GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
N/A
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 0)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zach Bogosian (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 0 games
Josh Gorges (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 0 games
Brendan Guhle (upper body, Oct. 9; injured reserve0 – 0 games
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 0 games
Bobby Sanguinetti (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 0 games
Linus Ullmark (lower body, Oct. 9; injured reserve) – 0 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/2: Assigned F William Carrier, F Evan Rodrigues, F Tim Schaller, D Jerome Leduc (pending waivers), D Chad Ruhwedel (pending waivers) and G Nathan Lieuwen to Rochester (AHL); Released F Matt Ellis and F Patrick Kaleta from PTOs.
10/3: Assigned F Jason Akeson to Rochester (AHL).
10/4: Assigned F Cal O’Reilly to Rochester (AHL).
10/6: Placed F Cody McCormick, D Zach Bogosian, D Josh Gorges, D Brendan Guhle, D Bobby Sanguinetti and G Linus Ullmark on IR.
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Oct. 10: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 12: Columbus at Buffalo, 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 15: Buffalo at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 17: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 21: Toronto at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SENATORS at SABRES
- This is the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Senators this season.
- Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 26 in Ottawa
- The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Senators; 5-2-3 at home
- This is the 125th game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa; Buffalo has a 59-48-17 series record.
- The Sabres are 33-21-7 at home against the Senators all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 4-5-3 all-time on October 8.
- October 8, 1972: Tim Horton makes his Sabres debut in a 5-3 win at home against the Atlanta Flames.
- October 8, 1992: Dominik Hasek makes his first Sabres appearance, starting in the team’s season-opener at home, a 5-4 loss to the Quebec Nordiques.
- October 8, 2010: The Sabres opened their season with a 2-1 win at Ottawa. Derek Roy scored both goals for the Sabres, with Tyler Ennis logging two assists.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are opening the season with three consecutive home games for the second time in franchise history (1975-76).
- Dan Bylsma makes his Sabres coaching debut tonight. The Sabres have an all-time record of 10-6-1 in the first game with a new head coach.
- Buffalo and Ottawa have had 11 of their last 14 matchups decided by a single goal.
- Seven of the last eight meetings between the teams in Buffalo have been decided by one goal; five have gone to overtime.
- The Sabres are 8-4 all-time in shootouts against the Senators. Their 12 shootouts against Ottawa tie their totals against Boston and New Jersey for most against a single opponent.
- Brian Gionta leads all Sabres with 30 points (18+12) in 45 career games against the Senators.
- Mike Weber has seven points (1+6) in 23 career games against the Senators, his highest total against any team.
OPENING NIGHT
- Tonight marks the 45th season-opener in Buffalo Sabres franchise history
- The Sabres are 24-16-4 all-time in season-openers; 17-7-4 when opening at home
- Buffalo is 21-17-6 all-time in home-openers
- The Sabres have opened their season against the Senators twice in franchise history. Both games (1995-96 and 2010-11) were Sabres wins in Ottawa.
- The Sabres have opened their home schedule against Ottawa once in franchise history, a 1-0 loss on Oct. 4, 2013.
A NEW LOOK
- As many as 10 players could make their Sabres regular-season debuts tonight: Carlo Colaiacovo, Matt Donovan, Jack Eichel, Cody Franson, Chad Johnson, Evander Kane, David Legwand, Robin Lehner, Jamie McGinn, Ryan O’Reilly
- Barring any late roster moves, at least six of these players will appear in tonight’s game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Sabres had at least six players make their Sabres debut in the team’s season-opener was in 1986-87 (Christian Ruuttu, Clark Gillies, Jim Korn, Ken Priestlay, Scott Arniel, Shawn Anderson and Wilf Paiement).
- Only nine of the 20 Sabres players who dressed for the first game of the 2014-15 season appear on the team’s 2015-16 opening day roster. Only five players on this year’s opening day roster suited up for the team in the season-opener two years ago: Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Mark Pysyk, Rasmus Ristolainen, Mike Weber
OPENING HIS ACCOUNT EARLY
Zemgus Girgensons has scored the Sabres’ first goal of the season in each of his first two NHL seasons. He is the only player in Sabres history to accomplish that feat. With a goal tonight, he would be the third player in franchise history to score in at least three consecutive season-openers, joining Dave Andreychuk (1982-83 to 1985-86) and Gilbert Perreault (1983-84 to 1986-87), who each scored in four straight.
A FRESH FACE
If he dresses for tonight’s game, Jack Eichel will become the eighth 18-year-old ever to dress for the Sabres and the fifth to do so on opening day. The Sabres have had an 18-year-old in the opening day lineup each of the last three years (2014-15: Sam Reinhart; 2013-14: Rasmus Ristolainen; 2012-13: Mikhail Grigorenko).
YOUNGEST SABRES DEBUTS
| Player | Season | Age | First Game |
| Pierre Turgeon | 1987-88 | 18 years, 41 days | 10/8/87 vs. Minnesota |
| Nikita Zadorov | 2013-14 | 18 years, 187 days | 10/19/13 vs. Colorado |
| Jay McKee | 1995-96 | 18 years, 215 days | 4/10/96 vs. Ottawa |
| Mikhail Grigorenko | 2012-13 | 18 years, 249 days | 1/20/13 vs. Philadelphia |
| Wayne Primeau | 1994-95 | 18 years, 333 days | 5/3/95 vs. New Jersey |
| Sam Reinhart | 2014-15 | 18 years, 338 days | 10/9/14 vs. Columbus |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | 2013-14 | 18 years, 340 days | 10/2/13 at Detroit |
| Jack Eichel* | 2015-16 | 18 years, 346 days | 10/8/15 vs. Ottawa |
*If he dresses
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
The 22 players on the Sabres’ opening day roster have combined to play 5,914 NHL games, 56 more than last year’s 23-man opening day roster had between them. The average Sabres skater entering the 2015-16 season has played 14 more NHL games than his counterpart from last season and 46 more games than his 2013-14 counterpart.
2015 PRESEASON
- Buffalo finished the preseason with a 4-3-0 record; 1-2-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road
- Jack Eichel led all Sabres and tied for ninth in the league with six points (2+4) in four preseason games, including a league-high two shorthanded goals.
- Sam Reinhart tied for fifth in the league with five assists in five games.
- The Sabres ranked fourth in the league with 26 goals, including a league-high five shorthanded goals.
2015-16 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 22 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:
- Nine were originally drafted by the Sabres — six were first-round Buffalo selections (Ennis, 2008; Pysyk, 2010; Girgensons, 2012; Ristolainen, 2013; Reinhart, 2014; Eichel, 2015), two were second-round picks (Weber, 2006; McCabe, 2012) and one was a fourth-round pick (Foligno, 2009)
- Eight were acquired in trades: Deslauriers, Johnson, Kane, Larsson, Legwand, Lehner, McGinn, O’Reilly
- Five were signed as free agents: Colaiacovo, Donovan, Franson, Gionta, Moulson
- 12 played in Buffalo at some point last season
- Eight are new to the Sabres this season: Colaiacovo, Donovan, Eichel, Franson, Legwand, Lehner, McGinn, O’Reilly
- Two are opening the season on an NHL roster for the first time in their careers: Eichel, McCabe
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:
- David Legwand and Robin Lehner were both acquired via trade from the Senators on June 26, 2015. Lehner was drafted by the Senators in the second round (46th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft and went 30-36-13 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against average in 86 games played for Ottawa. Legwand spent one season (2014-15) with the Senators and had 27 points (9+18) and a plus-1 rating in 80 games.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Represented Team Canada alongside Marc Methot at the 2011 World Championship.
Nicolas Deslauriers:
- Played with Jean-Gabriel Pageau for the Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) during the 2010-11 season.
Matt Donovan:
- Played at the University of Denver (WCHA) with Patrick Wiercioch during the 2009-2010 season.
Jack Eichel:
- Played with Matt O’Connor at Boston University during the 2014-15 season.
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.
Cody Franson:
- Played with Clarke MacArthur for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011-2013.
Chad Johnson:
- Johnson and Jared Cowen were both born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Johan Larsson:
- Represented Team Sweden alongside Erik Karlsson at the 2012 World Championship.
Jamie McGinn:
- Played with Milan Michalek for the San Jose Sharks during the 2008-09 season.
Mark Pysyk:
- Played with Curtis Lazar for the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) from 2010-2012.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Played alongside Craig Anderson for the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2011.
Sam Reinhart:
- Represented Team Canada alongside Curtis Lazar at the 2014 and 2015 World Junior Championships. Reinhart tied for the tournament lead with 11 points (5+6) and Lazar served as team captain as Canada took the gold medal at the tournament.
NHL Draft:
- Tyler Ennis and Erik Karlsson were drafted in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft. Karlsson was selected 15th overall and Ennis was drafted with the 26th overall pick.
- Tonight’s game features three second-round picks from the 2009 NHL Draft. Ryan O’Reilly was selected 33rd overall by Colorado, Alex Chiasson was taken 38th overall by Dallas, and Robin Lehner went 46th overall to Ottawa.
- Marcus Foligno (104th overall) and Chris Wideman (100th overall) were both selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Cody Ceci (15th overall) were taken one pick apart in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen and Curtis Lazar were both first-round picks in the 2013 NHL Draft. Ristolainen was selected eight overall and Lazar was taken 11 picks later at 17th overall.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: N/A
Blocked Shots: N/A
Shots: N/A
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 0-0-0 (0), 0/0, 0/0, 0/0
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 98-101 all-time)
N/A
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 65-51 all-time)
N/A
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Nicolas Deslauriers … 1 game … 100 career games played
Marcus Foligno … 8 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Ryan O’Reilly … 10 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Zach Bogosian … 6 assists … 100 career assists
Josh Gorges … 10 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
