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LAST GAME
Thursday, January 29
Buffalo 2 at Edmonton 3
Goals: Myers, Ristolainen
Goalie: Enroth (31 saves/34 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 3/3; Shots: Edmonton 34 – Buffalo 20
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 175)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Marcus Foligno (undisclosed, Dec. 23; injured reserve) – 15 games
Cody McCormick (lower body, Jan. 13; injured reserve) – 6 games
Michal Neuvirth (lower body, Jan. 27) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/26: Recalled F Matt Ellis and G Matt Hackett from Rochester (AHL); Activated F Brian Gionta from IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Feb. 3: Buffalo at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 5: St. Louis at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7: Dallas at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8: NY Islanders at Buffalo, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 10: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at CANUCKS
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Canucks this season.
- Last meeting: Vancouver defeated Buffalo, 4-2, in Vancouver on March 23
- Next meeting: Thursday, Feb. 26 in Buffalo
- The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Canucks; 3-6-1 on the road.
- This is the 113th game all-time between Buffalo and Vancouver; Buffalo has a 46-47-19 series record.
- The Sabres are 17-28-11 on the road against the Canucks all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-3-3 all-time on January 30.
- January 30, 2007: Daniel Briere scores his second of two hat tricks as a member of the Sabres as the Sabres defeat the Bruins, 7-1, in Buffalo.
- January 30, 2008: Ryan Miller stops all 32 Florida shots and Thomas Vanek scores the lone Buffalo goal as the Sabres defeat the Panthers, 1-0, in Florida.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Tonight’s game is the final in a three-game western swing. The team will visit Montreal on Tuesday before returning to First Niagara Center for a five-game homestand.
- Michal Neuvirth is out of the lineup with a lower-body injury sustained during the All-Star break.
- Neither active Sabres goaltender has ever faced the Canucks.
- The Sabres are playing the Canucks twice this season for just the second time in the last decade. Buffalo will be seeking the first season sweep against Vancouver since 1997-98.
- Brian Gionta leads the Sabres with seven career points (5+2) in 12 games against the Canucks.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s 12th of 19 sets of back-to-back games this season, after a 3-2 loss at. EDM last night. The Sabres are 2-10-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 3-7-1 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 (1) and zero points (6).
FINISHING STRONG AFTER THE BREAK
Buffalo is 545-405-186 (.562) all-time in games after the All-Star break. This includes a record of 94-52-24 (.624) in those games since the lockout. The Sabres are 0-2-0 since the 2015 NHL All-Star Game. These totals do not include games after breaks for the Olympic Games.
LOGGING BIG MINUTES
- Tyler Myers leads all Sabres and ranks 10th in the league with an average time on ice of 25:10 per game.
- He skated a team-high 22:09 on Jan. 6 at NJD in his return from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for seven games and has topped 23 minutes in six of eight games played since then.
- 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.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE
- Josh Gorges ranks second in the NHL with 131 blocked shots despite missing nine games to injury this season. He has ranked in the top 10 in the NHL in blocked shots in each of the last three seasons: 2011-12, 250 (1st); 2012-13, 116 (7th); 2013-14, 117 (T-5th)
- Gorges has blocked 12.5 percent of all opponent shot attempts taken with him on the ice this season, ranking third among NHL defensemen who have played at least 20 games. (Shot attempt data via war-on-ice.com)
- His best full-season on-ice shot blocking percentage was 13.0 percent in 2011-12 with Montreal. No NHL-regular defenseman has topped 14 percent in a full season since the league started counting blocked shots in 2005-06.
BUF-VAN CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- 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 Draft (138th overall), Miller compiled a record of 284-186-56 over a total of 541 games, breaking the franchise records for games played and wins.
- Zack Kassian was Buffalo’s first selection (13th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft and recorded seven points (3+4) in 27 games with the Sabres during the 2011-12 season. Kassian was dealt to Vancouver on Feb. 27, 2012 in exchange for Cody Hodgson.
Former Canucks:
- Cody Hodgson was a member of the Canucks for two seasons (2010-2012). Hodgson Vancouver’s first selection in the 2008 NHL Draft (10th overall), tallied 35 points (17+18) in 71 games with the club.
Andre Benoit:
- He and Ryan Stanton are both from St. Albert, Alberta.
Tyler Ennis:
- Played with Linden Vey for the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) from 2006-2009.
Jhonas Enroth:
- Represented Sweden alongside Alexander Edler and Daniel Sedin at the 2014 Olympics.
- Played with Alexander Edler, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin for Team Sweden at the 2013 World Championship.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Yannick Weber for the Montreal Canadiens from 2009-2013.
Zemgus Girgensons:
- Girgensons (1994) and Eddie Lack (1988) were both born on Jan. 5.
Josh Gorges:
- Played with Chris Higgins for the Montreal Canadiens from 2007-2009.
- Played with Yannick Weber for the Montreal Canadiens from 2009-2013.
Cody Hodgson:
- Hodgson, Frank Corrado and Christopher Tanev were all born in Toronto, Ontario.
Andrej Meszaros:
- Played with Radim Vrbata for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2008-09 season.
Torrey Mitchell:
- Mitchell (1985) and Luca Sbisa (1990) were both born on Jan. 30.
Matt Moulson:
- Played with Brad Richardson for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2008-09 season.
Drew Stafford:
- Played with Chris Higgins for Team USA at the 2009 World Championship.
Chris Stewart:
- Hodgson, Frank Corrado and Christopher Tanev were all born in Toronto, Ontario.
Tyson Strachan:
- Played with Shawn Matthias for the Florida Panthers from 2011-2013.
NHL Draft:
- Tyson Strachan (137th overall) and Brad Richardson (163rd overall) were both selected in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL Draft.
- Jhonas Enroth, Mike Weber, Michal Neuvirth and Shawn Matthias were all drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft. Neuvirth was taken by Washington with the 34th overall pick, Enroth was the 46th overall selection, Matthias was selected by Detroit with the 47th overall selection and Weber was the 57th overall selection.
- Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson and Luca Sbisa were all selected in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft. Hodgson was selected 10th overall by Vancouver, Myers was the 12th overall pick, Sbisa was selected by Philadelphia 19th overall and Ennis was chosen 26th overall.
- Marcus Foligno (104th overall) and Linden Vey (96th overall) were both taken in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall), Nikita Zadorov (16th overall) and Bo Horvat (9th overall) were all first-round picks in the 2013 NHL Draft. Zadorov and Horvat were also teammates with the London Knights (OHL) from 2012-2014.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (158), Girgensons/Weber (97), Foligno (92)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (131), Myers (88), Weber (87)
Shots: Ennis (116), Moulson (90), Girgensons (89)
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: 2-7-1 (5), 21/44, 4/27, 19/31
41-50: 0-9-0 (0), 15/38, 4/23, 24/33
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-2; 98-100 all-time)
October 30 vs. Boston: L, 3-2 (GDG-Marchand, 1:20)
December 13 vs. Florida: W, 4-3 (GDG-Zadorov, 0:29)
December 21 at Boston: L, 4-3 (Eriksson, 2:14)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (6-1; 63-47 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)
December 27 vs. NY Islanders: W, 4-3 (GDG-Ennis)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Points
Brian Gionta … 2 points … 500 career points
Torrey Mitchell … 2 points … 100 career points
Tyler Ennis … 5 points … 200 career points
Matt Moulson … 5 points … 300 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Josh Gorges … 600th NHL game … Jan. 29 at EDM
