GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Friday, October 20
Vancouver 2 at Buffalo 4
Goals: Bailey, Eichel
Goalie: Johnson (37 saves/40 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 4/4; Shots: Vancouver 41 – Buffalo 22
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 30)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Justin Falk (undisclosed, Oct. 5; injured reserve) – 8 games
Evan Rodrigues (hand, Oct. 5; injured reserve) – 8 games
Zach Bogosian (lower body, Oct.5; injured reserve) – 8 games
Jacob Josefson (lower body, Oct. 17; injured reserve) – 2 games
Zemgus Girgensons (lower body, Oct. 20) – 1 game
Josh Gorges (lower body, Oct. 20) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/15: Recalled F Justin Bailey from Rochester (AHL); placed D Zach Bogosian on IR
10/20: Recalled D Taylor Fedun from Rochester (AHL); placed F Jacob Josefson on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Oct. 24: Detroit at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 25: Buffalo at Columbus, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 28: San Jose at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 2: Buffalo at Arizona, 10 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4: Buffalo at Dallas, 8 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at BRUINS
- This is the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Bruins this season.
- Last meeting: Boston defeated Buffalo 3-1 in Boston Dec. 31, 2016
- Next meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 19 in Buffalo
- The Sabres are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games vs. the Bruins; 4-4-2 on the road.
- This is the 286th game all-time between Buffalo and Boston; Buffalo has a 121-120-44 series record.
- The Sabres are 48-72-21 on the road against the Bruins all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 9-2-4 all-time on October 21.
- October 21, 1988: Sabres acquire Larry Playfair from Los Angeles in exchange for Bob Logan and a ninth-round draft choice in 1989 (Jim Giacin).
- October 21, 1989: Rob Ray scores a goal on his first NHL shot and adds an assist in a 4-2 win at Pittsburgh.
- October 21, 2008: Drew Stafford ties the game in the third period and Thomas Vanek scores the shootout-winner as the Sabres defeat the Bruins by a score of 3-2.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres need a win tonight to avoid going winless in four straight games in Boston for the first time since the team went 0-5-1 in Boston from Nov. 1, 2001 to Jan. 12, 2004.
- Robin Lehner has faced Boston more times than any other NHL team. In 17 career games against the Bruins, he has logged a .923 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average.
TERRIFIC TRIO
- Jack Eichel has recorded a point on six goals with each of his linemates, Evander Kane and Jason Pominville, through eight games this season. After last night’s game, Eichel/Kane and Eichel/Pominville both tied as the fifth-most prolific scoring combinations in the NHL.
- With at least nine points each, every member of the trio finished last night’s game ranked in the top 25 in the league in scoring.
- With four multi-point games each, Eichel and Pominville finished last night’s game tied for third in the league. Kane (3) was tied for eighth-most.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s second of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began last night with a 4-2 loss vs. Vancouver. The Sabres are 0-2-0 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 is: four points (0), three points (0), two points (1), one point (0) and zero points (0).
A NEW LOOK
Buffalo had a franchise-record 10 players in the opening night lineup who weren’t on the team’s roster in 2016-17: Antipin, Beaulieu, Griffith, Johnson, Josefson, Nolan, Pominville, Pouliot, Scandella and Tennyson. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the most new players an NHL team has had in its opening night lineup since the 2011-12 Florida Panthers (11).
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings after last night’s game)
- Eichel: 8 EVP (T-5th), 10 PTS (T-6th)
- Kane: 2 SHG (1st), 42 S (T-1st), 10 PTS (T-6th), 5 G (T-7th)
- O’Reilly: 120 FOW (1st), 192 FO (2nd), 62.5% FO% (5th), 2 PPG (T-6th)
- Pominville: 7 EVP (T-8th)
- Ristolainen: 27:10 TOI (1st)
BUF-BOS CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Tim Schaller spent two seasons with the Sabres, splitting his time between Buffalo and Rochester. He appeared in 35 games for the Sabres over his two seasons, logging five points (2+3).
Former Bruins:
- Seth Griffith was drafted by the Bruins in the fifth round (131st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He recorded 11 points (6+5) in 34 career games for Boston from 2014-2016.
- Chad Johnson spent one season with the Bruins and posted a 17-4-3 record with a .925 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average during the 2013-14 campaign.
- Davis Payne played all 22 of his career NHL games for the Bruins, tallying one assist in those contests.
- Benoit Pouliot played 74 games for the Bruins in 2011-12, posting 32 points (16+16) and a plus-18 rating.
Local Players:
- Jack Eichel was born in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
Phil Housley:
- Coached Sean Kuraly for the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship
Jack Eichel:
- Represented the United States alongside Brandon Carlo at the 2015 World Junior Championship.
- Teammates with Torey Krug for the United States at the 2015 World Championship.
Evander Kane:
- Teammates with Paul Postma for the Atlanta Thrashers (2010-11) and Winnipeg Jets (2011-2015).
Jake McCabe:
- Played with Sean Kuraly for the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Represented Canada alongside Brad Marchand at the 2016 World Championship and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Kyle Okposo:
- Skated alongside David Backes as members of the United States at the 2009 World Championship.
Benoit Pouliot:
- He and Adam McQuaid both played for the Sudbury Wolves (OHL) from 2003-2006.
Sam Reinhart:
- Represented Canada alongside Brad Marchand at the 2016 World Championship.
NHL Draft:
- Benoit Pouliot (4th overall) and Tuukka Rask (21st overall) were both picked in the first round of the 2005 NHL Draft.
- Sam Reinhart (2nd overall) and David Pastrnak (25th overall) were both first-round selections in the 2014 NHL Draft.
- Jack Eichel (2nd overall) and Jake DeBrusk (14th overall) were both taken in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (23), Kane (19), Pouliot (14)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (15), Scandella (12), Ristolainen (11)
Shots: Kane (42), Eichel (21), O’Reilly (20)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 1-5-2 (4), 20/32, 5/30, 25/30
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-1; 108-112 all-time)
Oct. 17 at VGK: L, 5-4 (GWG-Perron)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-1; 69-65 all-time)
Oct. 5 vs. MTL: L, 3-2 (GDG-Drouin)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Jordan Nolan … 2 games … 300 career games played
Assists
Matt Moulson … 7 assists … 200 career assists
Points
Sam Reinhart … 8 points … 100 career points
Marco Scandella … 10 points … 100 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
Jason Pominville … 276th assist with Buffalo (8th in franchise history) … Oct 17 at VGK
Kyle Okposo … 600th NHL game … Oct. 20 vs. VAN
