GAME-DAY RESOURCES
| Game Notes | NHL Stats | Press Clips |
LAST GAME
N/A
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 0)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 0 games
Jack Eichel (high-ankle sprain, Oct. 13) – 0 games
Kyle Okposo (knee, Oct. 13) – 0 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/7: Recalled G Linus Ullmark from Rochester (AHL); assigned F Cal O’Reilly and D Taylor Fedun to Rochester; released D Tyson Strachan from PTO
10/8: Assigned G Linus Ullmark to Rochester (AHL)
10/11: Signed D Rasmus Ristolainen to a six-year contract ($5.4 million per year); assigned F Nicholas Baptiste, F Daniel Catenacci, F Alexander Nylander and D Justin Falk to Rochester (AHL); assigned D Brendan Guhle to Prince Albert (WHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, Oct. 16: Buffalo at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 18: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 20: Buffalo at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 25: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 27: Minnesota at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
CANADIENS at SABRES
- This is the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Canadiens this season.
- Last meeting: Montreal defeated Buffalo, 3-2 (OT), in Buffalo on March 16
- Next meeting: Saturday, Jan. 21 in Montreal
- The Sabres are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Canadiens; 4-4-2 at home
- This is the 272nd game all-time between Buffalo and Montreal; Buffalo has a 124-108-39 series record.
- The Sabres are 71-38-26 at home against the Canadiens all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-9-3 all-time on October 13.
- October 13, 1976: Bob Sauve makes his first NHL start, a 4-3 loss to the NY Islanders.
- October 13, 2014: The NHL announces that Buffalo has been chosen to host the 2016 NHL Draft.
- October 13, 2014: Matt Moulson appears in his 400th NHL game, recording an assist in a 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are opening the season at home tonight before heading west for a road trip that begins on Sunday at Edmonton. The team will not play another home game until Thursday, Oct. 25 vs. Philadelphia.
- The Sabres have gone 16-8-3 in their last 27 games against the Canadiens. The road team has won 11 of the last 16 matchups between these teams.
- Buffalo has more wins against Montreal (124) than against any other NHL team. The Sabres have 121 wins against the Bruins, but have played eight more games against Boston than against Montreal.
HOT AGAINST MONTREAL
- Ryan O’Reilly has 11 points (4+7) in 11 career games against Montreal.
- Marcus Foligno (4+2) has six points in his last six games against the Canadiens.
- Zach Bogosian has a point in each of his last three games against Montreal (1+2).
- Cody Franson has four points (0+4) in his last three games against the Canadiens.
- Evander Kane has three points (2+1) in his last three games against Montreal.
OPENING NIGHT
- Tonight marks the 46th season-opener in Buffalo Sabres franchise history.
- The Sabres are 24-17-4 all-time in season-openers; 17-8-4 when opening at home.
- Buffalo is 21-18-6 all-time in home-openers.
- The Sabres have previously opened their season against the Canadiens five times in franchise history (1984-85, 1988-89, 1990-91, 2008-09 and 2009-10), with each game taking place in Buffalo. The Sabres have a 3-0-2 record in those games, each of which (excluding a 3-3 tie in 1990) was decided by a single goal.
- In addition to the five season-openers, the Sabres have opened their home schedule against Montreal three other times in franchise history (1970-71, 1976-77 and 2006-07). The Sabres have posted a 5-1-2 record in the eight total home-openers against the Canadiens.
WELCOME TO BUFFALO
The Sabres have had a newly acquired player score in four of their last five season-openers: Jack Eichel (Oct. 8, 2015 vs. OTT), Zemgus Girgensons (Oct. 2, 2013 at DET), Steve Ott (Jan. 20, 2013 vs. PHI) and Ville Leino (Oct. 7, 2011 vs. ANA). Each player scored on the first shot of his Sabres career, except for Eichel, who scored on his second shot. The Sabres have three new skaters on their opening day roster this season: Derek Grant, Dmitry Kulikov and Kyle Okposo.
GRANT LAND
Derek Grant led all Sabres with six points (3+3) and tied for the Sabres’ team-high with a plus-four rating in six preseason games to cement his place on the team’s opening-day roster. Grant had a career year with the Stockton Heat (AHL) in 2015-16, recording AHL career-high totals in all offensive categories and tying for sixth in the league in goals (27) despite appearing in just 36 games.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
The 23 players on the Sabres’ opening-day roster have combined to play 6,822 NHL games, 908 more than last year’s 23-man opening-day roster had between them. The average Sabres skater entering the 2015-16 season has played 40 more NHL games than his counterpart from last season.
|
Sabres’ Opening-Day NHL Experience |
||
| Season |
Total NHL GP |
Average GP/Player |
| 2016-17 |
6,822 |
297 |
| 2015-16 |
5,914 |
257 |
| 2014-15 |
5,858 |
255 |
| 2013-14 |
5,516 |
240 |
2016 PRESEASON
- Buffalo finished the preseason with a 4-2-1 record; 2-2-0 at home and 2-0-1 on the road.
- Derek Grant led all Sabres and tied for third in the league in goals (3) and fourth in the league in points (6) in six preseason games.
- Robin Lehner (3-0-0, .960, 1.33) and Anders Nilsson (1-0-0, .980, 0.57) combined to post a 4-0-0 record with a .967 save percentage, a 1.05 goals-against average and two shutouts.
- The Sabres ranked eighth in the league with a penalty kill percentage of 88.9 percent, killing off 24 of 27 power play opportunities.
2016-17 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:
- Seven were originally drafted by the Sabres — five were first-round Buffalo selections (Ennis, 2008; Girgensons, 2012; Ristolainen, 2013; Reinhart, 2014; Eichel, 2015), one was a second-round pick (McCabe, 2012) and one was a fourth-round pick (Foligno, 2009)
- 10 were acquired in trades: Bogosian, Deslauriers, Fasching, Gorges, Kane, Kulikov, Larsson, Lehner, Nilsson, O’Reilly
- Six were signed as free agents: Franson, Gionta, Grant, Moulson, Nelson, Okposo
- 19 played in Buffalo at some point last season (12 forwards, six defenseman, one goaltender)
- Four are new to the Sabres this season: Grant, Kulikov, Nilsson, Okposo
- Three are opening the season on an NHL roster for the first time in their careers: Fasching, Grant, Nelson
BUF-MTL CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Paul Byron was drafted by the Sabres in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft. With Buffalo, he appeared in eight games during the 2010-11 season and recorded two points (1+1).
- Brian Flynn played in parts of three seasons for Buffalo, totaling 41 points (17+24) in 159 games.
- Torrey Mitchell played 60 games for the Sabres during parts of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. He had 14 points (7+7) and 30 penalty minutes during his time in Buffalo.
Former Canadiens:
- Brian Gionta played for the Canadiens from 2009-2014, registering 173 points (97+76) in 303 games played. He also served as the team’s captain from 2010-2014.
- Josh Gorges was a member of the Canadiens from 2006-2014, registering 88 points (13+75) in 464 games played.
Zach Bogosian:
- Played with Zach Redmond for the Winnipeg Jets from 2012-2014.
- Played with Al Montoya for the Winnipeg Jets from 2012-2014. The two also played together for the United States at the 2009 World Championship.
Jack Eichel:
- Represented the United States alongside Zach Redmond during the 2015 World Championship.
Tyler Ennis:
- He and Brendan Gallagher were both born in Edmonton, Alberta.
Hudson Fasching:
- He and Alex Galchenyuk were both born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Cody Franson:
- He and Shea Weber were both born in Sicamous, British Columbia.
- Represented Canada alongside Carey Price at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
Josh Gorges:
- Played with Shea Weber for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) from 2001-2004.
Evander Kane:
- Played with Brendan Gallagher for the Vancouver Giants during the 2008-09 season.
- Teammates with Zach Redmond for the Winnipeg Jets from 2012-2014.
- Played with Al Montoya for the Winnipeg Jets from 2012-2014.
Dmitry Kulikov:
- Represented Russia alongside Alexei Emelin and Alexander Radulov at the 2011 World Championship.
- Played with Al Montoya for the Florida Panthers from 2014-2016.
Johan Larsson:
- Played with Torrey Mitchell for the Minnesota Wild from during the 2012-13 season.
Jake McCabe:
- Represented the United States alongside Alex Galchenyuk at the 2013 World Junior Championship and the 2014 World Championship. Max Pacioretty and Jeff Petry were also a part of the 2014 World Championship squad.
Matt Moulson:
- Played with Al Montoya for the New York Islanders from 2010-2012.
Kyle Okposo:
- Played with Max Pacioretty and Jeff Petry for the United States at the 2012 World Championship.
- Played with Al Montoya for the New York Islanders from 2010-2012.
Cal O’Reilly:
- Teammates with Shea Weber for the Nashville Predators from 2008-2011.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Won the gold medal with Team Canada alongside Brendan Gallagher at the 2016 World Championship.
- Played with Zach Redmond for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2014-15 season.
Sam Reinhart:
- Won the gold medal with Team Canada alongside Brendan Gallagher at the 2016 World Championship.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- Represented Team Finland alongside Artturi Lehkonen at the 2014 World Junior Championship, where the team won the gold medal on Ristolainen’s overtime goal.
NHL Draft:
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall), Alex Galchenyuk (3rd overall) and Stefan Matteau (29th overall) were all first-round selections in the 2012 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: N/A
Blocked Shots: N/A
Shots: N/A
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 0-0-0 (0), 0/0, 0/0, 0/0
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 102-105 all-time)
N/A
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 67-58 all-time)
N/A
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Ryan O’Reilly … 2 games … 500 career games played
Rasmus Ristolainen … 6 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Tyler Ennis … 8 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Ryan O’Reilly … 5 assists … 200 career assists
Points
Marcus Foligno … 7 points … 100 career assists
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
