GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Wednesday, November 9
Ottawa 2 at Buffalo 1 (SO)
Goals: Baptiste
Goalie: Lehner (28 saves/29 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 3/3; Shots: Buffalo 32 – Ottawa 29
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 57)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 13 games
Jack Eichel (high-ankle sprain, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 13 games
Nicolas Deslauriers (knee, Oct. 30; injured reserve) – 6 games
Zach Bogosian (MCL sprain, Nov. 3) – 4 games
Tyler Ennis (groin, Nov. 9) – 1 game
Ryan O’Reilly (middle body, Nov. 9) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/9: Recalled F Cole Schneider from Rochester (AHL); Assigned F Hudson Fasching to Rochester; Activated F Evander Kane from IR; Placed F Nicolas Deslauriers on IR
11/11: Recalled D Justin Falk from Rochester (AHL); Placed F Tyler Ennis on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Nov. 12: Buffalo at New Jersey, 7 pm.
Tuesday, Nov. 15: Buffalo at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 17: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 19: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 21: Calgary at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
DEVILS at SABRES
- This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Devils this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated New Jersey, 3-1, in New Jersey on April 5
- Next meeting: Saturday, Nov. 12 in New Jersey
- The Sabres are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Devils; 5-5-0 at home.
- This is the 149th game all-time between Buffalo and New Jersey; Buffalo has a 74-49-25 series record.
- The Sabres are 40-25-10 at home against the Devils all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 9-7-2 all-time on November 11.
- November 11, 1978: Don Edwards stops 25 shots in a 2-0 victory at Washington to earn his ninth NHL shutout and the 300th win in Sabres history.
- November 11, 1981: Randy Cunneyworth scores his first NHL goal against Steve Weeks in a 7-3 loss to the Rangers.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Buffalo was ranked second in the NHL in team faceoff percentage (54.1%) entering play Thursday.
- The Sabres are 11-for-11 on the penalty kill at home this season.
- If he plays, tonight will be Jake McCabe’s 100th NHL game. McCabe tied a career high with four shots and logged a season-high 22:51 of ice time on Wednesday vs. Ottawa.
- Anders Nilsson is 4-1-0 in six career appearances against the Devils, with a .952 save percentage and a 1.28 goals-against average. Nilsson has played more games against New Jersey than against any other opponent and earned his first NHL win with a 24-save shutout against the Devils on March 4, 2012.
- The Sabres are seeking their second consecutive win against New Jersey for the first time since the team’s wins on Jan. 4 and April 1, 2014.
- The road team has won the last four games between these teams. Prior to that stretch, the home team had won eight in a row.
PUTTING IN EXTRA TIME
- 10 of the last 22 games between the Sabres and Devils have been settled in overtime or a shootout, including seven of the last 14.
- With 12 shootouts in the 31 matchups since the beginning of 2007-08 season, the Sabres have played more shootouts against the Devils than any other non-divisional opponent, going 7-5 in those shootouts.
HOME-AND-HOME
- Tonight’s game is the first in a home-and-home series between the Sabres and Devils that concludes tomorrow night in New Jersey.
- The Sabres and Devils have previously played four home-and-home series, with the Sabres going 1-2-1 (one tie) in the home games and 3-1-0 in the road games. Buffalo’s points breakdown in these previous series is as follows: four points (1), three points (0), two points (2), one point (1), zero points (0).
- The Sabres have played in 158 previous home-and-home series in franchise history, going 90-45-23 (.642) in the home games and 56-73-29 (.446) in the road games. The team is 70-59-29 (.535) all-time in the first game of these series and 76-59-23 (.554) in the second. Buffalo’s points breakdown in these previous series is as follows: four points (31), three points (25), two points (65), one point (15), zero points (22).
- Buffalo’s last home-and-home series sweep came in the 2014-15 season, as the Sabres beat the Canadiens on Nov. 28 and 29, 2014.
PREVIOUS SABRES-DEVILS HOME-AND-HOME SERIES
- 29, 1984: Buffalo 2 at New Jersey 1
- 31, 1984: New Jersey 4 at Buffalo 6
- 26, 1998: Buffalo 2 at New Jersey 0
- 28, 1998: New Jersey 7 at Buffalo 4
- 10, 2002: Buffalo 1 at New Jersey 4
- 12, 2002: New Jersey 2 at Buffalo 2
- 13, 2008: Buffalo 4 at New Jersey 2
- 17, 2008: New Jersey 5 at Buffalo 3
BACK-TO-BACK
Today’s game opens up Buffalo’s second of a league-high 19 sets of back-to-back games this season, which concludes tomorrow night in New Jersey. The Sabres are 1-0-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-0-0 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 (0), one point (0) and zero points (0).
SABRES IN THE TOP 10
- Ryan O’Reilly ranked second among all NHL forwards with an average ice time of 22:16 per game entering play Thursday. O’Reilly finished the 2015-16 season ranked first among forwards with 21:44 of ice time per game and has averaged 20:46 per game since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, leading all NHL forwards during that time frame.
- O’Reilly entered play Thursday ranked third in the NHL in faceoffs won (180) and fifth among players with at least 100 faceoffs in win percentage (61.0%). He finished in the top 10 in both categories in 2015-16.
- Entering play Thursday, Matt Moulson was tied for second in the NHL with four power-play goals.
- Rasmus Ristolainen was tied for fifth among NHL defensemen with eight assists this season and tied for ninth among all NHL skaters with six power-play points before Thursday’s games.
- Ristolainen ranked 10th among all NHL skaters in average ice time per game (25:22) before Thursday’s games.
BUF-NJD CONNECTIONS
Former Devils:
- Brian Gionta played for the Devils from 2001-2009, tallying 312 points (152+160) in 473 games. Selected by New Jersey in the third round (82nd overall) of the 1998 NHL Draft, Gionta won a cup with the Devils in 2003 and currently holds the club’s single-season franchise record in goals (48), which he set during the 2005-06 campaign.
Dan Bylsma:
- Coached Beau Bennett (2012-2014) and Ben Lovejoy (2008-2013) during his time as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Michael Cammalleri for the Montreal Canadiens from 2009-2012.
Josh Gorges:
- Teammates with Michael Cammalleri for the Montreal Canadiens from 2009-2012.
- Was a member of the Kelowna Rockets during the 2000-01 season along with Vernon Fiddler.
Johan Larsson:
- Represented Team Sweden alongside Jacob Josefson at the 2009 World U18 Championship.
Robin Lehner;
- Represented Team Sweden alongside Jacob Josefson at the 2009 World U18 Championship.
Evander Kane:
- Was a member of Team Canada with Travis Zajac at the 2011 World Championship.
Jake McCabe:
- Was a part of the United States National Team Development Program with Reid Boucher from 2009-2011.
- Represented the United States alongside Keith Kinkaid at the 2016 World Championship.
Matt Moulson:
- Was a member of the Los Angeles Kings with Michael Cammalleri during the 2007-08 season.
- Played alongside A. Parenteau for the New York Islanders from 2010-2012.
- Teammates with Kyle Quincey for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2008-09 season.
- Moulson (1983) and Nick Lappin (1992) were both born on November 1.
Anders Nilsson:
- Played for the Edmonton Oilers organization along with Taylor Hall during the 2015-16 season.
- Represented Sweden at the 2015 World Championship alongside Jacob Josefson. The two were also members of the Swedish World Junior team in 2010.
- Played for the New York Islanders with A. Parenteau during the 2011-12 season.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Was a member of Team Canada with Taylor Hall for the 2013, 2015 and 2016 World Championships.
- Teammates with A. Parenteau for the Colorado Avalanche from 2012-2014.
- Played with Kyle Quincey for the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-2012.
Kyle Okposo:
- Played alongside Andy Greene for the United States at the 2010 World Championship.
- Represented the United States with Kyle Palmieri at the 2012 World Championship.
- Played for the New York Islanders with A. Parenteau from 2010-2012.
Sam Reinhart:
- Represented Canada with Taylor Hall at the 2016 World Championship.
NHL Draft:
- Evander Kane (4th overall), Dmitry Kulikov (14th overall), Jacob Josefson (20th overall), John Moore (21st overall) and Kyle Palmieri (26th overall) were all first-round selections in the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Johan Larsson (56th overall) and Devante Smith-Pelly (42nd overall) was both second-round selections in the 2010 NHL Draft.
- Jake McCabe (44th overall) and Damon Severson (60th overall) were both selected in the second round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Foligno (40), Gorges (32), Ristolainen (29)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (25), Ristolainen (23), Bogosian (15)
Shots: O’Reilly (40), Moulson (38), Reinhart (34)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 4-4-2 (10), 23/24, 8/35, 26/31
11-20: 1-1-1 (3), 3/7, 0/6, 11/15
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-1; 102-106 all-time)
Oct. 18 at EDM: L, 4-3 (GWG-Monahan)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-2; 67-60 all-time)
Oct. 25 at PHI: L, 4-3 (GDG-Giroux)
Nov. 9 vs. OTT: L, 2-1 (GDG-Ryan)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Coached
Dan Bylsma … 4 games … 500 NHL games
Wins
Dan Bylsma … 8 wins … 300 NHL wins
Games Played
Jake McCabe … 1 game … 100 NHL games
Josh Gorges … 4 games … 700 NHL games
Assists
Ryan O’Reilly … 1 assist … 200 NHL assists
Points
Marcus Foligno … 3 points … 100 NHL points
RECENT MILESTONES
William Carrier … 1st NHL Game … Nov. 5 at OTT
Sam Reinhart … 100th NHL Game … Nov. 7 at BOS
