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LAST GAME
Tuesday, December 1
Buffalo 4 at Detroit 5 (SO)
Goals: Kane (2), Girgensons, Bogosian
Goalie: Ullmark (42 saves/46 shots)
PP: 2/5; PK: 1/2; Shots: Detroit 46 – Buffalo 32
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 120)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 25 games
Robin Lehner (high ankle sprain, Oct. 10; injured reserve) – 24 games
Mike Weber (knee, Nov. 10) – 11 games
Mark Pysyk (bone bruise, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 7 games
Tyler Ennis (upper body, Nov. 25; injured reserve) – 4 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/3: Assigned F Tim Schaller to Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, Dec. 6: Buffalo at Edmonton, 8 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 7: Buffalo at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 10: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 12: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 14: Buffalo at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
COYOTES at SABRES
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Coyotes this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Arizona, 4-1, in Arizona on March 30
- Next meeting: Monday, Jan. 18 in Arizona
- The Sabres are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Coyotes; 3-5-2 at home.
- This is the 73rd game all-time between Buffalo and Arizona; Buffalo has a 42-21-9 series record.
- The Sabres are 23-7-7 at home against the Coyotes all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 9-8-3 all-time on December 4.
- December 4, 1975: Jerry Korab scores six seconds into the third period in a 6-6 tie against the New York Rangers at the Aud.
- December 4, 1977: Andre Savard scores the 2,000th goal in franchise history in a 6-1 win vs. Detroit.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres enter tonight’s game having scored four goals in each of their last three games. With four goals tonight, the team would have four or more goals in four consecutive games (same season) for the first time since they did it in five straight from Feb. 20 to March 2, 2007.
- If he is in the lineup, tonight will be Matt Moulson’s 500th NHL game. He will be the first player to reach that milestone as a member of the Sabres since Drew Stafford did so on March 11, 2014.
- Ryan O’Reilly (21:50) led all NHL forwards in average ice time per game entering play Thursday and Evander Kane (20:59) ranked third. O’Reilly skated a career-high 26:14 on Tuesday at Detroit.
COYOTE KILLERS
- David Legwand has at least a point in each of his last five games against the Coyotes, totaling nine points (3+6) in those five games.
- Brian Gionta has 10 points (4+6) in his last eight games against the Coyotes, including two points in each matchup last season.
- Ryan O’Reilly has seven points (3+4) in his last seven games against Arizona, including at least a point in each of the last four.
- Zemgus Girgensons has three points (1+2) in two career games against the Coyotes.
- Matt Moulson had an assist in both matchups with Arizona last season and has four points (0+4) in his last five games against the Coyotes.
- Rasmus Ristolainen has scored in each of his two career matchups with the Coyotes.
WHO’S HOT?
- Jamie McGinn is on his first three-game point streak (1+3) since he had points in four straight from April 5 to 10, 2014 (1+3).
- Evander Kane enters tonight’s game having recorded two straight two-point games for the first time since he recorded three consecutive two-point games from Jan. 22 to 27, 2013.
- Matt Moulson enters tonight’s game looking for his first four-game point streak since he had points in eight straight from Jan. 28 to March 9, 2014 and his first four-game assist streak since he had assists in six straight from March 9 to 21, 2013.
- Rasmus Ristolainen tied his single game high in assists and points (0+3) on Tuesday at Detroit. Ristolainen has 12 points (3+9) in his last 12 games.
- Ryan O’Reilly has four points (1+3) in his last four games.
- Jack Eichel has scored a goal in each of his last two home games.
- Chad Johnson logged a 3-1-1 record with a .954 save percentage and a 1.28 goals-against average in seven appearances in November.
YOUNG GUNS
- With a combined 14 goals through Buffalo’s first 25 games, Jack Eichel (8) and Sam Reinhart (6) are currently on pace to become the second pair of rookies in Sabres history to each record 20 goals in the same season. The other pair was Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) in 1974-75.
- If they maintain their current pace, Eichel (8+4) and Reinhart (6+3) would also be the first pair of Sabres rookies to surpass the 30-point mark since Thomas Vanek (48) and Jason Pominville (30) did so in 2005-06.
FINNISHING TOUCH
Entering Thursday night’s games, Rasmus Ristolainen ranked in the top 15 among NHL defensemen in goals (T-12th, 4), assists (T-8th, 13), points (10th, 17), shots (T-9th, 65) and multi-point games (T-5th, 5). He is the first Sabres defenseman to record five or more multi-point games in a season since Christian Ehrhoff had six in 2011-12.
STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE
- Of the 441 NHL players who have played at least 20 games this season, only eight have zero penalty minutes. The Sabres are the only team with two players among these eight: Rasmus Ristolainen and Johan Larsson
- Both Ristolainen (35 games) and Larsson (26 games) are on the longest penalty-free streaks of their careers.
- Ristolainen averages 24:14 of ice time per game. He the only NHL player with an average above 20 minutes per game and zero penalty minutes this season.
- Ristolainen is one of just three NHL defensemen (Brian Dumoulin, Matt Tennyson) with at least 15 games played and no penalty minutes.
(All stats as of 12/3)
QUICK DRAW McGRAW
- Entering Thursday night’s games, Ryan O’Reilly (59.3%) was ranked fourth in the league in faceoff percentage. O’Reilly also ranked third in the league with 594 faceoffs taken, accounting for 40.1% of Buffalo’s total faceoffs.
- O’Reilly’s2% win percentage on the power play (74-for-104) ranked second in the league among all players with at least 25 power-play faceoffs taken. He has taken 69.3% of Buffalo’s power-play faceoffs.
THEY’VE GOT THE POWER
The Sabres are 18-for-80 (22.5%) on the power play this season, ranked fifth in the league entering play Thursday. The Sabres last finished a season above 20 percent on the power play in 2008-09 (21.0%).
OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS
The Sabres have outshot their opponents in 12 of their first 25 games this season, posting a 4-7-1 record in those games. Last season, the team finished the season 5-5-0 in 10 total games when outshooting their opponent.
POSSESSION PROGRESSION
The Sabres have led their opponent in even-strength shot attempts (corsi) in 10 of the team’s 25 games this season, going 3-6-1 in those games. Buffalo only led their opponents in even-strength shot attempts eight times throughout the entire 2014-15 season, going 3-5-0 in those eight games. (Data courtesy of war-on-ice.com)
BUF-ARI CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- John Scott scored one goal and had 194 penalty minutes in 90 games for the Sabres from 2012-2014.
- Anders Lindback played 16 games for Buffalo during the 2014-15 season, posting a 4-8-2 record with a .924 save percentage and a 2.76 goals-against average.
Former Coyotes:
- Chad Johnson played four games for Arizona during the 2012-13 season, posting a 2-0-2 record with a .954 save percentage and a 1.21 goals-against average.
Dan Bylsma:
- Coached Dustin Jeffrey for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2009-2014. He also coached Zbynek Michalek for the Penguins during the 2011-12 season.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Played with Antoine Vermette for Team Canada at the 2011 World Championship.
- Teammates with Nicklas Grossmann for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2014-15 season.
Jack Eichel:
- Represented the United States alongside Connor Murphy at the 2015 World Championship.
Tyler Ennis:
- He and John Scott were both born in Edmonton, Alberta.
- Represented Canada alongside Mike Smith at the 2015 World Championship.
Cody Franson:
- Played with Steve Downie for Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
- Teammates with Anders Lindback for the Nashville Predators during the 2011-12.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Kyle Chipchura for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2009-10 season.
Josh Gorges
- Played with Kyle Chipchura for the Montreal Canadiens from 2007-2010.
Chad Johnson:
- Represented Canada alongside Steve Downie at the 2010 World Championship.
Evander Kane:
- He and Stefan Elliott were both born in Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Represented Canada alongside Steve Downie at the 2010 World Championship.
- Played with Antoine Vermette for Team Canada at the 2011 World Championship.
David Legwand:
- Teammates with Anders Lindback for the Nashville Predators from 2010-2012.
Jake McCabe:
- Represented the United States alongside Connor Murphy at the 2013 World Junior Championship and the 2014 World Championship.
Jamie McGinn:
- Played with Steve Downie for the Colorado Avalanche from 2012-2014.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Played with Steve Downie for the Colorado Avalanche from 2011-2014.
- Represented Canada alongside Mike Smith at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships.
Sam Reinhart:
- Played with Max Domi and Anthony Duclair for Team Canada at the 2015 World Junior Championship where Canada won the gold medal and Reinhart and Domi were named to the tournament All-Star team.
NHL Draft:
- Zach Bogosian (3rd overall), Tyler Ennis (26th overall) and Mikkel Boedker (8th overall) were all chosen in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft.
- Evander Kane (4th overall) was taken two picks before Oliver Ekman-Larsson (6th overall) in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Ryan O’Reilly (33rd overall) and Stefan Elliott (49th overall) were both first-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft. O’Reilly and Elliott also played together for the Colorado Avalanche from 2011-2015 and for Team Canada at the 2009 World U18 Championship.
- Jake McCabe (44th overall) and Jordan Martinook (58th overall) were both second-round picks in the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall) and Max Domi (12th overall) were both taken in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (67), McGinn (57), Gorges (51)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (64), Ristolainen (41), McCabe (29)
Shots: Eichel (82), Ristolainen (65), O’Reilly (62)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 3-7-0 (6), 23/32, 9/35, 19/27
11-20: 5-3-2 (12), 21/21, 5/27, 23/29
21-30: 2-2-1 (5), 15/12, 4/15, 8/10
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-1; 99-102 all-time)
Oct. 27 at PHI: W, 4-3 (GWG-Girgensons)
Nov. 14 vs. SJS: L, 2-1 (GWG-Marleau)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-2; 66-53 all-time)
Oct. 21 vs. TOR: W, 2-1 (GDG-Moulson)
Nov. 19 at STL: L, 3-2 (GDG-Steen)
Dec. 1 at DET: L, 5-4 (GDG-Richards)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Matt Moulson … 1 game … 500 career games played
Jamie McGinn … 9 games … 400 career games played
Goals
Ryan O’Reilly … 2 goals … 100 career goals
Tyler Ennis … 8 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Zach Bogosian … 5 assists … 100 career assists
Josh Gorges … 7 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
