Game Preview: 10/19/21 vs. Vancouver

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Saturday, October 16
Arizona 1 at Buffalo 2 (OT)
Goals: Eakin, Ruotsalainen (GDG)
Goalie: Tokarski (20 saves/21 shots)
PP: 1/2; PK: 2/2; Shots: Buffalo 33 – Arizona 21

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 6)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 2 games
Jack Eichel (Upper body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 2 games
Casey Mittelstadt (Upper body Oct. 16) – 1 game
Henri Jokiharju (Lower body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS

10/16: Claimed D Christian Wolanin off of waivers from Los Angeles; Placed D Henri Jokiharju on IR.

UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Oct. 22: Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 23: Buffalo at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 25: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 28: Buffalo at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
CANUCKS at SABRES

• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Canucks this season.
• Last meeting: Vancouver defeated Buffalo 6-3 in Buffalo on Jan. 11, 2020
• Next meeting: Sunday, March 20 in Vancouver
• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games against the Canucks; 6-4-0 at home.
• This is the 125th game all-time between Buffalo and Vancouver; Buffalo has a 50-54-20 series record.
• The Sabres are 32-22-8 at home against the Canucks all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 6-8-3 all-time on October 19.
• October 19, 1978: Don Edwards stops all 19 shots and Craig Ramsay scores the game’s lone goal as the Sabres shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0 in Buffalo.
• October 19, 1984: Mike Foligno completes his third career hat trick with the game-winning goal at 12:33 of the third period to dispatch the Quebec Nordiques 5-4 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Buffalo enters tonight’s game looking for a win to go 3-0-0 to start a season for the fifth time in franchise history.
  • The last Sabres team to win at least its first three games of the season was the 2008-09 club that won its first four contests.
• If the Sabres earn at least a point tonight, they will have opened the season by earning at least a point in their first three games for the ninth time in team history.
• Rasmus Dahlin is expected to play in his 200th career NHL game tonight. Among Sabres defensemen with at least 199 career games played for the team, Dahlin ranks 10th in goals per game (.09), fourth in assists per game (.45) and fourth in points per game (.54)
  • Entering Monday’s games, Dahlin’s .45 assists per game ranked 10th among active NHL defensemen (min. 199 GP).
• Kyle Okposo’s next goal will be the 200th of his NHL career. Entering Monday’s games, there were 55 U.S.-born players who have reached the 200-goal mark and 60 active NHL players who had scored 200 or more career goals.
• Buffalo has held its opponents to one goal in each of its first two games this season. The last time the team held its opponents to three or fewer goals in the first three games of the season was 2009-10, when the Sabres allowed three goals through their first three contests.
  • The Sabres have held each of their first three opponents to one goal or fewer just once in franchise history: 2008-09, when the team allowed one goal in each of its first three contests.
• The Sabres have successfully killed all six of their penalties to begin the season. The last time the Sabres were perfect on the penalty kill in the first three games of the season was 2017-18 (11-for-11).
• Colin Miller notched two assists vs. MTL (10/14) and now has five assists in his last six games played dating back to last season.

HOT AGAINST THE CANUCKS

• Kyle Okposo has totaled 15 points (4+11) in his last 13 games against Vancouver, including a point in each of the last seven meetings (4+3). His career point-per-game output through 15 games against the Canucks ties his mark against the San Jose Sharks (5+11 in 16 GP) as his best against any NHL team.
• Vinnie Hinostroza has 10 points (1+9) in 10 career games against Vancouver, including seven assists in his last five. His total points (10) and points per game (1.00) against the Canucks both tie for his best output against any NHL team
• Rasmus Dahlin has four assists in three career games against the Canucks.
• Jeff Skinner has recorded six points (3+3) in his last six contests against the Canucks.
• Zemgus Girgensons has a point in each of his last three games against Vancouver (2+1).
• Victor Olofsson scored a goal and added an assist in his only career meeting with the Canucks.

WELCOME TO BUFFALO
The Sabres have seven new players on their roster this season:

2021-22 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:

• Eight were drafted by the Sabres — five were first-round selections (Pysyk, 2010; Girgensons, 2012; Mittelstadt, 2017; Dahlin, 2018; Cozens, 2019), one was a second-round pick (Asplund, 2016), one was a fourth-round pick (Bryson, 2017) and one was a seventh-round pick (Olofsson, 2014).
  • Mark Pysyk was drafted by the Sabres in 2010 and returned as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
• Seven were acquired in trades: Bjork, Butcher, Hagg, Jokiharju, Miller, Skinner, Thompson
• Seven were signed as free agents: Anderson, Eakin, Hayden, Hinostroza, Okposo, Ruotsalainen, Tokarski
• Drake Caggiula was claimed off of waivers.
• Seventeen played in Buffalo at some point last season: Asplund, Bjork, Bryson, Caggiula, Cozens, Dahlin, Eakin, Girgensons, Jokiharju, Miller, Mittelstadt, Okposo, Olofsson, Ruotsalainen, Skinner, Thompson, Tokarski
• One played for Buffalo previously: Pysyk
• Five are new to the Sabres this season: Anderson, Butcher, Hagg, Hayden, Hinostroza

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 10/18 games)

• Buffalo Sabres: 4 PTS (T-2nd), 2 W (T-1st), 1.00 GA/GP (T-1st), 50.0% PP% (T-2nd), 100.0% PK% (T-1st), 54.5 % FO% (5th), 26.0 SA/GP (3rd)
• Bryson: 2 PPP (T-8th)
• Eakin: 1 PPG (T-5th)
• Girgensons: 1 GWG (T-1st)
• Hagg: 8 BkS (T-2nd)
• Okposo: 1 PPG (T-5th)
• Olofsson: 1 PPG (T-5th), 2 PPP (T-8th)
• Skinner: 2 PPP (T-8th)
• Thompson: 1 PPG (T-5th) 

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Caggiula (4), Dahlin/Hagg/Miller/Pysyk (3)
Blocked Shots: Hagg (8), Pysyk (4), Dahlin/Eakin/Miller (3)
Shots: Olofsson (8), Skinner (7), Miller/Okposo/Thompson (6)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 2-0-0 (4), 7/2, 4/8, 6/6

OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 126-138 all-time)
N/A

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-0; 82-74 all-time)
Oct. 16 vs. ARI: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ruotsalainen)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Rasmus Dahlin … 1 game played … 200 career games played
Zemgus Girgensons … 9 games played … 500 career games played

Goals
Kyle Okposo … 1 goal … 200 career goals

Assists
Colin Miller … 3 assists … 100 career assists
Will Butcher … 8 assists … 100 career assists
Rasmus Dahlin … 10 assists … 100 career assists

Points
Mark Pysyk … 8 points … 100 career points

Wins
Craig Anderson … 8 wins … 300 career wins

RECENT MILESTONES
N/A