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LAST GAME
Thursday, February 2
NY Rangers 2 at Buffalo 1 (OT)
Goals: Franson
Goalie: Lehner (42 saves/44 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 2/3; Shots: NY Rangers 44 – Buffalo 37
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 245)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 50 games
Johan Larsson (wrist, Jan. 3; injured reserve) – 14 games
Josh Gorges (hip, Jan. 7; injured reserve) – 12 games
Jake McCabe (shoulder, Jan. 21) – 5 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Feb. 6: Buffalo at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 7: San Jose at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 9: Anaheim at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11: Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 12: Vancouver at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SENATORS at SABRES
- This is the fourth of five meetings between the Sabres and Senators this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Ottawa 5-4 in Ottawa on Nov. 29, 2016
- Next meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 14 in Ottawa
- The Sabres are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Senators; 4-3-3 at home
- This is the 132nd game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa; Buffalo has a 63-49-19 series record.
- The Sabres are 34-22-8 at home against the Senators all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 12-7-3 all-time on February 4.
- February 4, 1971: Eddie Shack records the second hat trick in franchise history in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
- February 4, 1998: The Sabres acquire Geoff Sanderson from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Brad May and a third-round draft pick in the 1999 NHL Draft.
- February 4, 2012: Ryan Miller passes Dominik Hasek for the most wins in franchise history with his 235th career win at NY Islanders.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres have gone 4-0-1 in their last five home games. With a win or overtime loss tonight, the team would have points in six straight home games for the first time since the team won six in a row from Nov. 28 to Dec. 15, 2014.
- The Sabres enter tonight’s game with points in six straight meetings with the Senators (4-0-2) for the first time since Buffalo went 6-0-1 against Ottawa from Dec. 4, 2010 to Dec. 13, 2011.
- Buffalo and Ottawa have had 16 of their last 21 games decided by a single goal. Seven of those games were decided in overtime or a shootout.
- The Sabres are 8-6 all-time in shootouts against the Senators. Their 14 shootouts against Ottawa make up the team’s highest total against any opponent.
WHO’S HOT?
- Evander Kane has 10 points (5+5) in his last 11 games. Kane hasn’t gone three games without recording a point since mid-November.
- Ryan O’Reilly has 12 points (2+10) in 13 games since returning from an absence due to an appendectomy.
- Cody Franson has six points (2+4) in his last six games.
- Brian Gionta has six points (3+3) in his last seven games.
HOT AGAINST OTTAWA
- Robin Lehner is 2-0-2 in six career appearances against his former club with a .951 save percentage and a 1.42 goals-against average. Anders Nilsson is 2-1-0 with a .927 save percentage in three career games against the Senators.
- Ryan O’Reilly has 12 points (4+8) in 12 career games against Ottawa.
- Jack Eichel has totaled seven points (4+3) in five career games against the Senators, including at least a point in each of the five.
- Kyle Okposo has 11 points (3+8) in 13 games against Ottawa since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
- Sam Reinhart has posted five points (3+2) in his last four games against the Senators.
- Rasmus Ristolainen has four assists in his last four games against Ottawa.
HOME COOKIN’
- Ryan O’Reilly has 11 points (2+9) in his last 10 home games.
- Sam Reinhart has nine points (3+6) in his last nine home games.
- Jack Eichel has 11 points (6+5) in 13 home games this season, including four multi-point outings.
- Anders Nilsson is 6-1-1 at home this season, with a .946 save percentage and a 1.84 goals-against average in those games, and has won each of his last five home games.
THE KANE EVENT
Evander Kane has scored each of his 14 goals this season in his last 27 games, including a team-high 13 even-strength goals. In the period since scoring his first goal of the season on Dec. 3 vs. Boston, he is ranked eighth among all NHL skaters in goals (14), tied for the league lead in even-strength goals (13) and ranks fifth in shots on goal (103).
*All rankings before Feb. 3 games
SOPHOMORE SURGE
In their second full NHL seasons, Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart have each improved on their points per game totals from 2015-16.
|
2015-16 |
2016-17 | |||
|
Jack Eichel |
Sam Reinhart |
Jack Eichel |
Sam Reinhart |
|
| G/GP |
.30 (25) |
.29 (24) |
.41 (34) |
.20 (16) |
| A/GP |
.40 (33) |
.24 (20) |
.31 (25) |
.40 (33) |
| P/GP |
.69 (57) |
.53 (43) |
.72 (59) |
.60 (49) |
| SOG/GP |
2.9 (238) |
2.1 (172) |
4.1 (339) |
2.2 (179) |
(82-game pace in parentheses)
ASSIST-OLAINEN
Rasmus Ristolainen entered play Friday tied for 39th among all NHL skaters with 25 assists.
- Ristolainen has recorded an assist on 21.4 percent of his teammates’ goals*. Only one Sabres defenseman has ever recorded an assist on more than 20 percent of his teammates’ goals: Phil Housley (22.6%) in 1989-90.
- Ristolainen would need to fail to record an assist on each of his teammates’ next nine goals to fall below 20 percent.
*Teammate goals are defined as total team goals minus the player’s goals and shootout-winners.
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 2/3 games)
- Buffalo Sabres: 22.3% PP% (6th)
- Eichel: 4.1 S/GP (1st)
- Foligno: 174 hits (T-3rd)
- Nilsson: .935 EV SV% (6th), .923 SV% (8th)
- R. O’Reilly: 21:41 TOI/GP (3rd, forwards), 57.7 FO% (7th)
- Ristolainen: 16 PPA (T-3rd), 27:10 TOI (3rd), 17 PPP (T-4th, defensemen), 25 A (T-9th, defensemen)
BUF-OTT CONNECTIONS
Former Senators:
- Goaltender Robin Lehner was a second-round selection (46th overall) of the Senators in the 2009 NHL Draft. He appeared in 86 games over the course of his time with Ottawa and compiled a 30-36-13 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against average.
Nicolas Deslauriers:
- Played for the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL with Jean-Gabriel Pageau during the 2010-11 season.
Cody Franson:
- Skated alongside Tom Pyatt for Team Canada during the 2007 World Junior Championship.
- Was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs with Dion Phaneuf from 2011-2015.
Brian Gionta:
- Teammates with Tom Pyatt for the Montreal Canadiens from 2009-2011.
Josh Gorges:
- Was a member of Team Canada with Dion Phaneuf at the 2004 World Junior Championship.
- Teammates with Tom Pyatt for the Montreal Canadiens from 2009-2011.
Evander Kane:
- Represented Canada with Marc Methot and Dion Phaneuf during the 2011 and 2012 World Championships.
Dmitry Kulikov:
- Teammates with Mike Hoffman for the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) during the 2007-08 season.
Jake McCabe:
- Played with Chris Wideman for the United States at the 2016 World Championship.
Anders Nilsson:
- Represented Sweden alongside Erik Karlsson at the 2010 World Championship.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Represented Canada alongside Derick Brassard and Cody Ceci at the 2016 World Championship.
- Was a member of Team Canada with Marc Methot at the 2012 World Championship.
- Played for the Colorado Avalanche with Craig Anderson from 2009-2011.
Kyle Okposo:
- Represented the United States alongside Bobby Ryan at the 2012 World Championship.
Sam Reinhart:
- Helped represent Canada at the 2016 World Championship with both Derick Brassard and Cody Ceci.
NHL Draft:
- Kyle Okposo (7th overall) was taken one pick after Derick Brassard (6th overall) in the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft.
- Zach Bogosian (3rd overall), Erik Karlsson (15th overall) and Tyler Ennis (26th overall) were all first-round selections in the 2008 NHL Draft.
- Marcus Foligno (104th overall) was a fourth-round selection in the 2009 NHL Draft along with Chris Wideman (100th overall).
- Zemgus Girgensons and Cody Ceci were back-to-back selections in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft. Girgensons was selected 14th overall while Ceci went 15th overall.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Foligno (174), Ristolainen (132), Carrier (96)
Blocked Shots: Ristolainen (111), McCabe (64), Gorges (62)
Shots: Kane (132), Okposo (126), Eichel (120)
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
21-30: 5-3-2 (12), 31/26, 8/30, 13/24
31-40: 4-4-2 (10), 27/31, 7/34, 21/28
41-50: 4-5-1 (9), 28/33, 6/27, 21/28
OVERTIME RESULTS (5-5; 107-110 all-time)
Oct. 18 at CGY: L, 4-3 (GWG-Monahan)
Nov. 11 vs. NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Greene)
Dec. 5 at WSH: L, 3-2 (GWG-Johansson)
Dec. 6 vs. EDM: W, 4-3 (GWG-Ristolainen)
Dec. 16 vs. NYI: W, 3-2 (GWG-Ristolainen)
Jan. 5 at CHI: L, 4-3 (GWG-Kane)
Jan. 20 vs. DET: W, 3-2 (GWG-Okposo)
Jan. 21 at MTL: W, 3-2 (GWG-Bogosian)
Jan. 24 at NSH: W, 5-4 (GWG-Eichel)
Feb. 2 vs. NYR: L, 2-1 (GWG-Kreider)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-5; 68-63 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)
Dec. 17 at CAR: L, 2-1 (GDG-Stempniak)
Dec. 20 at FLA: L, 4-3 (GDG-Trocheck)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Nicolas Deslauriers … 7 games … 200 NHL games
Points
Rasmus Ristolainen … 7 points … 100 NHL points
RECENT MILESTONES
Cody Franson … 200th NHL point … Jan. 31 at MTL
