GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Sunday, February 21
Pittsburgh 4 at Buffalo 3
Goals: Bogosian (2), Gionta
Goalie: Lehner (27 saves/31 shots)
PP: 2/3; PK: 4/4; Shots: Pittsburgh 31 – Buffalo 27
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 258)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clot, Oct. 8; injured reserve) – 60 games
Tyler Ennis (upper body, Dec. 31; injured reserve) – 23 games
Cody Franson (neck, Feb. 21) – 1 game
Ryan O’Reilly (lower body, Feb. 21; injured reserve) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
2/18: Assigned F Justin Bailey to Rochester (AHL)
2/19: Activated F Daniel Catenacci from IR; Assigned Catenacci to Rochester (AHL)
2/21: Recalled F Justin Bailey from Rochester (AHL)
2/22: Recalled F Cal O’Reilly from Rochester (AHL); Placed F Ryan O’Reilly on IR
2/23: Acquired a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft from Washington in exchange for D Mike Weber.
UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Feb. 26: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 27: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 11 p.m.
Tuesday, March 1: Edmonton at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 3: Calgary at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 5: Minnesota at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at DUCKS
- This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Ducks this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Anaheim, 3-0, in Buffalo on Dec. 17, 2015
- The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Ducks; 5-5-0 on the road
- This is the 32nd game all-time between Buffalo and Anaheim; Buffalo has a 16-12-3 series record.
- The Sabres are 8-7-0 on the road against the Ducks all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 8-7-3 all-time on February 24.
- February 24, 1972: Steve Atkinson scores nine seconds after the opening faceoff as the Sabres defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3, at the Aud.
- February 24, 1993: Alexander Mogilny scores four goals for the second time in six games and adds an assist as the Sabres defeat the Detroit Red Wings, 10-7, at the Aud.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres have gone 57-for-62 (91.9%) on the penalty kill in their last 21 games, including an 18-for-18 run in the team’s last four games.
- If he appears in tonight’s game, Robin Lehner will have played his 100th NHL game.
- Evander Kane ranked third in the league entering play Tuesday with 4.2 shots per game.
- Robin Lehner’s .928 save percentage through 13 games played is the eighth-best in the league among goalies with at least five games played.
- In his last four games, Lehner is 2-1-1 with a .954 save percentage and a 1.48 goals-against average, making it the best four-start stretch of his career by both metrics.
GOING BACK TO CALI
Tonight’s game is Buffalo’s first in a three-game road trip against Pacific Division opponents. The Sabres are 5-3-1 against the Pacific Division this season, the team’s best record against any division. The Sabres are 6-2-1 in their last nine games against the Western Conference, including a win in each of their last three games against the Pacific Division.
HOT AGAINST ANAHEIM
- Robin Lehner stopped 45 of 47 Anaheim shots in his only career game against the Ducks (Oct. 13, 2013).
- In his only career game against Anaheim, Chad Johnson set the Sabres’ franchise record for most saves in a shutout (44, Dec. 17, 2015).
- Jamie McGinn has scored six goals in his last six games against Anaheim.
- Evander Kane has seven points (3+4) in 10 career games against the Ducks.
- After recording his first NHL point since February 2012 when these teams last met, Cal O’Reilly has four points (1+3) and a plus-6 rating in six career games against Anaheim.
SHUTTING OUT THE DUCKS
- The Sabres have shut out the Ducks seven times in the 31 all-time games between the clubs (Hasek-3, Biron-2, Johnson-1, Miller-1).
- This amounts to one shutout for every 4.43 meetings, the Sabres’ highest shutout-to-games ratio against any NHL team.
- This ratio is so much higher against the Ducks than the next closest opponent that the Ducks would have to score a goal in each of the next 21 meetings between the teams to fall behind the next highest current ratio (Columbus, three shutouts in 22 games – 7.33 games per shutout).
- The Sabres’ last shutout against the Ducks occurred when these teams last met (Dec. 17 in Buffalo).
FINISHING STRONG AFTER THE BREAK
Buffalo is 558-427-194 (.556) all-time in games after the All-Star break. This includes a record of 107-74-32 (.577) in those games since the lockout. The Sabres are 4-3-3 (.550) since the All-Star break so far this season.
Note: These totals do not include games after breaks for the Olympic Games.
LOGGING BIG MINUTES
- Rasmus Ristolainen was ranked 10th in the NHL before Tuesday’s games with an average ice time of 25:20 per game. Only Alexei Zhitnik (four times) has averaged more minutes per game in a full season with the Sabres.
- Entering Tuesday’s games, Ryan O’Reilly (21:51) led all NHL forwards in average ice time per game and Evander Kane (20:56) ranked second. The pair currently own the two highest average career ice times by Sabres forwards. Michael Peca (20:18) is the only other forward with an average over 20 minutes.
- With an average ice time of 23:33 per game in his 64 games played since joining the Sabres last season, Zach Bogosian owns the third-highest average ice time ever recorded by a Sabres player, trailing only Alexei Zhitnik (531 GP, 25:32) and Christian Ehrhoff (192 GP, 23:55).
Note: The NHL began tracking ice time in the 1997-98 season.
YOUNG GUNS
- Sam Reinhart leads all Sabres with 18 goals this season and Jack Eichel is tied for second with 17. If either player finishes the season with the team lead, he will be the first Sabres rookie to lead the team in goals since Ray Sheppard did so in the 1987-88 season.
- Eichel has 27 points (8+19) in his last 28 games dating back to Dec. 17, a stretch which included career-best, four-game point streaks from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5 (2+4) and Feb. 12 to 19 (1+4).
- Eichel entered play Saturday ranked in the top five among NHL rookies in goals (T-4th, 17), assists (T-2nd, 24), points (T-2nd, 41) and shots (1st, 173).
- If they maintain their current pace, Eichel (17+24) and Sam Reinhart (18+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. The Sabres haven’t had two or more rookies reach 35 points in the same season since Ray Sheppard (65), Pierre Turgeon (42) and Calle Johansson (42) each did so in 1987-88.
- Reinhart (18) and Eichel (17) are also on pace to become the third pair of rookies in Sabres history to each record 20 goals in the same season. The last pair was Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) in 1974-75.
- With 41 points (17+24) in 60 games, Eichel is on pace for 56 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).
OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS
The Sabres have outshot their opponents in 25 of 60 games this season, posting a 7-16-2 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 23 of the team’s 60 games this season, going 9-11-3 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-ANA CONNECTIONS
Former Ducks:
- Dan Bylsma played for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from 2000 to 2004. He had 32 points (10+22) in 209 games and was a member of the team that won the Western Conference after the 2002-03 season. Bylsma also began his coaching career during the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL).
Dan Bylsma:
- Coached Simon Despres for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2011-2014.
Zach Bogosian:
- Played with Mike Santorelli for the Winnipeg Jets for part of the 2012-13 season.
Carlo Colaiacovo:
- Colaiacovo, Andrew Cogliano and Harry Zolnierczyk were all born in Toronto, Ontario.
- Teammates with David Perron for the St. Louis Blue from 2008-2009 until 2012-2013
Marcus Foligno:
- Represented Canada alongside Simon Despres at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo.
Cody Franson:
- Represented Team Canada alongside Andrew Cogliano at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
- Played with Mike Santorelli for the Nashville Predators during the 2009-10 season. They were also teammates for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2014-15 season before being traded to Nashville in the same deal in February.
- Teammates with Korbinian Holzer for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons.
Josh Gorges:
- Played with Ryan Getzlaf for Team Canada at the 2004 World Junior Championship.
Chad Johnson:
- Played with Corey Perry for Team Canada at the 2010 World Championship.
Evander Kane:
- He and Mike Santorelli were both born in Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Played with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on Team Canada at the 2012 World Championship.
- Played with Mike Santorelli for the Winnipeg Jets for part of the 2012-13 season.
Johan Larsson:
- Played with Jakob Silfverberg for Team Sweden at the 2012 World Championship.
- Teammates with Clayton Stoner for the Minnesota Wild during the 2012-13 season.
David Legwand:
- Played with Mike Santorelli for the Nashville Predators from 2008-2010.
Robin Lehner:
- Played with Jakob Silfverberg for the Ottawa Senators during the 2012-13 season.
Jake McCabe:
- Played with John Gibson for the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship and the 2014 World Championship
Matt Moulson:
- Played with Nate Thompson for the New York Islanders from 2008-2010.
Cal O’Reilly:
- Played with Mike Santorelli for the Nashville Predators from 2008-2010.
- Teammates with Simon Despres for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2011-12 season.
Sam Reinhart:
- Played with Nick Ritchie for Team Canada at the 2015 World Junior Championship.
NHL Draft:
- Robin Lehner (46th overall) and Jakob Silfverberg (39th overall) were second-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Marcus Foligno (104th overall) and Sami Vatanen (106th overall) were both fourth-round selections in the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Cam Fowler (12th overall) and Mark Pysyk (23rd overall) were both first-round selections in the 2010 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Hampus Lindholm (6th overall) were both selected in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Sam Reinhart (2nd overall) and Nick Ritchie (10th overall) were both selected in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Kane (131), Deslauriers (130), Foligno (123)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (117), Ristolainen (105), McCabe (75)
Shots: Kane (205), Eichel (173), Ristolainen (142)
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: 5-5-0 (10), 22/26, 6/25, 26/28
51-60: 4-3-3 (11), 29/30, 6/34, 30/33
OVERTIME RESULTS (2-2; 100-103 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)
Feb. 6 at BOS: L, 2-1 (GWG-Marchand, 2:32)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-5; 66-56 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)
Feb. 4 vs. BOS: L, 3-2 (GDG-Spooner)
Feb. 16 at OTT: L, 2-1 (GDG-Ryan)
UPCOMING MILESTONES (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Robin Lehner … 1 game … 100 career games played
Assists
Josh Gorges … 2 assists … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
