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LAST GAME
Tuesday, December 16
Buffalo 1 at Winnipeg 5
Goals: Zadorov
Goalie: Neuvirth (31 saves/36 shots)
PP: 1/4; PK: 3/4; Shots: Winnipeg 36 – Buffalo 28
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 98)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hackett (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 32 games
Mike Weber (lower body, Dec. 13; injured reserve) – 3 games
Cody McCormick (lower body, Dec. 13) – 3 games
Josh Gorges (undisclosed, Dec. 15) – 2 games
Torrey Mitchell (lower body, Dec. 16) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/15: Recalled F Mikhail Grigorenko from Rochester (AHL); Placed D Mike Weber on IR
12/17: Assigned F Mikhail Grigorenko to Rochester (AHL)
12/20: Recalled F Mikhail Grigorenko from Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Wednesday, Dec. 31: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 6 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
AVALANCHE at SABRES
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche this season.
- The Sabres are 3-3-4 in their last 10 games vs. the Avalanche/Nordiques; 3-4-3 at home.
- This is the 136th game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado/Quebec; Buffalo has a 59-52-24 series record.
- The Sabres are 36-20-11 at home against the Avalanche/Nordiques all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 7-6-5 all-time on December 20.
- December 20, 1991: Tony Tanti records his only hat trick as a member of the Sabres in a 4-4 tie vs. Edmonton.
- December 20, 2011: Marcus Foligno makes his NHL debut in a 4-1 loss at Ottawa.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are 9-8-6 against the Avalanche since they moved to Colorado before the 1995-96 season.
- If he is in the lineup tonight, Tyler Ennis will appear in his 300th NHL game. Ennis has 15 points (4+11) in his last 16 games.
- Marcus Foligno has four points (3+1) in his last four games.
- Three Sabres average at least a point per game in their limited experience against the Avalanche: Drew Stafford (8 GP, 2+6), Tyler Ennis (4 GP, 0+4), Marcus Foligno (3 GP, 3+0).
IT’S BEEN AWHILE
- The Sabres are looking for their first win against the Avalanche since Dec. 4, 2005, a 6-4 win in Colorado.
- Cody McCormick and Alex Tanguay, who each suited up for the Avalanche in the that game, are the only players to play in the contest who are on either team’s roster today. Daniel Briere was scratched for the Sabres.
- At over nine years, the Sabres’ drought against the Avalanche is their longest against any opponent.
- While the Avalanche have won the last seven matchups with the Sabres, four were decided in either overtime (once) or a shootout (three times).
- Buffalo’s four-game losing streak (0-2-2) at home against the Avalanche since the Sabres’ win on March 24, 2003 is the longest in franchise history against Colorado/Quebec.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game opens up Buffalo’s eighth of 19 sets of back-to-back games this season, which will conclude tomorrow at BOS. The Sabres are 2-5-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 3-4-0 in the second game. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to- back sets is: four points (1), three points (0), two points (3), one point (0) and zero points (3).
HEATING UP BEFORE WINTER
- The Sabres are 10-4-0 in their last 14 games, winning 10 games in a 14-game span for the first time since the last 14 games of a 15 game stretch from Feb. 29 to March 27, 2012 in which they went 11-2-2. The Sabres will look to make it 11 wins in 15 games tonight for the first time since that same stretch.
- 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.
LOGGING BIG MINUTES
Entering Friday night’s games, Tyler Myers ranks ninth in the league with an average time on ice of 25:45 per game. He skated a career-high 31:34 on Nov. 29 at MTL and has averaged 28:11 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 four of the 2015 NHL All-Star Game Fan Vote with 1,089,865 votes. This total makes him a distant leader, ahead of second-place Patrick Kane (586,310) and third-place Jonathan Toews (573,198). More than 82 percent of his total votes were cast by Latvians.
- His nine goals this season have already bested his total of eight from his 70-game rookie season.
- Girgensons has averaged a 10-game career-high 20:51 of ice time in his last 10 games and leads all Sabres forwards with an average ice time of 18:49 per game this season.
BUF-COL CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Daniel Briere played with the Sabres for four seasons (2002-2007). Briere was the team’s top point scorer in 2003-04 (65) and 2006-07 (95). He tied Jochen Hecht for most assists (37) in 2003-04 and led the team in assists (63) in 2006-07. During his four seasons with Buffalo, Briere played in 225 games, amassing 230 points (92+138).
- Jan Hejda was originally drafted by Buffalo in the fourth round (136th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft. Hejda was traded to Edmonton in July 2006 for a seventh-round draft pick.
Former Avalanche:
- Cody McCormick was drafted by the Avalanche in the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2001 NHL Draft. He went on to play in Colorado from 2003-09, tallying 30 points over 190 games (9+21).
- Andre Benoit spent the 2013-14 season as a member of the Avalanche, tallying 28 points (7+21) over 79 games. He also added one assist over seven postseason appearances.
Andre Benoit
- Played with Jan Hejda for the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) during the 2006-07 season.
Tyler Ennis:
- He and Jarome Iginla were both born in Edmonton, Alberta.
- Ennis (1989) and Daniel Briere (1977) were both born on Oct. 6.
Jhonas Enroth
- Enroth and Gabriel Landeskog were both born in Stockholm, Sweden. The two were also teammates for Sweden at the 2014 Winter Olympics as well as the 2013 World Hockey Championship.
Brian Flynn:
- Flynn and Zach Redmond were both born on July 26, 1988.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Daniel Briere for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2013-14 season.
Josh Gorges:
- Played with Alex Tanguay for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2008-09 season.
- Played with Daniel Briere for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2013-14 season.
Andrej Meszaros:
- Teammates with Jarome Iginla for the Boston Bruins during the 2013-14 season.
- Played with Max Talbot for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2012-2014.
- Played with Alex Tanguay for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2009-10 season.
- Played alongside Daniel Briere for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2010-2013.
Torrey Mitchell
- Played alongside Jamie McGinn for the San Jose Sharks from 2008-2012.
Matt Moulson:
- Played with D Brad Stuart for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2007-08 season.
Tyler Myers
- He and Tyson Barrie played together for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) from 2006-2009.
Michal Neuvirth:
- Neuvirth was born on March 23, 1988, exactly one year after Marc-Andre Cliché.
Tyson Strachan:
- Played with Nate Guenin for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2003-2006.
NHL Draft:
- Torrey Mitchell (126th overall) and Patrick Bordeleau (114th overall) were both chosen in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL Draft.
- Jhonas Enroth, Mike Weber, Michal Neuvirth and Jamie McGinn were all selected in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft. Neuvirth was chosen by Washington with the 34th overall selection, McGinn, selected by San Jose, was the 36th overall pick, Enroth was the 46th overall pick and Weber was selected 57th overall.
- Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall), Nikita Zadorov (16th overall) and Nathan MacKinnon (1st overall) were all first-round draft picks in the 2013 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (101), Foligno (88), Weber (72)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (78), Myers (70), Ristolainen/Weber (53)
Shots: Ennis (75), Moulson (73), Stewart (62)
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: 1-1-0 (2), 6/9, 2/7, 8/9
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
Tyler Ennis … 1 game … 300 career games played
Cody McCormick … 2 games … 400 career games played
Points
Torrey Mitchell … 3 points … 100 career points
Brian Gionta … 4 points … 500 career points
Matt Moulson … 10 points … 300 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
