Tag Archives: Colorado Avalanche

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Monday, October 8
Vegas 2 at Buffalo 4
Goals: Eichel (2), Scandella, Pominville
Goalie: Hutton (35 saves/37 shots)
PP: 1/2; PK: 2/2; Shots: Vegas 37 – Buffalo 17

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 17)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zach Bogosian (lower body, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games
Johan Larsson (lower body, Oct. 4) – 3 games
Sean Malone (knee, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games
Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games
Vladimir Sobotka (upper body, Oct. 6) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/11: Activated F Johan Larsson from IR; Placed D Zach Bogosian on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Oct. 13: Buffalo at Arizona, 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 16: Buffalo at Vegas, 10 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 18: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 20: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 21: Buffalo at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
AVALANCHE at SABRES

• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche this season.
• Next meeting: Saturday, March 9, 2019 in Colorado
• Last meeting: Colorado defeated Buffalo 5-4 in Buffalo on Feb. 11
• The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Avalanche; 3-5-2 at home.
• This is the 144th game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado; Buffalo has a 62-57-24 series record.
• The Sabres are 38-22-11 at home against the Avalanche all-time.

THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 7-4-3 all-time on October 11.
• October 11, 1979: Lindy Ruff scores in his first NHL game, a 6-3 win vs. Washington, becoming the first Sabres defenseman ever to score in his NHL debut.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Tonight’s game is the final in a four-game home stand. The four games mark the longest home stretch to open a season in franchise history. After tonight, the team will head west to play five games against Pacific Division teams in nine days from Oct. 13 to 21.
• Jack Eichel has recorded at least a point in each of his five career meetings with the Avalanche, totaling six points (2+4) in those games.
• Carter Hutton is 5-1-0 in six career appearances against Colorado with a .925 save percentage, including a 3-0-0 record and .951 save percentage last season.
• Casey Nelson scored his first NHL goal in his only previous meeting with the Avalanche on Feb. 11, when these teams last met.

MAKING HISTORY

• If he dresses, tonight’s game will be Jason Pominville’s 664th regular-season game as a member of the Sabres, tying him with Mike Foligno and Ric Seiling for 10th-most games in franchise history.
• After tonight, Pominville will be just 17 games behind Rick Martin (681) for ninth and 48 games behind Alexei Zhitnik (712) for eighth.
• Pominville will be the first player to break into the franchise’s top 10 in games played since Zhitnik passed Foligno, Seiling and Martin to move into eighth during the 2003-04 season.
• Pominville also ranks in or near the franchise’s regular-season top 10 in goals (12th, 202), assists (8th, 289) and points (11th, 491).

CAPTAIN JACK

• After being named captain on Oct. 3, Jack Eichel became the 19th full-season captain in franchise history and the 28th player to wear the captain’s “C” for at least a one-month period for the Sabres.
• At 21 years of age, Eichel is the youngest captain in Sabres history, passing Jim Schoenfeld, who served as the team’s captain as a 23-year-old in the 1975-76 season.

A FRESH FACE

• On Thursday vs. Boston, Rasmus Dahlin (18 years, 175 days) became the second-youngest player ever to appear in a game with the Sabres, behind only fellow No. 1 pick Pierre Turgeon (18 years, 41 days on Oct. 8, 1987 vs. MNS).
• Dahlin skated 22:37 in his debut, trailing only Rasmus Ristolainen (24:12) for the night. It was the highest ice time recorded by a Sabres player making his NHL debut and the 21st-highest ice time by any NHL player in their first game since the league began tracking ice time in the 1997-98 season.

2018-19 ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:

• Nine were originally drafted by the Sabres — six were first-round selections (Girgensons, 2012; Ristolainen, 2013; Reinhart, 2014; Eichel, 2015; Mittelstadt, 2017; Dahlin, 2018), two were second-round picks (Pominville, 2001; McCabe, 2012) and one was a sixth-round pick (Ullmark, 2012).
• Nine were acquired in trades: Beaulieu, Berglund, Bogosian, Pominville, Scandella, Sheary, Skinner, Sobotka, Thompson
• Five were signed as free agents: Hutton, Nelson, Okposo, Rodrigues, Tennyson
• One was acquired via waivers: Elie
• Fifteen played in Buffalo at some point last season: Beaulieu, Bogosian, Eichel, Girgensons, McCabe, Mittelstadt, Nelson, Okposo, Pominville, Reinhart, Ristolainen, Rodrigues, Scandella, Tennyson, Ullmark
• Eight are new to the Sabres this season: Berglund, Dahlin, Elie, Hutton, Sheary, Skinner, Sobotka, Thompson
• Four opened the season on an NHL roster for the first time in their careers: Dahlin, Elie, Mittelstadt, Ullmark

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

• Buffalo Sabres: 37.5 PP% (6th), 2.33 GA/GP (T-8th), 83.3 PK% (T-9th)
• Eichel: 3 G (T-8th)
• Hutton: 100 SV (1st), 2 W (T-2nd)
• Ristolainen: 25:36 TOI/GP (7th)
• Sheary: 2 PPG (T-2nd)

BUF-COL CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres

• Avalanche F J.T. Compher was drafted by the Sabres in the second round (35th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.
• Avalanche assistant coach Nolan Pratt played for the Sabres for one season (2000-01) during his professional career. He skated in 46 games with the team and recorded three points (1+2).
• Avalanche D Nikita Zadorov was selected by Buffalo in the first round (16th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. He spent one season with the club (2014-15), playing in 60 games and recording 15 points (3+12).

Nathan Beaulieu

• Played with Avalanche F Sven Andrighetto and D Mark Barberio in Montreal.

Patrik Berglund

• Played with Avalanche D Ian Cole and D Erik Johnson in St. Louis.
• Played for the Blues when Avalanche assistant coach Ray Bennett held the same role in St. Louis.

Jason Botterill

• Was the assistant general manager in Pittsburgh when Avalanche D Ian Cole played for the Penguins.

Phil Housley

• Was an assistant coach in Nashville when Avalanche F Gabriel Bourque, F Vladislav Kamenev and F Colin Wilson played for the Predators.

Carter Hutton

• Played with Avalanche F Gabriel Bourque and F Colin Wilson in Nashville.
• Played for the Blues when Avalanche assistant coach Ray Bennett held the same role in St. Louis.

Davis Payne

• Played with Avalanche assistant general manager Craig Billington in Boston from 1995 to 1996.
• Was the head coach in St. Louis when Avalanche D Ian Cole and D Erik Johnson played for the Blues. Avalanche assistant coach Ray Bennett was also on his coaching staff during his tenure with the team.

Conor Sheary

• Played with Avalanche D Ian Cole in Pittsburgh.

Vladimir Sobotka

• Played with Avalanche D Ian Cole and D Erik Johnson in St. Louis.
• Played for the Blues when Avalanche assistant coach Ray Bennett held the same role in St. Louis.

Matt Tennyson

• Played with Avalanche F Matt Nieto in San Jose.

Scott Wilson

• Played with Avalanche D Ian Cole in Pittsburgh.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (8), Girgensons (7), McCabe (7)
Blocked Shots: Berglund (7), Ristolainen (4), Eichel/McCabe (3)
Shots: Eichel (12), Ristolainen (8), Scandella/Sheary (7)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 2-1-0 (4), 7/7, 3/8, 5/6

OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 113-121 all-time)
N/A

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 70-66 all-time)
N/A

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Jason Pominville … 1 game … 664 games played with Sabres (T-10th in franchise history)
Patrik Berglund … 3 games … 700 career games played
Remi Elie … 8 games … 100 career games played
Goals
Jason Pominville … 9 goals … 211 goals with Sabres (T-11th in franchise history)
Points
Jason Pominville … 3 points … 700 career points
Conor Sheary … 4 points … 100 career points
Jason Pominville … 6 points … 497 points with Sabres (T-10th in franchise history)

RECENT MILESTONES
N/A

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Saturday, February 10
Buffalo 4 at Boston 2
Goals: Kane, Wilson, Pouliot, Ristolainen
Goalie: Johnson (25 saves/27 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 4/4; Shots: Buffalo 28 – Boston 27

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 193)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zach Bogosian (lower body, Jan. 11; injured reserve) – 12 games
Jake McCabe (thumb, Feb. 8) – 2 games
Zemgus Girgensons (illness, Feb. 10) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
2/11: Recalled F Nicholas Baptiste from Rochester (AHL); Placed D Jack McCabe on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Feb. 13: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 15: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 17: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 19: Washington at Buffalo, 3 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 22: Buffalo at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
AVALANCHE at SABRES

• This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Colorado 4-2 in Colorado on Dec. 5, 2017
• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Avalanche; 4-4-2 at home.
• This is the 143rd game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado; Buffalo has a 62-56-24 series record.
• The Sabres are 38-21-11 at home against the Avalanche all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 7-10-1 all-time on February 11.
• February 11, 2006: Thomas Vanek scores on two of his seven shots as Sabres top the Florida Panthers 5-3 to improve to 7-0-1 in an eight-game span.
• February 11, 2015: The Sabres acquire Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and Jason Kasdorf from the Winnipeg Jets.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Jack Eichel left last night’s game with an injury in the first period.
• Sabres goaltenders Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson have combined to stop 224 of the 236 shots (.949) they have faced at even strength in Buffalo’s last nine games.
• The Sabres have won their last two home meetings with the Avalanche and are looking to stretch the streak to three for the first time since the Sabres topped the Nordiques/Avalanche in three straight visits from March 28, 1995 to Nov. 14, 1996.
• With a point tonight, the Sabres will have won the season series against Colorado for the first time since they won the lone matchup in 2005-06. The Sabres last swept a multi-game season series against the Avalanche six attempts ago, with wins in both meetings during the 1999-00 season.

HOT AGAINST COLORADO

• Robin Lehner has started all five games against the Avalanche since he joined the Sabres, stopping 150 of 159 shots faced in those games (.943).
• Jack Eichel (2+4) and Ryan O’Reilly (0+6) both have six points in five career games against the Avalanche.
• Benoit Pouliot has nine points (4+5) in his last nine games against Colorado, including at least a point in each of the last four (3+2).
• Rasmus Ristolainen has four points (1+3) and a plus-five rating in seven career games against the Avalanche.
• Evander Kane has a goal in five of his last seven games against Colorado.

PLAYING WITH POWER

• The Sabres have tallied at least one power-play goal in 10 of their last 14 games dating back to Jan. 7 at Philadelphia (and went 0-for-0 on Jan. 11 vs. Columbus), converting at a 32.5 percent clip during that span.
• Buffalo’s power-play percentage during this stretch led the league after last night’s game, and the team’s 13 power-play goals tied for the league lead.
• During that stretch, the Sabres’ top power-play unit (Eichel, Okposo, O’Reilly, Reinhart, Ristolainen) has combined for 12 goals and each member of the unit has at least six power-play points.
• Ryan O’Reilly led the league after last night’s game with five power-play goals since Jan. 7. Jack Eichel’s nine power-play points (2+7) during that stretch tied for second.
• O’Reilly has taken 74.1 percent of the team’s power-play faceoffs during that span, going 43-for-60 (71.7%).
• O’Reilly’s nine power-play goals this season tied for fifth in the league after last night’s game.

WHO’S HOT?

• Sam Reinhart has totaled 14 points (4+10) in his last 11 games.
• Robin Lehner has stopped 175 of 185 shots (.946) in his last six games.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has 15 points (4+11) in his last 18 games, dating back to Dec. 29. Ristolainen’s 15 points during that span ranked tied for fourth among NHL defensemen after last night’s game.
• Kyle Okposo has recorded 13 points (3+10) in his last 13 games, including four multi-point games.

HOT AT HOME

• Jack Eichel has recorded 20 points (12+8) in 18 home games dating back to Nov. 20 vs. CBJ.
• Kyle Okposo has totaled 13 points (2+11) in his last 13 home games, including three multi-point home games in the month of January.
• Ryan O’Reilly has 11 points (5+6) in 10 home games dating back to the team’s game on Dec. 22 vs. Philadelphia.
• Sam Reinhart has totaled seven points (2+5) in his last six home games.

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s 12th of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, after a 4-2 win last night at Boston. The Sabres are 5-7-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 3-6-2 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to-back sets is: four points (1), three points (0), two points (5), one point (2) and zero points (3).

JACK ATTACK

• Jack Eichel has totaled 34 points (15+19) in 30 games since the beginning of December.
• During that stretch, Eichel ranked in the top 10 in the league in goals (T-7th, 15), points (T-5th, 34), even-strength goals (T-4th, 12) and shots (3rd, 120) after last night’s game.
• Eichel scored at least two goals in four of those 30 games and finished last night’s game tied for 13th in the league with four multi-goal games this season, just two off the league lead.

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-10th in NHL in ES goals, T-10th in ES points after last night’s game).
• Eichel’s 16 multi-point games this season through 55 games have already tied his career best set in 2016-17.
• With his 17th even-strength goal in his 44th game of the season on Jan. 11 vs. Columbus, Eichel surpassed his career-best total from 2015-16 (81 games). Through 55 games, Eichel now has 19 even-strength goals.
• With his 36th even-strength point in his 53rd game of the season on Feb. 7 vs. Anaheim, Eichel surpassed his career-best total from 2015-16 (81 games). Through 55 games, he now has 38 even-strength points.

SETTING THEM UP AND KNOCKING THEM DOWN

• Of Jack Eichel’s 53 points so far this season, 24 have been goals or primary assists recorded during 5-on-5 play (excludes 6-on-5 situations).
• Through 55 games, Eichel’s 24 primary points (13+11) during 5-on-5 play have already surpassed his 61-game total from last season (11+10) and tied his career-best total from his 81-game rookie season (12+12).

*All primary point stats via NaturalStatTrick.com

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings after last night’s game)

• Eichel: 201 S (6th), 38 EVP (T-10th), 19 EVG (T-10th)
• Girgensons: 2 SHG (T-5th)
• Kane: 3 SHG (T-2nd), 3 SHP (T-5th), 202 S (5th)
• O’Reilly: 802 FOW (1st), 60.9% FO% (1st), 1,316 FO (2nd), 9 PPG (T-5th)
• Ristolainen: 26:29 TOI/GP (3rd)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (135), McCabe (110), Kane (109)
Blocked Shots: Scandella (83), McCabe (79), Ristolainen (68)
Shots: Kane (202), Eichel (201), O’Reilly (141)

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: 3-4-3 (9), 24/33, 3/25, 23/28
41-50: 4-6-0 (8), 27/31, 10/33, 15/26
51-60: 2-2-1 (6), 13/14, 3/9, 17/21

OVERTIME RESULTS (3-9; 111-120 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)
Jan. 22 at CGY: W, 2-1 (GWG-Eichel)
Feb. 6 vs. ANA: L, 4-3 (GWG-Henrique)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-1; 69-65 all-time)
Oct. 5 vs. MTL: L, 3-2 (GDG-Drouin)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Jack Eichel … 3 games … 200 career games played
Assists
Jack Eichel … 4 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Ryan O’Reilly … 2 points … 400 career points
Zemgus Girgensons … 4 points … 100 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Benoit Pouliot … 600th NHL game … Feb. 6 vs. ANA
Buffalo Sabres … 1,000th regular-season home win … Feb. 8 vs. NYI
Jacob Josefson … 300th NHL game … Feb. 10 at BOS

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Saturday, December 2
Buffalo 1 at Pittsburgh 5
Goals: Pominville
Goalie: Johnson (24 saves/28 shots)
PP: 0/4; PK: 5/6; Shots: Buffalo 33 – Pittsburgh 29

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 128)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Taylor Fedun (lower body, Nov. 17; injured reserve) – 9 games
Jacob Josefson (ankle, Nov. 28; injured reserve) – 3 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/30: Recalled G Linus Ullmark from Rochester (AHL); Activated D Matt Tennyson; Placed Tennyson on waivers
12/1: Assigned D Matt Tennyson and G Linus Ullmark to Rochester (AHL); Activated D Zach Bogosian from IR; Placed F Jacob Josefson on IR
12/2: Recalled F Hudson Fasching from Rochester (AHL)
12/4: Acquired F Scott Wilson from Detroit in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft; Recalled F Evan Rodrigues from Rochester (AHL); Assigned F Kyle Criscuolo to Rochester; Placed F Matt Moulson on waivers

UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Dec. 8: Buffalo at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 10: Buffalo at St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 12: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 14: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 15: Carolina at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at AVALANCHE

• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche this season.
• Last meeting: Colorado defeated Buffalo 5-3 in Colorado on Feb. 25
• Next meeting: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 in Buffalo
• The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Avalanche; 3-5-2 on the road.
• This is the 142nd game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado; Buffalo has a 61-56-24 series record.
• The Sabres are 23-35-13 on the road against the Avalanche all-time.

THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 9-6-3 all-time on December 5.
• December 5, 1971: Craig Ramsay records the first natural hat trick in Sabres history, leading the team to a 3-1 win at home against the Minnesota North Stars.
• December 5, 1976: The Sabres defeat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 in the first meeting between the teams after the Kansas City Scouts’ relocation to Colorado.
• December 5, 1997: Dominik Hasek makes 38 saves in a 4-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning to record his third of a career-high 13 shutouts during the 1997-98 season.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The home team has won the last five games between these teams. Neither team has won in the other’s arena since Colorado’s 5-1 win in Buffalo on Dec. 20, 2014.
• The Sabres last won a game in Colorado on Dec. 4, 2005, having gone 0-4-2 in the six games since then.
• Robin Lehner has started all four games against the Avalanche since he joined the Sabres, stopping 115 of 122 shots faced in those games (.943).
• Jack Eichel (1+3), Ryan O’Reilly (0+4) and Sam Reinhart (3+1) each have four points in four career games against the Avalanche.
• Benoit Pouliot has seven points (3+4) in his last eight games against Colorado, including a point in each of the last three (2+1).
• Rasmus Ristolainen has four points (1+3) in his last five games against the Avalanche, including an assist in each meeting last season.
• Evan Rodrigues had a point in both of his previous meetings with the Avalanche (1+1).

WELCOME TO BUFFALO
On Monday, the Sabres acquired forward Scott Wilson from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Buffalo’s fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

• Wilson totaled 26 points (8+18) in his first full NHL season in 2016-17 and appeared in 20 playoff games with the Penguins in 2017, helping the team to its second consecutive Stanley Cup win.
• Prior to joining Pittsburgh full-time for the 2016-17 season, Wilson totaled 77 points (41+36) in 90 regular-season AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He led the league with 22 goals at the time of his last recall to Pittsburgh in February 2016.

RETURN OF E-ROD
The Sabres recalled Evan Rodrigues from Rochester on Monday.

• Since returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for the first six weeks of the season, Rodrigues leads all Amerks skaters with 1.25 points per game (5+5 in eight games) this season, doubling his rate from the 2016-17 AHL season.
• Rodrigues tallied six points (4+2) in 30 games with the Sabres last season.

THE KANE EVENT
Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Evander Kane has scored 40 goals in 97 games. Entering play Monday, those 40 goals tied for 24th in the league during that span and his 33 even-strength goals tied for 11th.

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 12/4 games)

• Eichel: 2 SHP (T-4th)
• Kane: 3 SHG (T-1st), 3 SHP (T-1st), 122 S (2nd)
• O’Reilly: 407 FOW (1st), 667 FO (2nd), 61.0% FO% (2nd)
• Ristolainen: 26:47 TOI/GP (3rd)

BUF-COL CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:

• Nikita Zadorov had 16 points (4+12) in 67 games for the Sabres after they selected him in the first round (16th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.
• Though he didn’t play a game for the Sabres, J.T. Compher was selected by Buffalo in the second round (35th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Former Avalanche:

• Colorado selected Ryan O’Reilly in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft. He went on to play 427 games for the Avalanche from 2009 to 2015, totaling 246 points (90+156).

Victor Antipin:

• Played with Vladislav Kamenev for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL from 2013-15.

Nathan Beaulieu:

• Played with Sven Andrighetto in Montreal from 2014 to 2017.
• Teammates with Mark Barberio in Montreal from 2015 to 2017.

Jason Botterill:

• Was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Blake Comeau played the 2014-15 season in Pittsburgh.

Justin Falk:

• Played with Rene Bourque for the Columbus Blue Jackets for part of the 2014-15 season.
• Was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2014 to 2016 with Cody Goloubef and Fedor Tyutin.

Josh Gorges:

• Teammates with Blake Comeau for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) from 2001 to 2004.
• Played with Rene Bourque for the Montreal Canadiens from 2011 to 2014.

Phil Housley:

• Was the Predators’ assistant coach while Gabriel Bourque played for the team from 2013 to 2016 and Colin Wilson played for Nashville from 2013 to 2017. Vladislav Kamenev also appeared in two games for Nashville in the 2016-17 season.

Chad Johnson:

• Teammates with Carl Soderberg on the Boston Bruins during the 2013-14 season.

Robin Lehner:

• Was a member of the Ottawa Senators from 2010 to 2015 alongside Patrick Wiercioch.

Matt Moulson:

• Teammates with Jonathan Bernier on the Manchester Monarchs from 2007 to 2009.

Jordan Nolan:

• Teammates with Jonathan Bernier in Los Angeles from 2011 to 2013.

Kyle Okposo:

• Played for the New York Islanders alongside Blake Comeau from 2007 to 2011.
• Teammates with Colin Wilson for the United States at the 2008 World Junior Championship. They also played together at the 2009 World Championship with Zach Bogosian.

Davis Payne:

• Was the head coach of the St. Louis Blues when Erik Johnson was with St. Louis from 2009 to 2011.
• Was an assistant coach in Los Angeles when Jonathan Bernier played with the Kings in 2012-13.

Benoit Pouliot:

• Teammates with Nail Yakupov in Edmonton from 2014 to 2016.
• Played with Mark Barberio in Tampa Bay during the 2012-13 season.

Rasmus Ristolainen:

• Was teammates with Mikko Rantanen as a member of TPS (SM-liiga) in the 2012-13 season.

Evan Rodrigues:

• Played at Boston University from 2011 to 2013 with Matt Nieto.

NHL Draft:

• Kyle Okposo (7th overall), Erik Johnson (1st overall), Jonathan Bernier (11th overall) and Semyon Varlamov (23rd overall) were all first-round selections in the 2006 NHL Draft.
• Evander Kane (4th overall), Dmitry Kulikov (14th overall) and Matt Duchene (3rd overall) were all first-round selections in the 2009 NHL Draft.
• Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Nail Yakupov (1st overall) were first-round picks in the 2012 NHL Draft.
• Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall), Nathan MacKinnon (1st overall) and Nikita Zadorov (16th overall) were all first-round draft picks in the 2013 NHL Draft.
• Jack Eichel (2nd overall) and Mikko Rantanen (10th overall) were selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
• Nathan Beaulieu (17th overall), Duncan Siemens (11th overall) and Gabriel Landeskog (2nd overall) were taken in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft.
• Zach Bogosian (3rd overall) was selected four picks before Colin Wilson (7th overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft.
• Johan Larsson (56th overall) and Patrik Nemeth (41st overall) were both selected in the second round of the 2010 NHL Draft.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (53), Kane (51), McCabe (48)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (39), Scandella (38), Ristolainen (31)
Shots: Kane (122), Eichel (86), O’Reilly (68)

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: 1-6-0 (2), 10/23, 0/22, 14/19

OVERTIME RESULTS (1-3; 109-114 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)

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 … 4 home wins … 1,000 regular-season home wins
Games Played
Ryan O’Reilly … 3 games … 600 career games played
Sam Reinhart … 6 games … 200 career games played
Rasmus Ristolainen … 9 games … 300 career games played
Assists
Matt Moulson … 7 assists … 200 career assists
Rasmus Ristolainen … 8 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Marco Scandella … 6 points … 100 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Zemgus Girgensons … 300th NHL game … Dec. 1 vs. PIT
Marco Scandella … 400th NHL game … Dec. 2 at PIT

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Sunday, February 19
Chicago 5 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Kane
Goalie: Lehner (32 saves/37 shots)
PP: 0/4; PK: 3/3; Shots: Chicago 37 – Buffalo 26

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 297)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 60 games
Johan Larsson (wrist, Jan. 3; injured reserve) – 24 games
William Carrier (knee, Feb.4; injured reserve) – 10 games
Zemgus Girgensons (middle body, Feb. 9) – 7 games
Sam Reinhart (illness, Feb. 18) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
2/19: Assigned D Taylor Fedun to Rochester (AHL)
2/20: Assigned F Justin Bailey, F Nicholas Baptiste and F Evan Rodrigues to Rochester (AHL)
2/24: Recalled F Justin Bailey and F Evan Rodrigues from Rochester (AHL); Activated F Zemgus Girgensons from IR; Assigned F Derek Grant to Rochester

UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, Feb. 26: Buffalo at Arizona, 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28: Nashville at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 2: Arizona at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 4: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 5: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES AT AVALANCHE

• This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Colorado 2-0 in Buffalo on Feb. 16
• The Sabres are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games vs. the Avalanche; 4-4-2 on the road.
• This is the 141st game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado; Buffalo has a 61-55-24 series record.
• The Sabres are 23-34-13 on the road against the Avalanche all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 11-7-3 all-time on February 25.
• February 25, 1978: The Sabres and Cleveland Barons combine for 16 goals as the Sabres pick up a 13-3 road victory. Danny Gare tallied five points (3+2) and Andre Savard, Jerry Korab and Gary McAdam each scored two goals in the game.
• February 25, 1998: Dominik Hasek makes 33 saves in his return from Olympic action and Geoff Sanderson scores just 1:22 into his Sabres debut as the Sabres battle to a 2-2 tie at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs, extending their unbeaten streak to 10 games (5-0-5).

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• This is the first game after a five-day break for the Sabres, who return from their bye week tonight.
• The Sabres are looking to win their fourth game in their past five contests.
• With a win tonight, the Sabres will have won three consecutive games against the Avalanche for the first time since March 24, 2003 to Dec. 4, 2005.
• The Sabres last won a game in Colorado on Dec. 4, 2005, having gone 0-3-2 in the five games since then.
• Robin Lehner has started all three games against the Avalanche since he joined the Sabres last season, stopping 90 of 93 total shots (.968).
• Jack Eichel (1+2), Evander Kane (3+0) and Ryan O’Reilly (0+4) all have points in each of their last three games against the Avalanche.
• Sam Reinhart has three points (2+1) in three career games against Colorado.

WHO’S HOT?

• Jack Eichel has logged 18 points (5+13) in his last 18 games, including six multi-point outings. The Sabres are 10-0-0 this season (and 19-3-0 in his career) when he has at least two points.
• Evander Kane has 15 points (9+6) in his last 14 games.
• Sam Reinhart has six points (2+4) in his last six games, but missed the team’s last two games with an illness.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has a point in eight of his last 10 games (1+7). A point tonight would stretch his point streak to a career-high six games.
• Robin Lehner has logged a .942 save percentage in 10 games during the month of February.
• Ryan O’Reilly has nine points (4+5) in 11 games in February.

HOW THE WEST WAS WON

• Tonight is the Sabres’ fourth game in a seven-game stretch against Western Conference teams. Buffalo is 2-1-0 in the first three games.
• The Sabres are 12-7-2 in all games against the Western Conference this season and 12-6-3 in their last 21 games against the Central Division.

THEY’VE GOT THE POWER

• The Sabres entered play Friday ranked third in the league with a 22.5% success rate on the power play.
• Buffalo has not finished a season ranked in the top five in power play percentage since the 2005-06 season (third, 21.2%).
• The team’s current power-play percentage would rank as the ninth-best conversion rate in franchise history and the best since the team’s 22.6% mark in 1993-94. It would be the 50th-best season by any team since the league began publishing the stat in 1987-88.

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game opens up Buffalo’s 12th of a league-high 19 sets of back-to-back games this season, which continues tomorrow night in Arizona. The Sabres are 6-3-2 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 4-6-1 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to-back sets this season is: four points (2), three points (2), two points (4), one point (1) and zero points (2).

THE KANE EVENT
Evander Kane has scored each of his 21 goals this season in his last 36 games, including a team-high 20 even-strength goals. Since Dec. 1, he is ranked second among all NHL skaters in goals (21), leads the league in even-strength goals (20) and ranks fifth in shots on goal (140).

*All rankings before 2/24 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.

(82-game pace in parentheses)

ASSIST-OLAINEN
Rasmus Ristolainen entered played Friday tied for 25th among all NHL skaters with 32 assists.

• Ristolainen has recorded an assist on 22.5 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 19 goals to fall below 20 percent.

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 2/24 games)

• Buffalo Sabres: 22.5% PP% (3rd)
• Eichel: 4.0 S/GP (2nd)
• Foligno: 209 hits (3rd)
• Kane: 20 EVG (T-6th), 3.4 S/GP (10th)
• Lehner: .925 SV% (7th), .933 EV SV% (8th)
• Nilsson: .934 EV SV% (6th), .922 SV% (9th)
• Okposo: 20 PPP (T-9th)
• O’Reilly: 21:40 TOI/GP (1st, forwards), 57.9 FO% (6th)
• Ristolainen: 19 PPA (T-1st), 26:58 TOI (4th), 20 PPP (T-9th), 32 A (6th, defensemen)

BUF-COL Connections
Former Sabres:

• Buffalo selected Mikhail Grigorenko in the first round (12th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft and he had 14 points (6+8) in 68 games for the Sabres.

Former Avalanche:

• Colorado selected Ryan O’Reilly in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft. He went on to play 427 games from 2009 to 2015 and had 246 points (90+156).

Dan Bylsma:

• Coached Jarome Iginla for part of the 2012-13 season.

Tyler Ennis:

• He and Jarome Iginla were both born in Edmonton, Alberta.

Justin Falk

• Played with Rene Bourque for the Columbus Blue Jackets for part of the 2014-15 season.
• Was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2014-2016 along with Cody Goloubef and Fedor Tyutin.

Cody Franson

• Teammates with Joe Colborne for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011-2013.

Brian Gionta:

• Played alongside Rene Bourque for the Montreal Canadiens from 2011-2014.

Josh Gorges:

• Teammates with Blake Comeau for the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) from 2001-2004.
• Played with Rene Bourque for the Montreal Canadiens from 2011-2014.

Robin Lehner:

• Was a member of the Ottawa Senators from 2010-2015 alongside Patrick Wiercioch.

Matt Moulson:

• Teammates with Blake Comeau for the New York Islanders from 2009-2011.

Anders Nilsson:

• Played for the New York Islanders during the 2011-12 season along with Blake Comeau.

Kyle Okposo:

• Played for the New York Islanders alongside Blake Comeau from 2007-2011.

Evan Rodrigues:

• Played at Boston University from 2011-2013 with Matt Nieto.

International Teammates:

• 2009 World Junior Championship (Canada): Evander Kane, Tyler Ennis and Cody Goloubef.
• 2010 World Championship (Canada): Evander Kane, Francois Beauchemin, Rene Bourque and Matt Duchene.
• 2011 World Junior Championship (Canada): Marcus Foligno and Tyson Barrie.
• 2011 World Championship (Canada): Evander Kane and Matt Duchene.
• 2011 World Championship (Russia): Dmitry Kulikov and Fedor Tyutin.
• 2013 World Championship (Canada): Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene.
• 2015 World Championship (Canada): Tyler Ennis, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyson Barrie, Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon.

NHL Draft:

• Brian Gionta (82nd overall) and Francois Beauchemin (75th overall) were third-round picks in the 1998 NHL Draft.
• Evander Kane (4th overall), Dmitry Kulikov (14th overall) and Matt Duchene (3rd overall) were all first-round selections in the 2009 NHL Draft.
• Nicolas Deslauriers (82nd overall) and Tyson Barrie (64th overall) were both third-round picks in the 2009 NHL Draft.
• Zemgus Girgensons (14th overall) and Mikhail Grigorenko (12th overall) were first-round picks in the 2012 NHL Draft.
• Rasmus Ristolainen (8th overall), Nathan MacKinnon (1st overall) and Nikita Zadorov (16th overall) were all first-round draft picks in the 2013 NHL Draft.
• Jack Eichel (2nd overall) and Mikko Rantanen (10th overall) were selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Foligno (209), Ristolainen (154), Gorges (99)
Blocked Shots: Ristolainen (136), McCabe (81), Gorges (78)
Shots: Kane (165), Eichel (157), Okposo (142)

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
51-60: 6-4-0 (12), 26/25, 6/25, 24/30

OVERTIME RESULTS (6-5; 108-110 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)
Feb. 7 vs. SJS: W, 5-4 (GWG-Kane)

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
Tyler Ennis … 3 games … 400 NHL games
Dmitry Kulikov … 6 games … 500 NHL games
Goals
Tyler Ennis … 4 goals … 100 NHL goals
Assists
Brian Gionta … 6 assists … 300 NHL assists

RECENT MILESTONES
Nicolas Deslauriers … 200th NHL game … Feb. 19 vs. CHI