GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Sunday, January 10
Buffalo 4 at Winnipeg 2
Goals: Reinhart (3), Foligno
Goalie: Ullmark (42 saves/44 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 1/2; Shots: Winnipeg 44 – Buffalo 29
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 189)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 42 games
Tyler Ennis (upper body, Dec. 31; injured reserve) – 5 games
Nicolas Deslauriers (lower body, Jan. 5; injured reserve) – 3 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
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)
1/11: Recalled D Mark Pysyk from conditioning stint in Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Friday, Jan. 22: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at WILD
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Wild this season.
- Next meeting: Saturday, March 5 in Buffalo
- Last meeting: Minnesota defeated Buffalo, 7-0, in Buffalo on Jan. 15, 2015
- The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Wild; 5-3-0 in eight road games.
- This is the 17th game all-time between Buffalo and Minnesota; Buffalo has a 7-9-0 series record.
- The Sabres are 5-3-0 on the road against the Wild all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-6-3 all-time on January 12.
- January 12, 1978: Gilbert Perreault scores all three Sabres goals to collect his fourth hat trick of the season in a 6-3 loss at Cleveland.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Sam Reinhart recorded his first career hat trick on Sunday at Winnipeg, becoming the first Sabres rookie to record a hat trick since Jason Pominville did so on Jan. 14, 2006 vs. Los Angeles.
- Evander Kane has four points (2+2) in his last four games against Minnesota.
- Brian Gionta has eight points (5+3) in his last eight games against the Wild.
- Evander Kane ranked seventh in the league entering Monday’s games with 3.7 shots per game.
- Entering play Saturday, Ryan O’Reilly (21:57) led all NHL forwards in average ice time per game and Evander Kane (21:00) ranked third.
JACK ATTACK
- Jack Eichel enters tonight’s game with 13 points (4+9) in his last 10 games, a stretch which included a career-best, four-game point streak (2+4) from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5.
- Eichel entered play Monday ranked in the top five among NHL rookies in goals (3rd, 13), assists (4th, 14), points (4th, 27), shots (1st, 134) and time on ice per game (5th, 18:56).
- If he maintains his current pace, Eichel will become the ninth Sabres rookie to record more than 50 points in a season and the first since Derek Plante (1993-94).
- 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 19 points (10+9) in his last 19 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 Monday’s games. O’Reilly also led the league with 1,058 faceoffs taken, accounting for 41.9% 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 Monday’s games, Rasmus Ristolainen ranked in the top 15 among NHL defensemen in goals (T-11th, 7), assists (T-10th, 20), points (T-11th, 27), shots (9th, 106), time on ice per game (13th, 24:45) 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 27 points (7+20) in 42 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.
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+14) and Sam Reinhart (12+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 (12) are also 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 42 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 42 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-MIN CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Jason Pominville spent the better part of nine seasons as a member of the Sabres (2003-2013), also serving as captain from 2011-2013. Over this time, he suited up for a total of 578 games with Buffalo and recorded 456 points (185+271).
- Thomas Vanek was a member of the Sabres for just over eight seasons from 2005-2013. Initially drafted by Buffalo in the first round (5th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Vanek finished his career with the Sabres ranked 10th in franchise history in points (497), fifth in goals (254), 13th in assists (243), fourth in power-play goals (106) and fourth in game-winning goals (41).
Former Wild:
- Dave Barr served as an assistant coach for Minnesota from 2009-2011.
- Johan Larsson was Minnesota’s second-round pick (56th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft. He only played one game for the Wild before being traded to Buffalo as part of the Jason Pominville trade.
- Matt Moulson spent part of the 2013-14 season with the Wild, tallying 13 points (6+7) in 20 games and adding three points (1+2) in 10 playoff games.
Zach Bogosian:
- Represented the United States alongside Ryan Suter at the 2009 World Championship.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Played with Jarret Stoll for Team Canada at the 2002 World Junior Championship.
- He and Chris Porter were both born in Toronto, Ontario. They were also teammates for the St. Louis Blues from 2008-2012 and again during the 2013-14 season.
- Teammates with Devan Dubnyk for Team Canada at the 2011 World Championship.
Jack Eichel:
- Represented the United States alongside Charlie Coyle and Mike Reilly at the 2015 World Championship.
Cody Franson:
- Teammates with Ryan Suter for the Nashville Predators from 2009-2011.
Brian Gionta
- Represented the United States alongside Ryan Suter at the 2005 World Championship.
- Played with Thomas Vanek for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2013-14 season.
- Played with Zach Parise for the New Jersey Devils from 2005-2009.
Josh Gorges
- Played with Thomas Vanek for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2013-14 season.
Evander Kane:
- Teammates with Devan Dubnyk for Team Canada at the 2011 and 2012 World Championships.
David Legwand:
- Teammates with Ryan Suter for the Nashville Predators from 2005-2012 and for the United States at the 2005 World Championship.
Jake McCabe:
- Represented the United States alongside Mike Reilly at the 2013 World Junior Championship.
Matt Moulson:
- Played with Nino Niederreiter for the New York Islanders from 2010-2012. The two were also reunited briefly with the Wild during the 2013-14 season.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Teammates with Devan Dubnyk for Team Canada at the 2012 and 2013 World Championships.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- He and Mikko Koivu were both born in Turku, Finland.
- Played with Mikael Granlund for Team Finland at the 2012 World Junior Championship.
Sam Reinhart:
- Played with Matt Dumba for Team Canada at the 2014 World Junior Championship.
NHL Draft:
- Carlo Colaiacovo (17th overall) and Mikko Koivu (6th overall) were both taken in the first round of the 2001 NHL Draft.
- Matt Moulson (263rd overall) and Chris Porter (282nd overall) were both ninth-round picks in the 2003 NHL Draft.
- Mark Pysyk (23rd overall), Nino Niederreiter (5th overall), Mikael Granlund (9th overall) and Charlie Coyle (28th overall) were all chosen in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft.
- Johan Larsson (56th overall) and Jason Zucker (59th overall) were second-round picks in the 2010 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Matt Dumba (7th overall) were both taken in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Deslauriers (102), McGinn (90), Kane (85)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (96), Ristolainen (65), McCabe (50)
Shots: Eichel (134), Kane (118), Ristolainen (106)
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: 1-1-0 (2), 5/5, 1/5, 2/3
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 … 4 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
