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LAST GAME
Monday, January 25
Buffalo 3 at NY Rangers 6
Goals: Girgensons (2), Gionta
Goalie: Johnson (27 saves/32 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 3/4; Shots: NY Rangers 33 – Buffalo 26
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 218)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 49 games
Tyler Ennis (upper body, Dec. 31; injured reserve) – 12 games
Nicolas Deslauriers (lower body, Jan. 5; injured reserve) – 10 games
Sam Reinhart (upper body, Jan. 22; injured reserve) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/22: Recalled F Cal O’Reilly from Rochester (AHL)
1/25: Activated F Zemgus Girgensons from IR; Placed F Sam Reinhart on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Wednesday, Feb. 3: Buffalo at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 4: Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 6: Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 9: Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 11: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at SENATORS
- This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Senators this season.
- Next meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 16 in Ottawa
- Last meeting: Ottawa defeated Buffalo, 3-1, in Buffalo on Oct. 8
- The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Senators; 3-7-0 on the road
- This is the 126th game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa; Buffalo has a 59-49-17 series record.
- The Sabres are 26-27-10 on the road against the Senators all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 6-9-1- all-time on January 26.
- January 26, 1983: The Sabres get goals from seven different players in a 7-3 win at home against the Montreal Canadiens.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- In three games since returning from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for 39 games, Robin Lehner has logged a .936 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average.
- Despite having missed 10 games due to injury this season, Evander Kane leads the Sabres in both shots (152) and hits (110). Kane ranked fourth in the league after last night’s game with 3.9 shots per game and is the only player in the league to lead his team in both shots per game (3.9) and hits per game (2.8).
- Ryan O’Reilly has 21 points (7+14) in 23 road games this season.
- After last night’s game, Ryan O’Reilly (21:53) led all NHL forwards in average ice time per game and Evander Kane (21:08) ranked second.
SABRES-SENATORS
- Buffalo and Ottawa have had 11 of their last 15 matchups decided by a single goal.
- The Sabres are 8-4 all-time in shootouts against the Senators. Their 12 shootouts against Ottawa tie their totals against Boston and New Jersey for most against a single opponent.
- The Sabres have lost their last six games in Ottawa, with the last win taking place on March 10, 2012. They will look to avoid their first seven-game losing streak in Ottawa in franchise history.
- Ryan O’Reilly has eight points (2+6) in seven career games against Ottawa, including five points (1+4) in four road games.
- Mike Weber has seven points (1+6) in 24 career games against the Senators, his highest total against any team.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s eighth of 15 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began last night with a 6-3 loss at NYR. The Sabres are 2-6-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 3-4-0 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to-back sets this season is: four points (1), three points (0), two points (3), one point (0) and zero points (3).
THE O’REILLY FACTOR
- Ryan O’Reilly has 23 points (10+13) in his last 26 games, a stretch that included an eight-game point streak from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14 which tied the longest streak of O’Reilly’s career.
- O’Reilly (57.1%) ranked seventh in the league in faceoff percentage after last night’s game. O’Reilly also leads the league with 1,244 faceoffs taken, accounting for 42.5% 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.
YOUNG GUNS
- Jack Eichel enters tonight’s game with 18 points (5+13) in his last 17 games, a stretch which included a career-best, four-game point streak (2+4) from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5.
- Eichel finished last night’s game ranked in the top five among NHL rookies in goals (3rd, 14), assists (3rd, 18), points (T-3rd, 32), shots (1st, 145) and time on ice per game (5th, 18:41).
- If they maintain their current pace, Eichel (14+18) and Sam Reinhart (12+9) 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 (14) 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.
- With 32 points (14+18) in 49 games, Eichel is on pace for 54 points this season. If he reaches the 50-point mark, 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 only Phil Housley (1982-83).
FINNISHING TOUCH
- After last night’s game, Rasmus Ristolainen ranked in the top 15 among NHL defensemen in goals (T-12th, 8), assists (T-10th, 23), points (T-10th, 31), shots (T-10th, 117), time on ice per game (12th, 25:07) and multi-point games (T-5th, 7).
- Ristolainen is the first Sabres defenseman to record seven multi-point games in a season since Jordan Leopold in 2010-11. Jaroslav Spacek (10 multi-point games in 2008-09) was the last Sabres defenseman to record more than seven.
- His four power-play goals are the most by a Sabres defenseman since 2010-11 (Jordan Leopold, 5).
- With 31 points (8+23) in 49 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.
OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS
The Sabres have outshot their opponents in 23 of 49 games this season, posting a 7-15-1 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 20 of the team’s 49 games this season, going 8-10-2 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-OTT CONNECTIONS
Former Senators:
- David Legwand and Robin Lehner were both acquired via trade from the Ottawa Senators on June 26, 2015. Lehner was drafted by the Senators in the second round (46th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft and went 30-36-13 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against average in 86 games played for Ottawa. Legwand spent one season (2014-15) with the Senators and had 27 points (9+18) and a plus-1 rating in 80 games.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Represented Team Canada alongside Marc Methot at the 2011 World Championship.
Nicolas Deslauriers:
- Played with Jean-Gabriel Pageau for the Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) during the 2010-11 season.
Marcus Foligno:
- Played with Jared Cowen for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo. The Canadian squad was coached by Ottawa head coach Dave Cameron.
Brian Gionta:
- Gionta and Shane Prince were both born in Rochester, New York.
Josh Gorges:
- He and Kyle Turris share a birth date. Gorges was born on Aug. 14, 1984 and Turris was born five years later on Aug. 14, 1989.
Chad Johnson:
- Johnson and Jared Cowen were both born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Johan Larsson:
- Represented Team Sweden alongside Erik Karlsson at the 2012 World Championship.
Mark Pysyk:
- Played with Curtis Lazar for the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) from 2010-2012.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Played alongside Craig Anderson for the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2011.
Sam Reinhart:
- Represented Team Canada alongside Curtis Lazar at the 2014 and 2015 World Junior Championships. Reinhart tied for the tournament lead with 11 points (5+6) and Lazar served as team captain as Canada took the gold medal at the tournament.
NHL Draft:
- Zach Bogosian and Erik Karlsson were both drafted in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft. Bogosian was taken third overall and Karlsson was selected 15th overall.
- Tonight’s game features three second-round picks from the 2009 NHL Draft. Ryan O’Reilly was selected 33rd overall by Colorado, Alex Chiasson was taken 38th overall by Dallas and Robin Lehner went 46th overall to Ottawa.
- Marcus Foligno (104th overall) and Chris Wideman (100th overall) were both selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Cody Ceci (15th overall) were taken one pick apart in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft
- Rasmus Ristolainen and Curtis Lazar were both first-round picks in the 2013 NHL Draft. Ristolainen was selected eight overall and Lazar was taken 11 picks later at 17th
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Kane (110), Deslauriers (102), McGinn (100)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (98), Ristolainen (78), McCabe (58)
Shots: Kane (152), Eichel (145), Ristolainen (117)
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: 4-5-0 (8), 19/24, 5/23, 24/26
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
Mark Pysyk … 6 games … 100 career games played
Assists
Josh Gorges … 4 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
Evander Kane … 400th NHL game … Jan. 25 at NYR
