GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Thursday, November 17
Tampa Bay 4 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Franson
Goalie: Lehner (34 saves/38 shots)
PP: 1/5; PK: 1/3; Shots: Tampa Bay 38 – Buffalo 33
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 84)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 17 games
Jack Eichel (high-ankle sprain, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 17 games
Nicolas Deslauriers (knee, Oct. 30; injured reserve) – 10 games
Zach Bogosian (MCL sprain, Nov. 3) – 8 games
Tyler Ennis (groin, Nov. 9) – 5 games
Dmitry Kulikov (lower back, Nov. 11) – 4 games
Ryan O’Reilly (oblique, Nov. 12) – 3 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/13: Assigned F Nicholas Baptiste, D Justin Falk and F Cole Schneider to Rochester (AHL)
11/15: Recalled F Nicholas Baptiste, D Justin Falk and F Evan Rodrigues from Rochester (AHL)
11/16: Assigned D Casey Nelson to Rochester (AHL)
11/17: Recalled D Taylor Fedun from Rochester (AHL)
11/18: Assigned F Nicholas Baptiste and F Evan Rodrigues to Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Nov. 21: Calgary at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 23: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 25: Buffalo at Washington, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 29: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 1: NY Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
PENGUINS at SABRES
- This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Penguins this season.
- Next meeting: Sunday, March 5 in Pittsburgh
- Last meeting: Pittsburgh defeated Buffalo, 5-4 (SO), in Pittsburgh on March 29
- The Sabres are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Penguins; 2-8-0 at home.
- This is the 183rd game all-time between Buffalo and Pittsburgh; Buffalo has a 64-76-42 series record.
- The Sabres are 40-28-22 at home against the Penguins all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 9-9-4 all-time on November 19.
- November 19, 1993: Dale Hawerchuk records three points (1+2) against his former team, including his 300th point as a member of the Sabres, in a 6-0 win vs. Winnipeg.
- November 19, 1999: Martin Biron records his first NHL shutout with 18 saves in a 4-0 win vs. Atlanta.
- November 19, 2002: Ryan Miller makes his first NHL start, recording 21 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss at New Jersey.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres are looking to avoid the team’s first four-game regulation losing streak since they lost six straight from Dec. 28, 2015 to Jan. 8, 2016 and its first seven-game winless streak since March 2015.
- The Sabres are 3-for-12 (25%) on the power play in their last four games. A power-play goal tonight would give the team a power-play goal in three straight games for the second time this season (last: Oct. 13 to 18).
- Evander Kane has recorded 12 points (4+8) in his eight games against the Penguins since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
- Kyle Okposo has eight points (5+3) in his last seven games against Pittsburgh.
- Matt Moulson had a point in each of his three games against the Penguins last season (2+1).
SABRES IN THE TOP 10
- Buffalo was ranked third in the NHL in team faceoff percentage (52.8%) entering play Friday.
- Ryan O’Reilly ranked second among all NHL forwards with an average ice time of 21:46 per game before Friday’s games. O’Reilly finished the 2015-16 season ranked first among forwards with 21:44 of ice time per game and has averaged 20:44 per game since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, leading all NHL forwards during that time frame.
- O’Reilly entered play Wednesday ranked eighth in the NHL in faceoffs won (187) and fourth among players with at least 100 faceoffs in win percentage (60.5%). He finished in the top 10 in both categories in 2015-16.
- Entering Friday’s games, Matt Moulson was tied for second in the NHL with five power-play goals and tied for ninth with seven power-play points.
- Rasmus Ristolainen ranked fifth among all NHL skaters in average ice time per game (25:50) entering play Friday and was tied for third among all NHL defensemen with six power-play points.
- Anders Nilsson entered play Friday ranked seventh among goaltenders with at least 240 minutes in save percentage (.942) and seventh in goals-against average (1.96).
BUF-PIT CONNECTIONS
Former Penguins:
- Dan Bylsma became the Penguins’ head coach during the 2008-09 season and led the team to an 18-3-0 record to close the regular season and eventually won the Stanley Cup. Overall, he posted a 252-117-32 record in Pittsburgh in 401 games coached from 2008-09 to 2013-14. He also won the Jack Adams award while with the Penguins after the 2010-11 season.
Zach Bogosian:
- Played with Eric Fehr for the Winnipeg Jets during the 2011-12 season.
Cody Franson:
- Played alongside Patric Hornqvist for the Nashville Predators from 2009-2011 and again at the end of the 2014-15 season. Matt Cullen was also on the team during the 2014-15 season.
- Teammates with Phil Kessel for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011-2015.
Josh Gorges:
- He and Justin Schultz are both from Kelowna, British Columbia.
- Played with Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury for Team Canada at the 2004 World Junior Championship.
Evander Kane:
- Played with Eric Fehr for the Winnipeg Jets during the 2011-12 season.
Johan Larsson:
- Represented Sweden alongside Patric Hornqvist at the 2012 World Championship.
- Played with Matt Cullen for the Minnesota Wild during the 2012-13 season.
Jake McCabe:
- Played with Justin Schultz for the University of Wisconsin (WCHA) during the 2011-12 season.
Matt Moulson:
- He was drafted by the Penguins in the ninth round (263rd overall) of 2003 NHL Draft but never suited up for Pittsburgh.
Anders Nilsson:
- Both he and Steve Olesky played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) during the 2011-12 season.
- Played with Justin Schultz for the Edmonton Oilers during the 2015-16 season.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Teammates with Justin Schultz for Team Canada at the 2013 World Championship.
- Represented Canada alongside Sidney Crosby at the 2015 World Championship and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- Represented Finland alongside Olli Maata at the 2012 and 2013 World Junior Championships, as well as the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
NHL Draft:
- Cody Franson (79th overall) and Kris Letang (62nd overall) were both taken in the third round of the 2005 NHL Draft. They also both played for Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
- Kyle Okposo (7th overall by the New York Islanders) and Phil Kessel (5th overall by Boston) were both first-round selections in the 2006 NHL Draft.
- Robin Lehner (46th overall by Ottawa) and Brian Dumoulin (51st overall by Carolina) were both second-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Olli Maata (22nd overall) were both first-round picks in the 2012 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Foligno (60), Gorges (42), Ristolainen (38)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (35), Ristolainen (30), McCabe (20)
Shots: Moulson (45), Okposo (44), O’Reilly (43)
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: 1-4-2 (4), 8/21, 3/18, 23/30
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-2; 102-107 all-time)
Oct. 18 at EDM: L, 4-3 (GWG-Monahan)
Nov. 11 vs. NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Greene)
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)
Wins
Dan Bylsma … 8 wins … 300 NHL wins
Points
Marcus Foligno … 2 points … 100 NHL points
Cody Franson … 9 points … 200 NHL points
RECENT MILESTONES
Dan Bylsma … 500th NHL game coached … Nov. 17 vs. TBL
Josh Gorges … 700th NHL game … Nov. 17 vs. TBL
