Mike Weber on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Monday, Dec. 29: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at JETS
- This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Jets this season.
- The Sabres are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Jets; 2-5-3 on the road.
- This is the 55th game all-time between Buffalo and Winnipeg/Atlanta; Buffalo has a 22-21-11 series record.
- The Sabres are 7-12-7 on the road against the Jets/Thrashers all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 8-10-1 all-time on December 16.
- December 16, 1976: Rick Martin scores three times in the second period to record his 18th hat trick as a member of the Sabres in a 7-2 Buffalo win against the Rangers.
- December 16, 2011: Drew Stafford scores his 100th NHL goal in a 5-4 win vs. Toronto.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are looking for their first road win against the Jets/Thrashers franchise since Oct. 20, 2010 and their first win in the city of Winnipeg since Feb. 10, 1993.
- The Sabres have scored four or more goals in their last three games for the first time since April 5 to 9, 2011. They haven’t done so in four or more consecutive games since they did it in five straight from Feb. 20 to March 2, 2007.
- Tyler Ennis has 15 points (4+11) in his last 15 games.
- Matt Moulson has four points (3+1) in his last four games, including three goals in his last three.
- Marcus Foligno has goals in three straight games for the first time in his career.
- Michal Neuvirth has had success against the Jets; in seven career games, he has logged a 4-1-1 record, a .939 save percentage and a 1.85 goals-against average.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s seventh of 19 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 5-4 shootout win vs. OTT last night. The Sabres are 2-5-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 3-3-0 in the second game. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to- back sets is: four points (1), three points (0), two points (2), one point (0) and zero points (3).
HEATING UP BEFORE WINTER
- The Sabres are now 10-3-0 in their last 13 games, winning 10 games in a 13-game span for the first time in a single season since Feb. 1 to March 3, 2007 (10-2-1). The Sabres will look to make it 11 wins in 14 games tonight for the first time since Jan. 30 to March 3, 2007 (11-2-1).
- 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.
EXPANDED ROLE FOR MYERS
After last night’s game, Tyler Myers ranks ninth in the league with an average time on ice of 25:38 per game. He skated a career-high 31:34 on Nov. 29 at MTL and has averaged 27:25 in his last 10 games; 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 11 games, Jhonas Enroth has compiled a 9-2-0 record, with a .935 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average.
- Enroth is 4-0 on the season in shootouts, having allowed just one goal on 18 attempts (.944).
- 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 31 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 10 of his last 11 games and leads all Sabres forwards with an average ice time of 18:46 per game.
BUF-WPG CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Adam Pardy played 17 games for the Sabres during the 2012-13 season, recording four points (0+4) and a plus-4 rating.
- The Sabres selected Chris Thorburn in the second round (50th overall) of the 2001 NHL Draft. He played two career games with the Sabres, totaling one assist and seven penalty minutes.
Nicolas Deslauriers:
- Deslauriers (1991) and Paul Postma (1989) were both born on Feb. 22, 1989.
Tyler Ennis:
- He and Bryan Little were both born in Edmonton, Alberta.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Matt Halischuk for the New Jersey Devils during the 2008-09 season.
Zemgus Girgensons:
- He and Mathieu Perreault share the same birthday. Perreault was born on Jan. 5, 1988 and Girgensons was born on Jan. 5, 1994.
Cody Hodgson:
- Hodgson and Matt Halischuk were both born in Toronto, Ontario.
- Played with Anthony Peluso for the Brampton Battalion during the 2008-09 season.
- Represented Team Canada alongside Mark Scheifele at the 2014 World Championship.
Cody McCormick:
- McCormick (1983) and Anthony Peluso (1989) were both born on April 18.
- Played with TJ Galiardi for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2008-09 season.
Torrey Mitchell:
- Played with TJ Galiardi for the San Jose Sharks during the 2011-12 season.
Matt Moulson:
- He and Anthony Peluso were both born in North York, Ontario.
Tyler Myers:
- Played with Evander Kane for Team Canada at the 2010 World Championship.
- Represented Team Canada alongside Mark Scheifele at the 2014 World Championship.
Michal Neuvirth:
- Played with and Mathieu Perreault for the Washington Capitals from 2009-2013.
Drew Stafford:
- Won a gold medal with Mark Stuart for Team USA in the 2004 World Junior Championship.
- Played with Mark Stuart for the United States at the 2008 World Championship.
Chris Stewart:
- Played with TJ Galiardi for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2008-09 season.
- Played with Evander Kane for Team Canada at the 2011 World Championship.
Mike Weber:
- Played with Bryan Little and Michael Hutchinson for the Barrie Colts during the 2006-07 season.
2009 World Juniors:
- Cody Hodgson, Tyler Ennis, Tyler Myers and Evander Kane all won gold medals with the 2009 Canadian World Junior Championship team.
NHL Draft:
- Drew Stafford, Andrej Meszaros, Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler were all taken in the first round of the 2004 NHL Draft. Ladd was taken 4th overall by Carolina, Wheeler was taken 5th overall by Phoenix, Stafford was taken 13th overall by Buffalo and Meszaros 24th overall by Ottawa.
- Patrick Kaleta (176th overall) and Adam Pardy (173rd overall) were taken three picks apart in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL Draft.
- Chris Stewart (18th overall – Colorado), Michel Frolik (10th overall – Florida) and Bryan Little (12th overall – Atlanta) were all chosen in the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Jacob Trouba (9th overall) were both first-round selections in the 2012 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (94), Foligno (84), Weber (72)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (78), Myers (66), Weber (53)
Shots: Moulson (69), Ennis (68), Stewart (60)
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
31-40: 1-0-0 (2), 5/4, 1/3, 5/5
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 (5-1; 62-47 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)
December 15 vs. Ottawa: W, 5-2 (GDG-Moulson)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Cody McCormick … 2 games … 400 career games played
Tyler Ennis … 2 games … 300 career games played
Points
Torrey Mitchell … 3 points … 100 career points
Brian Gionta … 4 points … 500 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Jhonas Enroth … 100th NHL game … Dec. 11 vs. CGY
Zemgus Girgensons … 100th NHL game … Dec. 13 vs. FLA