GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Monday, December 7
Buffalo 2 at Vancouver 5
Goals: Gionta, Reinhart
Goalie: Ullmark (26 saves/31 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 5/6; Shots: Buffalo 34 – Vancouver 31
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 134)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 28 games
Robin Lehner (high ankle sprain, Oct. 10; injured reserve) – 27 games
Mark Pysyk (bone bruise, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 10 games
Tyler Ennis (upper body, Nov. 25; injured reserve) – 7 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/5: Recalled F Cal O’Reilly from Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Dec. 12: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 14: Buffalo at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 15: New Jersey at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 17: Anaheim at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 19: Chicago at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at FLAMES
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Flames this season.
- Last meeting: Calgary defeated Buffalo, 4-1, in Calgary on Jan. 27
- Next meeting: Thursday, March 3 in Buffalo
- The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Flames; 2-7-1 on the road.
- This is the 102nd game all-time between Buffalo and Calgary/Atlanta; Buffalo has a 49-35-17 series record.
- The Sabres are 18-22-11 on the road against the Flames all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-7-1 all-time on December 10.
- December 10, 1989: Dave Andreychuk records his 500th NHL point in a 4-3 win vs. Washington. Andreychuk, who ranks second in Sabres history with 804 points, is one of just nine Sabres player to record 500 points with the team.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Tonight’s game is the final game in a three-game western swing. The team will return home to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
- The Sabres are seeking their first win in Calgary since Oct. 18, 2003 and will look to avoid their first ever six-game losing streak in Calgary/Atlanta.
- Ryan O’Reilly (21:49) leads all NHL forwards in average ice time per game and Evander Kane (21:10) ranks third.
TORCHING THE FLAMES
- Matt Moulson has six goals in his last six games against the Flames.
- Evander Kane has five points (2+3) in five career games against Calgary
- Ryan O’Reilly has 10 points (3+7) in his last eight games against the Flames, including at least a point in each of his last three (1+4).
- Zemgus Girgensons has three points (1+2) in three career games against Calgary.
- David Legwand has five points (1+4) in his last five games against the Flames.
WHO’S HOT?
- Jamie McGinn is currently riding a career-best six-game point streak (2+5), topping his previous best streak (5) set from March 12 to 19, 2014 (3+4).
- Rasmus Ristolainen has 13 points (3+10) in his last 15 games.
- Evander Kane has seven points (5+2) in his last seven games.
- Ryan O’Reilly has seven points (2+5) in his last seven games, including at least a point in each of his last five games. O’Reilly also has six points (3+3) in his last six road games.
- Sam Reinhart has four goals in his last five games.
- Brian Gionta enters tonight’s game with a point in each of his last three road games (1+2).
GOING STREAKING
Jamie McGinn (six games) and Ryan O’Reilly (five games) own two of the longest active point streaks in the league:
|
Longest Active Point Streaks |
||||
| Rank | Player | Team | Games | Points |
| 1 | Patrick Kane | CHI | 23 | 37 (14G, 23A) |
| 2 | Jeff Carter | LAK | 7 | 7 (2G, 5A |
| T-3 | Jamie McGinn | BUF | 6 | 7 (2G, 5A) |
| T-3 | Nicklas Backstrom | WSH | 6 | 7 (2G, 5A) |
| T-5 | Roman Josi | NSH | 5 | 7 (3G, 4A) |
| T-5 | Ryan O’Reilly | BUF | 5 | 6 (2G, 4A) |
McGINN MAXIMIZING HIS OPPORTUNITIES
In the time since Jamie McGinn’s current point streak began on Nov. 27, McGinn has led all NHL players with 5.67 points per 60 minutes played (next highest: Valeri Nichushkin, 4.84 PTS/60). He now leads all Sabres with 2.55 PTS/60 (all situations) on the season. His seven total points during that stretch tied him for ninth-most among all NHL players since Nov. 27 entering play Wednesday:
|
Most Points Since Nov. 27 |
|||||
| Rank | Player | Team | GP | Points | PTS/60 |
| 1 | Patrick Kane | CHI | 6 | 9 (4G, 5A) | 4.05 |
| T-2 | Mike Hoffman | OTT | 6 | 8 (7G, 1A) | 3.97 |
| T-2 | Tyler Seguin | DAL | 6 | 8 (3G, 5A) | 3.95 |
| T-2 | Daniel Sedin | VAN | 7 | 8 (5G, 3A) | 3.56 |
| T-2 | Mike Cammalleri | NJD | 7 | 8 (4G, 4A) | 3.19 |
| T-2 | Shea Weber | NSH | 7 | 8 (3G, 5A) | 2.75 |
| T-2 | Roman Josi | NSH | 7 | 8 (3G, 5A) | 2.73 |
| T-2 | Erik Karlsson | OTT | 6 | 8 (1G, 7A) | 2.67 |
| T-8 | Jamie McGinn | BUF | 6 | 7 (2G, 5A) | 5.67 |
FAMILY TIES
- With Cal O’Reilly’s recall from the Rochester Americans, he and Ryan O’Reilly have a chance to become the second pair of brothers ever to play for the Sabres at the same time. The other pair, Bob and J.F. Sauve, played together from 1980-81 to 1982-83.
- The Sabres have had three other pairs of siblings who both played for the team, but never in the same season: Randy and Mike Moller, James and Steve Patrick, Darryl and Darrin Shannon
YOUNG GUNS
- With a combined 17 goals through Buffalo’s first 28 games, Jack Eichel (9) and Sam Reinhart (8) 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 (9+5) and Reinhart (8+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 play Wednesday, Rasmus Ristolainen ranked in the top 16 among NHL defensemen in goals (T-16th, 4), assists (T-9th, 14), points (T-10th, 18), shots (T-9th, 71) 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.
- With 18 points (4+14) in 28 games, Ristolainen is on pace for 53 points this season. If he reaches the 50-point mark, Ristolainen would be the first Sabres defenseman with 50 points in a season since Garry Galley (1995-96) and the youngest to reach that mark since Phil Housley.
STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE
- Of the 477 NHL players who have played at least 20 games this season, only seven have zero penalty minutes. Rasmus Ristolainen is one of those seven players.
- Ristolainen (38 games) is on the longest penalty-free streak of his career.
- Ristolainen averages 24:10 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 20 games played and no penalty minutes.
(Stats as of 12/9)
QUICK DRAW McGRAW
- Ryan O’Reilly (59.2%) was ranked fourth in the league in faceoff percentage before Wednesday’s games. O’Reilly ranked first in the league with 682 faceoffs taken, accounting for 40.7% of Buffalo’s total faceoffs.
- O’Reilly’s 67.2% win percentage on the power play (78-for-116) ranks first in the league among all players with at least 50 power-play faceoffs taken. He has taken 69.5% of Buffalo’s power-play faceoffs.
THEY’VE GOT THE POWER
- The Sabres are 19-for-89 (21.3%) on the power play this season, ranked eighth in the league entering play Wednesday. Buffalo 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 15 of their first 28 games this season, posting a 5-9-1 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 12 of the team’s 28 games this season, going 4-7-1 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-CGY CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Dennis Wideman was originally drafted by the Sabres in the eighth round (241st overall) of the 2002 NHL Draft, but did not play any games as a member of the club.
Dan Bylsma:
- Coached Deryk Engelland for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2009-2014
Zach Bogosian:
- Played with Michael Frolik for the Winnipeg Jets from 2013-2015.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Colaiacovo, Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton were all born in Toronto, Ontario.
- Played with Matt Stajan for the Toronto maple Leafs from 2002-2008.
Marcus Foligno:
- Foligno (1991) and David Jones (1984) were both born on Aug. 10.
Cody Franson:
- Teammates with Joel Colborne for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011-2013 and with Mason Raymond for the Maple Leafs during the 2013-14 season.
Chad Johnson:
- Teammates with Matt Giordano, Mason Raymond and Kris Russell for Team Canada at the 2010 World Championship.
- Played with Dougie Hamilton for the Boston Bruins during the 2013-14 season.
Evander Kane:
- Played with Michael Frolik for the Winnipeg Jets from 2013-2015.
- Teammates with Kris Russell for Team Canada at the 2012 World Championship.
Jake McCabe:
- Represented the United States alongside Johnny Gaudreau at the 2014 World Championship.
Jamie McGinn:
- Played with David Jones for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2012-13 season.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Played with David Jones for the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2013.
- Teammates with Kris Russell for Team Canada at the 2012 World Championship.
- Played with TJ Brodie for Team Canada at the 2013 World Championship.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- Played with Markus Granlund for Team Finland at the 2013 World Junior Championship.
NHL Draft:
- Matt Moulson (263rd overall) and David Jones (288th overall) were both chosen in the ninth round of the 2003 NHL Draft.
- Cody Franson (79th overall) and Kris Russell (67th overall) were both third-round picks in the 2005 NHL Draft. Both players were also teammates for Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
- Zach Bogosian (3rd overall) and Joe Colborne (16th overall) were both selected in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall) and Sean Monahan (6th overall) were both selected in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft.
- Sam Reinhart (2nd overall) was taken two picks before Sam Bennett (4th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (72), McGinn (62), Foligno (61)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (71), Ristolainen (46), McCabe (29)
Shots: Eichel (92), Ristolainen (71), O’Reilly (69)
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: 3-40-1 (7), 24/23, 5/24, 18/21
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
Jamie McGinn … 6 games … 400 career games played
Johan Larsson … 7 games … 100 career games played
Goals
Ryan O’Reilly … 1 goal … 100 career goals
Tyler Ennis … 8 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Zach Bogosian … 4 assists … 100 career assists
Josh Gorges … 6 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
Matt Moulson … 500th NHL game … Dec. 4 vs. ARI
