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LAST GAME
Friday, January 8
Buffalo 1 at Chicago 3
Goals: O’Reilly
Goalie: Johnson (42 saves/44 shots); 1 ENG
PP: 0/2; PK: 1/1; Shots: Chicago 45 – Buffalo 29
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 186)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 41 games
Tyler Ennis (upper body, Dec. 31; injured reserve) – 4 games
Nicolas Deslauriers (lower body, Jan. 5; injured reserve) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/4: Recalled F Tim Schaller from Rochester (AHL)
1/5: Placed F Nicolas Deslauriers and F Tyler Ennis on IR
1/6: Activated G Robin Lehner from IR; Assigned Lehner to Rochester for a conditioning stint (AHL)
1/7: Activated D Mark Pysyk from IR; Assigned Pysyk to Rochester for a conditioning stint (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Jan. 12: Buffalo at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 15: Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 16: Washington at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 18: Buffalo at Arizona, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 20: Buffalo at Colorado, 10 p.m.
TODAY’S GAME
SABRES at JETS
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Jets this season.
- Next meeting: Saturday, March 26 in Buffalo
- Last meeting: Winnipeg defeated Buffalo, 5-1, in Winnipeg on Dec. 16, 2014
- The Sabres are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Jets; 2-6-2 on the road.
- This is the 56th game all-time between Buffalo and Winnipeg/Atlanta; Buffalo has a 22-22-11 series record.
- The Sabres are 7-13-7 on the road against the Jets/Thrashers all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-7-2 all-time on January 10.
- January 8, 1974: Rene Robert and Rick Martin score each score in a 10-second span in the third period as the Sabres defeat the NY Rangers, 7-2, at the Aud.
- January 8, 1986: The Sabres get goals from seven different players, including two each from John Tucker and Dave Andreychuk, to earn the 600th win in franchise history (9-7 vs. Toronto).
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are looking for their first road win against the Jets/Thrashers franchise since Oct. 20, 2010 and their first win in the city of Winnipeg since Feb. 10, 1993.
- Chad Johnson has stopped 67 of 69 shots (.971 SV%, 0.92 GAA) in two career games against the Jets/Thrashers, both 2-1 shootout losses (Jan. 7, 2010 at ATL & April 10, 2014 at WPG).
- Jamie McGinn has a point in each of his last two games against Winnipeg (1+1).
- Evander Kane ranked seventh in the league entering Saturday night’s games with 3.7 shots per game.
- Entering play Saturday, Ryan O’Reilly (21:56) led all NHL forwards in average ice time per game and Evander Kane (20:59) ranked fourth.
JACK ATTACK
- Jack Eichel enters tonight’s game with 12 points (4+8) in his last nine games, a stretch that included a career-best, four-game point streak (2+4) from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5.
- If Eichel maintains his current pace, he’ll become the ninth Sabres rookie to record more than 50 points in a season and the first since Derek Plante (1993-94).
- Eichel entered play Saturday ranked in the top five among NHL rookies in goals (3rd, 13), assists (4th, 13), points (4th, 26), shots (1st, 131) and time on ice per game (4th, 18:59).
- Eichel recorded a season-high four points (2+2) on Dec. 26 at Boston, becoming the first rookie to tally four points in a game for the Sabres since Tyler Myers (1+3) on March 10, 2010 vs. Dallas. He was the second-youngest player ever to post a four-point game for the Sabres (Phil Housley, 18 years, Oct. 17, 1982 vs. Edmonton).
THE O’REILLY FACTOR
- Ryan O’Reilly has 18 points (10+8) in his last 18 games, a stretch that included an eight-game point streak from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14. The point streak tied the longest streak of O’Reilly’s
- O’Reilly (58.4%) ranked third in the league in faceoff percentage entering Saturday’s games. O’Reilly also led the league with 1,024 faceoffs taken, accounting for 41.7% of Buffalo’s total faceoffs.
- O’Reilly will become the 31st player in Sabres history to appear in the NHL All-Star Game when he plays in this year’s installment on Jan. 31 in Nashville.
FINNISHING TOUCH
- Entering Saturday’s games, Rasmus Ristolainen ranked in the top 15 among NHL defensemen in goals (T-11th, 7), assists (T-11th, 19), points (T-12th, 26), shots (9th, 105), time on ice per game (14th, 24:43) and multi-point games (T-8th, 6).
- Ristolainen is the first Sabres defenseman to record five or more multi-point games in a season since Christian Ehrhoff had six in 2011-12. Jordan Leopold (2010-11) was the last Sabres defenseman to record seven multi-point games.
- His four power-play goals are the most by a Sabres defenseman since 2010-11 (Jordan Leopold, 5).
- With 26 points (7+19) in 41 games, Ristolainen is on pace for 52 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.
JOHNNY ON THE SPOT
Chad Johnson has appeared in 16 games since the beginning of November, logging a 7-6-2 record with a .932 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average during that stretch. Johnson stopped a career-high 44 shots on Dec. 17 vs. Anaheim to earn his fourth career shutout, setting the Sabres’ franchise record for most saves in a regular-season shutout.
YOUNG GUNS
- If they maintain their current pace, Jack Eichel (13+13) and Sam Reinhart (9+7) would 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.
- Eichel (13) and Reinhart (9) are also nearly on pace to become the second pair of rookies in Sabres history to each record 20 goals in the same season. The first pair was Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) in 1974-75.
- If Eichel maintains his current pace, he will become the ninth Sabres rookie to record more than 50 points in a season. He would be the first since Derek Plante (1993-94) and the second-youngest to do so, trailing Phil Housley (1982-83).
OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS
The Sabres have outshot their opponents in 21 of their first 41 games this season, posting a 6-14-1 record in those games. Last season, the team finished the season 5-5-0 in 10 total games when outshooting their opponents.
POSSESSION PROGRESSION
The Sabres have led their opponent in even-strength shot attempts (corsi) in 17 of the team’s 41 games this season, going 6-9-2 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-WPG CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Joel Armia was taken in the first round (16th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft and played in one game for the Sabres during the 2014-15 season.
- Buffalo drafted Tyler Myers in the first round (12th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. Myers went on to win the Calder Trophy after the 2009-10 season, and finished his Sabres career with 151 points (45+106) in 365 games over six seasons.
- Adam Pardy played 17 games for the Sabres during the 2012-13 season, recording four points (0+4) and a plus-4 rating.
- Drew Stafford was Buffalo’s first-round selection (13th overall) in the 2004 NHL Draft and he went on to play in parts of nine seasons for the Sabres. He had 322 points (145+177) in 563 games during his Sabres career.
- The Sabres selected Chris Thorburn in the second round (50th overall) of the 2001 NHL Draft. He played two career games with the Sabres, totaling one assist and seven penalty minutes.
Former Jets:
- Zach Bogosian was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round (3rd overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. In seven seasons with Atlanta/Winnipeg, the defenseman had 127 points (40+84) in 393 games.
- The Thrashers selected Evander Kane with the fourth overall selection in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft. He went on to score 222 points (109+113) in 361 games for the Thrashers/Jets.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Played with Andrew Ladd for Team Canada at the 2011 World Championship.
Jack Eichel:
- Played with Andrew Copp for the United States at the 2014 World Junior Championship.
Cody Franson:
- Played with Bryan Little for Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
- Teammates with Matt Halischuk for the Nashville Predators during the 2010-11 season.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Matt Halischuk for the New Jersey Devils during the 2008-09 season.
Zemgus Girgensons:
- He and Mathieu Perreault share the same birth date. Perreault was born on Jan. 5, 1988 and Girgensons was born on Jan. 5, 1994.
Evander Kane:
- Played with Tyler Myers for Team Canada at the 2010 World Championship.
- Played with Andrew Ladd for Team Canada at the 2011 and 2012 World Championships.
David Legwand:
- Teammates with Matt Halischuk for the Nashville Predators from 2010-2013.
Jake McCabe:
- Played with Jacob Trouba for the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship and the 2014 World Championship.
Matt Moulson:
- He and Anthony Peluso were both born in North York, Ontario.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Teammates with Anthony Peluso for the Erie Otters (OHL) during the 2007-08 season.
- Played with Andrew Ladd for Team Canada at the 2012 and 2013 World Championships.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- Represented Finland alongside Joel Armia at the 2011 World U-18 Championship and the 2012 and 2013 World Junior Championships.
Mike Weber:
- Played with Bryan Little and Michael Hutchinson for the Barrie Colts during the 2006-07 season.
2009 World Juniors:
- Evander Kane and Tyler Myers won gold medals with the 2009 Canadian World Junior Championship team.
NHL Draft:
- Zach Bogosian and Tyler Myers were both taken in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft. Bogosian was taken 3rd overall and Myers was taken 12th overall.
- Marcus Foligno (104th overall) and Ben Chiarot (120th overall) were both fourth-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft. They were also teammates for the Sudbury Wolves (OHL) from 2009-2011.
- Mark Pysyk (23rd overall) and Alexander Burmistrov (8th overall) were both taken in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Jacob Trouba (9th overall) were both first-round selections in the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Sam Reinhart (2nd overall) and Nikolaj Ehlers (9th overall) were both first-round picks in the 2014 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (102), McGinn (90), Kane (81)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (95), Ristolainen (65), McCabe (48)
Shots: Eichel (132), Kane (115), Ristolainen (105)
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: 4-5-1 (9), 29/28, 8/29, 20/23
31-40: 3-6-1 (7), 20/27, 4/35, 17/21
41-50: 0-1-0 (0), 1/3, 0/2, 1/1
OVERTIME RESULTS (2-1; 100-102 all-time)
Oct. 27 at PHI: W, 4-3 (GWG-Girgensons, 2:29)
Nov. 14 vs. SJS: L, 2-1 (GWG-Marleau, 2:59)
Dec. 12 vs. LAK: W, 2-1 (GWG-O’Reilly, 3:19)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-3; 66-54 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)
Dec. 19 vs. CHI: L, 3-2 (GDG-Kane)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
David Legwand … 5 games … 1,100 career games played
Assists
Zach Bogosian … 2 assists … 100 career assists
Josh Gorges … 5 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
