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LAST GAME
Wednesday, November 23
Detroit 2 at Buffalo 1 (SO)
Goals: Gionta
Goalie: Lehner (23 saves/24 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 2/2; Shots: Buffalo 33 – Detroit 24
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 104)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 20 games
Jack Eichel (high-ankle sprain, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 20 games
Nicolas Deslauriers (knee, Oct. 30; injured reserve) – 13 games
Zach Bogosian (MCL sprain, Nov. 3) – 11 games
Tyler Ennis (groin, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 8 games
Dmitry Kulikov (lower back, Nov. 11) – 7 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/19: Recalled F Cal O’Reilly and F Cole Schneider from Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Nov. 29: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 1: NY Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec 3: Boston at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 5: Buffalo at Washington, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 6: Edmonton at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at CAPITALS
- This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Capitals this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Washington, 4-1, in Buffalo on Jan. 16
- Next meeting: 4-3-3 in their last 10 games vs. the Capitals; 3-6-1 on the road.
- This is the 153rd game all-time between Buffalo and Washington; Buffalo has an 87-46-19 series record.
- The Sabres are 41-25-10 on the road against the Capitals all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 8-9-2 all-time on November 25.
- November 25, 1970: The Sabres acquire Eddie Shack and Dick Duff from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Mike McMahon.
- November 25, 2000: Vladimir Tsyplakov scores 10 seconds after the opening faceoff to open the scoring in a 5-3 Sabres win at Montreal.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres have won on the day after Thanksgiving in each of the last three seasons.
- Zemgus Girgensons has three points (1+2) in his last three games against the Capitals.
- Evander Kane has six career two-point games against Washington, including a goal and an assist in his last meeting with the Capitals on Jan. 16.
- Kyle Okposo has 10 points (5+5) in 12 career visits to Washington.
LAST LINE OF DEFENSE
- Buffalo’s goaltenders had the second-best combined save percentage* (.930) in the league entering play Thursday. According to Corsica, they also have the fifth-best save percentage during 5-on-5 play (.940).
- The Sabres last finished a season with a combined save percentage* above .920 in the 2009-10 season (.922, Ryan Miller/Patrick Lalime/Jhonas Enroth) and have not hit the .930 mark in a season since 1998-99 (.930, Dominik Hasek/Dwayne Roloson/Martin Biron).
- In his last three games, Anders Nilsson is 2-0-1 with a .976 save percentage and a 0.97 goals-against average. During that stretch, Nilsson has stopped 93 of 95 shots faced at even strength (.979) and 25 of 26 shots while the team was shorthanded (.962).
Top Five NHL Goaltending Tandems by Save Percentage* (as of 11/24) |
|||||
Team |
GP |
GA |
SA |
SV |
SV% |
Minnesota Wild |
19 |
35 |
572 |
537 |
.939 |
Buffalo Sabres |
20 |
45 |
645 |
600 |
.930 |
Columbus Blue Jackets | 18 |
39 |
548 |
509 |
.929 |
Montreal Canadiens |
20 |
45 |
628 |
583 |
.928 |
Tampa Bay Lightning | 21 |
48 |
636 |
588 |
.925 |
*Combined save percentage excludes empty net goals
SABRES IN THE TOP 10
- Buffalo was ranked fourth in the NHL in team faceoff percentage (51.9%) and ninth in power play percentage (21.2%) entering play Thursday.
- Anders Nilsson entered play Thursday leading the NHL in save percentage (.951) and ranked fifth in goals-against average (1.74).
- Ryan O’Reilly ranked second among all NHL forwards with an average ice time of 21:50 per game before Thursday’s games. O’Reilly finished the 2015-16 season ranked first among forwards with 21:44 of ice time per game and has averaged 20:45 per game since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, leading all NHL forwards during that time frame.
- O’Reilly also ranked fifth in the NHL among players with at least 150 faceoffs in faceoff percentage (59.5%). entering play Thursday.
- Matt Moulson entered play Thursday ranked second in the NHL with six power-play goals.
- Rasmus Ristolainen ranked fifth among all NHL skaters in average ice time per game (26:09) before Thursday’s games and was tied for third among all NHL defensemen with seven power-play points.
BUF-WSH CONNECTIONS
Former Capitals:
- Terry Murray played for Washington during the 1981-82 campaign, his final season in the NHL. He went on to serve as a Capitals assistant coach from 1983 to 1988 before being named Washington’s head coach. Murray posted a 163-134-28 record as bench boss in Washington from 1989 to 1994.
Local Players:
- Brooks Orpik grew up in Amherst, New York and attended Nichols High School.
Dan Bylsma:
- Coached Matt Niskanen for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2010-2014 and Brooks Orpik from 2009-2014.
Marcus Foligno:
- Played with Brett Connolly for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship held in Buffalo.
Cody Franson:
- Teammates with Karl Alzner for Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
Brian Gionta:
- Played with Brooks Orpik at Boston College from 1998-2001. The Golden Eagles won the NCAA National Championship in 2001.
- Teammates with Lars Eller for the Washington Capitals from 2010-2014.
Josh Gorges:
- Teammates with Lars Eller for the Washington Capitals from 2010-2014.
Dmitry Kulikov:
- Played with Dmitry Orlov for Russia at the 2008 World U-18 Championship.
- Teammates with Alex Ovechkin for Russia at the 2010, 2011 and 2015 World Championships.
Johan Larsson:
- Played with Nicklas Backstrom for Team Sweden at the 2012 World Championship.
Anders Nilsson:
- Represented Sweden alongside Marcus Johansson at the 2010 World Junior Championship.
Kyle Okposo:
- Represented the United States alongside Taylor Chorney at the 2007 World Junior Championship and the 2010 World Championship.
- Played with T.J. Oshie for the United States at the 2009 and 2010 World Championships. Matt Niskanen was also a part of the team in 2009.
Cal O’Reilly:
- Teammates with Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik for the Pittsburgh Penguins during part of the 2011-12 season.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Teammates with Brett Connolly for Canada at the 2009 World U18 Championship.
- Teammates with Daniel Winnick for the Colorado Avalanche from 2010-2012.
NHL Draft:
- Evander Kane (4th overall) and Marcus Johansson (24th overall) were both first-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Ryan O’Reilly (33rd overall), Robin Lehner (46th overall) and Dimitry Orlov (55th overall) were second-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft.
- Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Tom Wilson (16th overall) were both chosen in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
- Rasmus Ristolainen, (8th overall) and Andre Burakovsky (23rd overall) were both selected in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Foligno (70), Gorges (49), Ristolainen (45)
Blocked Shots: Gorges (38), Ristolainen (35), McCabe (21)
Shots: Okposo (55), Moulson/O’Reilly/Reinhart (48), Gionta (47)
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: 3-4-3 (9), 15/26, 6/31, 28/36
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 (1-3; 68-61 all-time)
Oct. 25 at PHI: L, 4-3 (GDG-Giroux)
Nov. 9 vs. OTT: L, 2-1 (GDG-Ryan)
Nov. 19 vs. PIT: W, 2-1 (GDG-C. O’Reilly)
Nov. 23 vs. DET: L, 2-1 (GDG-Vanek)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Wins
Dan Bylsma … 6 wins … 300 NHL wins
Points
Marcus Foligno … 1 point … 100 NHL points
Cody Franson … 9 points … 200 NHL points
RECENT MILESTONES
William Carrier … 1st NHL point (goal) … Nov. 19 vs. PIT