GAME-DAY RESOURCES
| Game Notes | NHL Stats | Press Clips |
LAST GAME
Saturday, October 10
Tampa Bay 4 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Deslauriers
Goalie: Johnson (27 saves/31 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 0/3; Shots: Tampa Bay 31 – Buffalo 25
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 12)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zach Bogosian (lower body, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 2 games
Brendan Guhle (upper body, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 2 games
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 2 games
Bobby Sanguinetti (lower body, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 2 games
Brian Gionta (lower body, Oct. 8) – 2 games
Robin Lehner (lower body, Oct. 10) – 1 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/6: Placed F Cody McCormick, D Zach Bogosian, D Josh Gorges, D Brendan Guhle, D Bobby Sanguinetti and G Linus Ullmark on IR
10/8: Activated D Josh Gorges from IR
10/10: Recalled G Nathan Lieuwen from Rochester (AHL); Activated G Linus Ullmark from IR, assigned Ullmark and D Jake McCabe to Rochester; Placed G Robin Lehner on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Friday, Oct. 23: Montreal at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24: New Jersey at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TODAY’S GAME
BLUE JACKETS at SABRES
- This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Blue Jackets this season.
- Next meeting: Friday, Feb. 19 in Columbus
- The Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Blue Jackets; 4-5-1 at home
- This is the 21st game all-time between Buffalo and Columbus; Buffalo has a 7-11-2 series record.
- The Sabres are 4-6-1 at home against the Lightning all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 6-8-3 all-time on October 12.
- October 12, 1971: Rick Martin scores his first NHL goal in a 4-1 loss at St. Louis.
- October 12, 1989: Mike Foligno appears in his 500th Sabres game. Foligno would finish his Sabres career with 664 games played, tying Ric Seiling for 10th-most in franchise history.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Today’s game is the second of 11 afternoon games for the Sabres this season; the next will be on Saturday, Nov. 7 against Vancouver at 1 p.m. at First Niagara Center.
- The Sabres are opening the season with three consecutive home games for the second time in franchise history (1975-76).
- Columbus has won the last three matchups between the teams in Buffalo.
- Tyler Ennis has seven points (2+5) in eight career games against the Blue Jackets.
- David Legwand leads all Sabres with 50 points (22+28) in 67 career games against Columbus, more points than he has against any other Eastern Conference opponent.
A NEW LOOK
- Nine players made their Sabres regular-season debuts in Thursday’s season-opener vs. OTT: Carlo Colaiacovo, Jack Eichel, Cody Franson, Chad Johnson, Evander Kane, David Legwand, Robin Lehner, Jamie McGinn and Ryan O’Reilly
- According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the most debuts the Sabres have ever had in a season-opener and the most since seven players did so in 1986-87 (Christian Ruuttu, Clark Gillies, Jim Korn, Ken Priestlay, Scott Arniel, Shawn Anderson and Wilf Paiement).
- Only 10 of the 20 Sabres players who dressed for the first game of the 2014-15 season appeared 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
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
Entering the season, the 23 players on the Sabres’ opening day roster had combined to play 6,520 NHL games, 662 more than last year’s opening-day roster had between them. The average Sabres skater entering the 2015-16 season had played 28 more NHL games than his counterpart from last season and 60 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-CBJ CONNECTIONS
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Played with Gregory Campbell for Team Canada at the 2003 World Junior Championship.
- He and David Clarkson were both born in Toronto, Ontario and played together for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2013-2015.
Tyler Ennis:
- He and Kevin Connauton were both born in Edmonton, Alberta.
- Cody Goloubef both represented Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship.
- He and David Savard were teammates at the 2015 World Championship for Team Canada.
Marcus Foligno:
- Nick Foligno is Marcus’ older brother. The two were born in Buffalo.
- Played with Ryan Johansen for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with David Clarkson for the New Jersey Devils from 2006-2009.
- Played with Rene Bourque for the Montreal Canadiens from 2011-2014.
Josh Gorges:
- Played with Rene Bourque for the Montreal Canadiens from 2011-2014.
Chad Johnson:
- He and Gregory Campbell played together for the Boston Bruins during the 2013-14 season.
- Played with Brandon Dubinsky for the New York Rangers from 2009-2011.
- Represented Team Canada alongside Rene Bourque at the 2010 World Championship.
Evander Kane:
- Represented Team Canada alongside Rene Bourque at the 2010 World Championship.
David Legwand:
- Played with Scott Hartnell for the Nashville Predators from 2000-2007.
Matt Moulson:
- Played with Jack Johnson for the Los Angeles Kings from 2007-2009.
Mike Weber:
- He and Brandon Saad both hail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
NHL Draft:
- Nicolas Deslauriers (84th overall by Los Angeles) was taken one pick after Kevin Connauton (83rd overall) in the third round of the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Marcus Foligno and David Savard were both chosen in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft. Savard went 94th overall, while Foligno was selected 10 picks later at 104th overall.
- Mark Pysyk and Ryan Johansen were both first round selections in the 2010 NHL Draft. Johansen was chosen fourth overall and Pysyk was taken with the 23rd overall pick.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Ryan Murray (2nd overall) were both chosen in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen and Alexander Wennberg were both drafted in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft. Ristolainen was the first off the board at No. 8 overall and Wennberg was taken with the 14th overall pick.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Kane (6), Deslauriers/McGinn (5)
Blocked Shots: Gorges/Colaiacovo (3), Foligno/Pysyk/Ristolainen (2)
Shots: Ennis (6), Girgensons/Kane/Ristolainen (5)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 0-2-0 (0), 2/7, 1/5, 3/3
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
Marcus Foligno … 6 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Ryan O’Reilly … 10 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Zach Bogosian … 6 assists … 100 career assists
Josh Gorges … 9 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
Nicolas Deslauriers … 100th NHL game … Oct. 8 vs. OTT
