Game Preview: 3/14/15 vs. NYR

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Wednesday, March 11
Buffalo 3 at Toronto 4 (SO)
Goals: Larsson, Ennis, Moulson
Goalie: Lindback (31 saves/34 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 4/5; Shots: Toronto 34 – Buffalo 33

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 252)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (lower body, Jan. 13; injured reserve) – 24 games
Josh Gorges (lower body, Feb. 15; injured reserve) – 12 games
Patrick Kaleta (lower body, Feb. 15; injured reserve) – 12 games
Evander Kane (shoulder, Feb. 15; injured reserve) – 12 games
Zemgus Girgensons (lower body, Feb. 26; injured reserve) – 6 games
Chad Johnson (lower body, March 6) – 3 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, March 16: Washington at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 17: Buffalo at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 20: New Jersey at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 21: Buffalo at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Monday, March 23: Buffalo at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
RANGERS at SABRES

• This is the third and final meetings between the Sabres and Rangers this season.
• Last meeting: New York defeated Buffalo, 3-1, in Buffalo on Feb. 20
• The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Rangers; 3-6-1 at home.
• This is the 171st game all-time between Buffalo and New York; Buffalo has a 78-59-33 series record.
• The Sabres are 47-26-13 at home against the Rangers all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 10-8-2 all-time on March 14.
• March 14, 1971: Ron Anderson scores 55 seconds after the opening faceoff in a 5-0 win at Minnesota.
• March 14, 2001: Steve Heinze earns the first star with a goal and an assist as the Sabres sweep the season series with a 6-3 home win against the Rangers.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Buffalo needs a win tonight to avoid the team’s first seven-game losing streak to the Rangers since March 23, 1971 to March 2, 1972.
• The Rangers are seeking their first-ever four-game winning streak in Buffalo.
• Tyler Ennis has 13 points (4+9) in 16 career games against the Rangers, including two of his 10 career three-point games (4/6/10 and 3/23/12).
• Brian Gionta (18+19) leads all Sabres with 37 career points against the Rangers, including nine (5+4) in his last 10 games against New York.
• Nicolas Deslauriers ranked ninth in the league with 215 hits entering play Friday.

MILESTONE NIGHT FOR LINDBACK
If he plays tonight, Anders Lindback will log his 100th NHL game. He enters the game with a 36-45-6 career record, with a .902 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average. Since joining the Sabres on Feb. 11, Lindback has appeared in four games, logging a .914 save percentage and a 3.16 goals-against average.

10 IN 10
Matt Moulson has 10 points (2+8) in his last 10 games, dating back to Feb. 19. He has eight points (1+7) in his last nine home games, including points in each of his last three games at First Niagara Center. Moulson hasn’t gone scoreless in consecutive home games since Jan. 13 and 15.

BIG MINUTES FOR BOGOSIAN
After becoming the first player to lead the team in ice time in his Sabres debut since Jaroslav Spacek (10/4/06) on Feb. 15 vs. PHI, Zach Bogosian has led the team in nine of the next 11 games as well, including a career-high 32:23 on Feb. 19 at PHI. Bogosian has averaged 26:44 of ice time in 12 games with the Sabres, logging four assists, 23 shots, 47 hits and 28 blocked shots.

TRADE DEADLINE RECAP
A list of players and picks traded to and from the Sabres on deadline day:

FINISHING STRONG AFTER THE BREAK
Buffalo is 550-415-189 (.558) all-time in games after the All-Star break. This includes a record of 99-62-27 (.598) in those games since 2005-06. The Sabres are 5-12-3 since the 2015 NHL All-Star Game. These totals do not include games after breaks for the Olympic Games.

BUF-NYR CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:

• Dominic Moore was a member of the Sabres for part of the 2008-09 season, contributing four points (1+3) in 18 games.

Local Players:

• Dan Girardi was born in Welland, Ontario.

Ted Nolan:

• Coached Keith Yandle for the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) during the 2005-06 season.

Andre Benoit:

• Played with Matt Hunwick for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2013-14 season.

Zach Bogosian:

• Played with Tanner Glass for the Winnipeg Jets during the 2011-12 season.

Brian Gionta:

• Played with Dominic Moore for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season.

Cody Hodgson:

• Played under Alain Vigneault for the Vancouver Canucks from 2010-2012.
• Played with Tanner Glass for the Vancouver Canucks during the 2010-11 season.

Johan Larsson:

• Played with Jesper Fast for Team Sweden at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo.

Anders Lindback:

• Played with Martin St. Louis for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2012-2014.
• Played with Kevin Klein for the Nashville Predators from 2010-2012.

Andrej Meszaros:

• Played with Martin St. Louis for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-2010.

NHL Draft:

• Matt Moulson (263rd overall) and Tanner Glass (265th overall) were both chosen in the ninth round of the 2003 NHL Draft.
• Zach Dalpe (45th overall) and Derek Stepan (51st overall) were both second round draft choices in the 2008 NHL Draft.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (215), Bogosian (153), Weber (147)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (148), Weber (124), Ristolainen (103)
Shots: Ennis (151), Moulson (126), Girgensons (115)

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: 0-10-0 (0), 17/43, 6/29, 26/37
51-60: 3-5-2 (8), 16/23, 3/27, 26/32
61-70: 2-4-1 (5), 19/26, 1/14, 16/23

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 (7-4; 64-50 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)
February 17 at New Jersey: L, 2-1 (GDG-Gomez)
February 19 at Philadelphia: W, 3-2 (GDG-Flynn)
February 22 vs. Nashville: L, 2-1 (GDG-Forsberg)
March 11 at Toronto: L, 4-3 (GDG-Bozak)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Anders Lindback … 1 game … 100 career games played
Rasmus Ristolainen … 2 games … 100 career games played
Mike Weber … 4 games … 300 career games played
Assists
Zach Bogosian … 9 assists … 100 career assists

RECENT MILESTONES
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