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LAST GAME
Tuesday, October 19
Vancouver 2 at Buffalo 5
Goals: Okposo, Girgensons, Skinner, Thompson, Asplund
Goalie: Anderson (32 saves/34 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 3/3; Shots: Buffalo 43 – Vancouver 34
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 10)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 3 games
Jack Eichel (Upper body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 3 games
Casey Mittelstadt (Upper body Oct. 16) – 2 games
Henri Jokiharju (Lower body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 2 games
Cody Eakin (Undisclosed) – 0 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/16: Claimed D Christian Wolanin off waivers from Los Angeles; Placed D Henri Jokiharju on IR.
UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Tuesday, Nov. 2: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
BRUINS at SABRES
- This is the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Bruins this season.
- Last meeting: Boston defeated Buffalo 6-2 in Boston on May 1, 2021
- Next meeting: Wednesday, Nov. 24 in Buffalo
- The Sabres are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Bruins; 2-7-1 at home.
- This is the 305th game all-time between Buffalo and Boston; Buffalo has a 126-132-46 series record.
- The Sabres are 75-54-24 at home against the Bruins all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-8-0 all-time on October 22.
- October 22, 1972: Gilbert Perreault records six points (2+4) and Rick Martin scores four goals, including three in the third period, as the Sabres defeat the Atlanta Flames 7-2 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
- October 22, 2011: Brad Boyes plays in his 500th NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Buffalo enters tonight’s game looking for a win to go 4-0-0 to start a season for the fourth time in franchise history.
- The last Sabres team to win at least its first four 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 four games for the seventh time in team history.
- Colin Miller has four assists this season and now has seven assists in his last seven games played dating back to last season.
- Arttu Ruotsalainen enters tonight’s game with a point in each of his last four games against Boston (3+1).
- Rasmus Asplund has an assist in each of his last two games against the Bruins.
HOT START
- The Sabres have started the season 3-0-0 for the first time since 2008-09.
- Entering Thursday’s games, the Sabres ranked third in the NHL with a 57.08 shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 this season.
- Buffalo has had 62 scoring chances for and 33 scoring chances against at 5-on-5 through its first three games, good for second in the NHL entering play Thursday with a 65.26 scoring chance for percentage.
- Before Thursday’s games, the team’s 64.63 expected goals percentage at 5-on-5 ranked second in the NHL.
- The Sabres have successfully killed all nine of their penalties to begin the season. The last time the Sabres were perfect on the penalty kill through at least in the first four games of the season was in 2008-09 when the team opened with five straight games without allowing a power-play goal (24-for-24).
TERRIFIC TRIO
- The line of Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson has accounted for four goals and six points for the Sabres this season.
- According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, the trio has skated 32:13 together and registered a 69.81 SAT%, a 81.17 xGF% and a 86.67 HDCF%.
- At all strengths, Asplund leads the Sabres in individual expected goals (1.64) and individual high-danger chances for (7), while Olofsson and Thompson are tied for the team lead in individual shot attempts (20).
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game opens Buffalo’s first of 17 sets of back-to-back games this season, which continues tomorrow night at New Jersey. The Sabres went 4-10-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 4-9-1 in the second game in 2020-21. Buffalo’s point breakdown in back-to-back sets last season was: four points (1), three points (1), two points (5), one point (0) and zero points (7).
WELCOME TO BUFFALO
The Sabres have seven new players on their roster this season:
Player, Pos. | How Acquired | Pronunciation | Notes |
Craig Anderson, G | Free agency | AN-duhr-suhn | Ranks among the NHL’s active leaders in wins (6th, 291), saves (4th, 18,251) and shutouts (T-6th, 42). |
Will Butcher, D | Trade (NJD) | BUH-chuhr | Led all NJD defensemen in assists (92) and ranked second among Devils blueliners in points (106) since entering the NHL in 2017-18. |
Robert Hagg, D | Trade (PHI) | HAG | Averaged 15:40 of ice time over 34 games in 2020-21, recording five points (2+3) and leading PHI defensemen with 100 hits. |
John Hayden, C | Free Agency | HAY-dihn | Has compiled 31 points (13+18) in 185 career NHL games for CHI, NJD and ARI. |
Vinnie Hinostroza, C | Free Agency | hihn-oh-STROH-za | Recorded 12 points (4+8) in 17 games for CHI last season after being acquired via trade from FLA on April 2. |
Mark Pysyk, D | Free Agency | PEH-sihk | Played in 125 games for the Sabres from 2012 to 2016 after being selected by Buffalo in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. |
Christian Wolanin, D | Waivers | woh-LA-nihn | Claimed off of waivers on Oct. 16; has 18 points (5+13) in 61 career NHL games for Ottawa and Los Angeles. |
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 10/21 games)
- Buffalo Sabres: 6 PTS (T-1st), 3 W (T-1st), 1.33 GA/GP (1st), 34.4% PP% (T-7th), 100.0% PK% (T-1st), 53.7 % FO% (8th), 28.7 SA/GP (T-7th)
- Anderson: 2 W (T-3rd), .954 SV% (5th), 1.50 GAA (T-9th)
- Eakin: 1 PPG (T-8th)
- Girgensons: 1 GWG (T-1st)
- Okposo: 1 PPG (T-8th)
- Olofsson: 1 PPG (T-8th), 2 PPP (T-8th)
- Skinner: 1 GWG (T-1st)
- Thompson: 1 PPG (T-8th)
- Tokarski: .952 SV% (T-8th), 0.92 GAA (1st)
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Hagg (9), Miller (6), Caggiula (5)
Blocked Shots: Hagg (9), Pysyk (5), Dahlin/Eakin/Miller (3)
Shots: Olofsson/Thompson (12), Skinner (11), Miller/Okposo (10)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-0-0 (6), 12/4, 4/11, 9/9
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
Zemgus Girgensons … 8 games played … 500 career games played
Assists
Colin Miller … 1 assist … 100 career assists
Will Butcher … 7 assists … 100 career assists
Rasmus Dahlin … 9 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Mark Pysyk … 8 points … 100 career points
Wins
Craig Anderson … 7 wins … 300 career wins
RECENT MILESTONES
Kyle Okposo scored his 200th career NHL goal on Oct. 19 vs. Vancouver
Rasmus Dahlin played in his 200th career NHL game on Oct. 19 vs. Vancouver