GAME-DAY RESOURCES
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LAST GAME
Tuesday, January 9
Winnipeg 7 at Buffalo 4
Goals: Eichel (2), O’Reilly, Pominville
Goalie: Lehner (14 saves/17 shots); Johnson (16 saves/19 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 2/4; Shots: Winnipeg 37 – Buffalo 34
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 158)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Victor Antipin (illness, Dec. 29; injured reserve) – 6 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/5: Activated D Taylor Fedun from IR; Assigned Fedun to Rochester (AHL)
1/8: Recalled D Brendan Guhle and G Linus Ullmark from Rochester (AHL); Placed D Victor Antipin on IR
1/11: Placed F Jacob Josefson on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Jan. 18: Buffalo at NY Rangers, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 20: Dallas at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 22: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 23: Buffalo at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 25: Buffalo at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
BLUE JACKETS at SABRES
- This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Blue Jackets this season.
- Last meeting: Columbus defeated Buffalo 3-2 in Buffalo on Nov. 20
- The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games vs. Blue Jackets; 4-5-1 at home
- This is the 29th game all-time between Buffalo and Columbus; Buffalo has a 10-16-2 series record.
- The Sabres are 6-8-1 at home against the Blue Jackets all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 6-6-4 all-time on January 11.
- January 11, 1976: Gerry Desjardins earns his second shutout of the season with 28 saves in a 6-0 win over Pittsburgh.
- January 11, 1994: Randy Wood scores his first career penalty-shot goal in a 5-2 win at Chicago.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- With three assists on Tuesday vs. Winnipeg, Kyle Okposo logged his first three-point night since Dec. 13, 2016 vs. Los Angeles (0+3). Okposo now has seven points (1+6) in his last seven games.
- Ryan O’Reilly recorded three points (1+2) on Tuesday vs. Winnipeg and now has eight points (3+5) in his last eight games.
- Jason Pominville has four points (1+3) in his last four games.
- The Sabres have gotten a point in their last three visits from Metropolitan Division teams (1-0-2) and are looking to extend that point streak to four for the first time since the division was established in 2013-14.
HOT AGAINST COLUMBUS
- Evander Kane has 10 points (6+4) in his last 10 games against Columbus, dating back to the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
- Jack Eichel has totaled seven points (2+5) in eight career games against Columbus.
- Sam Reinhart has a point in five of his last six games against the Blue Jackets (4+1).
- Robin Lehner is 5-3-0 in his career against the Blue Jackets with a .945 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average.
GOING STREAKING
- With an assist in each of his last three games, Rasmus Ristolainen is currently seeking his first four-game point streak since he logged points in a career-best six straight games (0+6) from Feb. 12 to 25, 2017.
- Ristolainen has seven points (2+5) in his last six games, dating back to Dec. 29, despite getting a game misconduct after just 5:43 of ice time in one of those games.
- Ristolainen’s seven points during that span tied for second among NHL defensemen entering play Wednesday.
JACK ATTACK
- Jack Eichel has totaled 15 points (9+6) in his last 11 games, dating back to Dec. 15.
- Eichel ranked in the top five in the league in goals (T-1st, 9), points (T-5th, 15), even-strength goals (1st, 8), even-strength points (T-3rd, 12) during that stretch entering play Wednesday.
- Eichel scored at least two goals in four of those 11 games and entered play Wednesday tied for fifth in the league with four multi-goal games this season, just two off the league lead (Anders Lee).
I LIKE EICH
- Jack Eichel is currently on pace to surpass his personal bests in goals (24), assists (33) and points (57) on the strength of improved production at even strength (T-8th in NHL in ES goals, T-13th in ES points).
- Eichel’s 16 even-strength goals through 43 games match his career-best total from 2015-16 (81 games).
- Eichel’s 31 even-strength points through 43 games are two shy of his total from last season (61 games) and are just four shy of his career-best total from 2015-16 (81 games).
| Jack Eichel’s Production by Season | |||||||
| Season | GP | G | A | PTS | ES G | ES A | ES P |
| 2015-16 | 81 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 16 | 19 | 35 |
| 2016-17 | 61 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 14 | 19 | 33 |
| 2017-18 | 43 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 16 | 15 | 31 |
| 2017-18 (Pace) | 82 | 32 | 42 | 74 | 31 | 29 | 59 |
SETTING THEM UP AND KNOCKING THEM DOWN
- Of Jack Eichel’s 39 points so far this season, 23 have been goals or primary assists recorded during 5-on-5 play (excludes 6-on-5 situations).
- Through 43 games, Eichel’s 23 primary points (12+11) during 5-on-5 play have already surpassed his 61-game total from last season (11+10) and are just one shy of his total from his 81-game rookie season (12+12).
| 2017-18 Primary Points Leaders at 5-on-5 (Before 1/10 games) | ||||
| Player | Team | Goals | Primary Assists | Primary Points |
| Nikita Kucherov | TBL | 20 | 8 | 28 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | COL | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| Patrick Kane | CHI | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Jack Eichel | BUF | 12 | 11 | 23 |
*All primary point stats via NaturalStatTrick.com
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 1/10 games)
- Eichel: 16 EVG (T-8th)
- Kane: 3 SHG (T-2nd), 3 SHP (T-4th), 172 S (5th)
- O’Reilly: 619 FOW (1st), 61.0% FO% (1st), 1,015 FO (2nd)
- Ristolainen: 26:07 TOI/GP (5th)
BUF-CBJ CONNECTIONS
Former Blue Jackets:
- Justin Falk played for Columbus from 2014-2016, posting six points (1+5) in 29 games. He was also a member of the Lake Erie Monster’s Calder Cup-winning squad in 2016.
Former Sabres:
- Zac Dalpe posted three points (1+2) in 21 games for the Sabres during the 2014-15 season.
Local Players:
- Nick Foligno was born in Buffalo.
Phil Housley:
- Served as an assistant coach for the Nashville predators when Seth Jones was with the team from 2013-2016.
Nathan Beaulieu:
- Represented Canada alongside Scott Harrington and Boone Jenner at the 2012 World Junior Championship.
Zach Bogosian:
- Represented the United States alongside Nick Foligno and Jack Johnson at the 2009 World Championship.
Jack Eichel:
- Represented the United States at the 2015 World Junior Championship with Sonny Milano and Zach Werenski.
- Teammates with Seth Jones for the United States at the 2015 World Championship and for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Robin Lehner:
- Played with Nick Foligno for the Ottawa Senators from 2010-2012.
Jake McCabe:
- Represented the United States alongside Seth Jones at the 2014 World Championship.
- Played with Nick Foligno at the 2016 World Championship for the United States.
Ryan O’Reilly:
- Teammates with David Savard for Team Canada at the 2015 World Championship.
- Represented Team Canada at the 2016 World Championships alongside Boone Jenner.
Kyle Okposo:
- Played with Nick Foligno and Jack Johnson at the 2009 and 2010 World Championships. Okposo and Johnson were also teammates at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
Jason Pominville:
- Teammates with Zac Dalpe for the Minnesota Wild from 2015-2017.
Benoit Pouliot:
- Teammates with Nick Foligno for the Sudbury Wolves (OHL) from 2004-2006.
Sam Reinhart:
- Teammates with Josh Anderson for Team Canada at the 2014 World Junior Championship.
- Represented Team Canada at the 2016 World Championships alongside Boone Jenner.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- Teammates with Jonas Korpisalo at the 2013 World Junior Championship for Finland.
Marco Scandella:
- Teammates with Zac Dalpe for the Minnesota Wild from 2015-2017.
NHL Draft:
- Benoit Pouliot (4th overall) was taken one selection after Jack Johnson (3rd overall) in the first round of the 2005 NHL Draft.
- Kyle Okposo (7th overall) and Nick Foligno (28th overall) were both chosen in the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft.
- The second round of the 2008 NHL Draft saw both Marco Scandella (55th overall) and Zac Dalpe (45th overall) go off the board.
- Rasmus Ristolainen and Seth Jones were both drafted in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft. Jones was the first off the board at No. 4 overall and Ristolainen was selected with the eighth overall pick.
- Sam Reinhart (2nd overall) and Sonny Milano (16th overall) were both taken in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
- Jack Eichel (2nd overall) and Zach Werenski (8th overall) were both selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (96), McCabe (94), Kane (90)
Blocked Shots: Scandella (65), McCabe (64), Ristolainen (54)
Shots: Kane (172), Eichel (149), O’Reilly (108)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 3-5-2 (8), 26/36, 5/36, 29/35
11-20: 2-6-2 (6), 20/35, 5/28, 23/27
21-30: 2-6-2 (6), 18/31, 2/32, 24/32
31-40: 3-3-4 (9), 22/27, 3/22, 21/26
41-50: 0-4-0 (0), 10/21, 2/14, 8/14
OVERTIME RESULTS (2-8; 110-119 all-time)
Oct. 17 at VGK: L, 5-4 (GWG-Perron)
Oct. 21 at BOS: W, 5-4 (GWG-O’Reilly)
Nov. 11 at MTL: L, 2-1 (GWG-Pacioretty)
Nov. 14 at PIT: L, 5-4 (GWG-Sheary)
Dec. 8 at CHI: L, 3-2 (GWG-Forsling)
Dec. 10 at STL: L, 3-2 (GWG-Tarasenko)
Dec. 15 vs. CAR: L, 5-4 (GWG-Slavin)
Dec. 27 at NYI: L, 3-2 (GWG-Barzal)
Dec. 29 at NJD: W, 4-3 (GWG-Ristolainen)
Jan. 1 vs. NYR: L, 3-2 (GWG-Miller)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-1; 69-65 all-time)
Oct. 5 vs. MTL: L, 3-2 (GDG-Drouin)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Wins
Buffalo Sabres … 2 home wins … 1,000 regular-season home wins
Games Played
Robin Lehner … 1 game … 200 career games played
Jacob Josefson … 5 games … 300 career games played
Benoit Pouliot … 8 games … 600 career games played
Assists
Rasmus Ristolainen … 1 assist … 100 career assists
Points
Zemgus Girgensons … 7 points … 100 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
