Tag Archives: Nashville Predators

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Thursday, January 16
Buffalo 4 at Dallas 1
Goals: Vesey, Dahlin, Frolik, Girgensons
Goalie: Ullmark (28 saves/29 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 4/4; Shots: Dallas 29 – Buffalo 22

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 222)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 48 games
Vladimir Sobotka (knee, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 32 games
Tage Thompson (shoulder, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 28 games
Jeff Skinner (upper body, Dec. 29; injured reserve) – 9 games
Victor Olofsson (lower body, Jan. 4; injured reserve) – 6 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Jan. 28: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 30: Montreal at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1: Columbus at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 4: Colorado at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 6: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at PREDATORS

• This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Predators this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Nashville 4-3 in Buffalo on Dec. 12, 2019
• The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Predators; 6-4-0 on the road.
• This is the 29th game all-time between Buffalo and Nashville; Buffalo has an 11-13-4 series record.
• The Sabres are 9-5-0 on the road against the Predators all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 12-5-4 all-time on January 18.
• Four different Sabres goaltenders (Don Edwards, Tom Barrasso, Dominik Hasek, Martin Biron) have earned a shutout on Jan. 18. It is one of only three dates on which the Sabres have recorded four shutouts; the others are Feb. 16 and Nov. 19.
• January 18, 1984: Tom Barrasso makes 30 saves in his first NHL shutout as the Sabres top the Los Angeles Kings 4-0.
• January 18, 2008: Derek Roy records his third career hat trick and Drew Stafford records his first in a 10-1 win against the Atlanta Thrashers, marking the 12th game in franchise history to feature two Sabres hat tricks.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Buffalo enters tonight’s game on the team’s fourth three-game winning streak of the season and seeking their first four-game streak.
• With a win tonight, the Sabres would earn their first season sweep of the Predators in the 10 multi-game season series between the teams.
• Jack Eichel has totaled 11 points (5+6) in nine career games against the Predators. Seven of those points (2+5) have come on the road, including a franchise record-tying five assists on March 31, 2018 in Nashville.
• Kyle Okposo has 12 points (7+5) in 14 career games against Nashville. His .50 goals per game trail only his eight in 15 games against Chicago (.53) for his best scoring rate against any NHL opponent.
• Sam Reinhart has nine points (6+3) in nine career games against the Predators, including at least a point in each of his four visits to Nashville (6+1).
• Rasmus Ristolainen has totaled five assists in his last four games against Nashville.
• Brandon Montour has tallied an assist in three straight meetings with the Predators entering tonight’s game.

WHO’S HOT?

• Jack Eichel has recorded points in each of Buffalo’s last nine games (4+7), marking the longest active streak in the NHL. He already owns the longest streak in the NHL this season after recording 31 points (16+15) in 17 consecutive team games from Nov. 16 to Dec. 17.
  • Eichel joins David Pastrnak (13 & 12) as the only other NHL player to record two separate point streaks of at least nine games this season.
• Sam Reinhart has totaled 20 points (7+13) in the Sabres’ last 20 contests.
• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded six points (1+5) in his last six games.
• Rasmus Ristolainen enters tonight’s game on a four-game point streak (1+3). With a point tonight, he would extend his streak to five games for the second time this season.
• Curtis Lazar has points in each of the Sabres’ last three games (1+3), marking his second three-game point streak in the last three weeks and tying his run from March 26 to 29, 2015 as the longest of his career.
• Kyle Okposo has recorded four points (1+3) in Buffalo’s last four games, including points in each of the last two.
• Zemgus Girgensons, who logged his highest ice time (18:36) since March 2017 on Thursday at Dallas, has scored in three of the Sabres’ last four games.
• Linus Ullmark is 5-1-0 since the beginning of January with a .929 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average. He has allowed just one even-strength goal in each of Buffalo’s last three games, stopping 65 of 68 shots (.956) at even strength in those contests.

SPECIAL OPS

• Since the beginning of January, the Sabres have gone 6-for-18 (33.3%) on the power play. Their conversion rate tied as the fifth-best rate in the league during the new year entering play Friday.
  • Their plus-6 goal differential with the man advantage during that stretch tied for second in the league.
• Through seven games in January, Buffalo has killed 15 of the team’s shorthanded situations (88.2%), tying for the sixth-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL in the new year.
  • With two shorthanded goals during that span, they joined the Dallas Stars as one of just two teams with an even goal differential while shorthanded in 2020.
  • Entering play Friday, Jake McCabe ranked fifth in the league among regular penalty killers (min. 10 shorthanded minutes) during this stretch in fewest shots against per two minutes of ice time (.704) and ranked sixth in fewest scoring chances allowed per two minutes (.528). (Data via NaturalStatTrick.com)

TEEN TITAN

• Rasmus Dahlin has totaled 71 points (12+59) through his first 122 NHL games, including 27 points (3+24) in 40 games this season.
• With his goal on Thursday at Dallas, Dahlin passed Scott Stevens (70) for most points recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 20th birthday. He now trails only Phil Housley (132), Ray Bourque (79), Rick Hampton (76) and Bobby Orr (72) for most points ever recorded by a teenage defenseman.
• Aaron Ekblad’s 61 points (22+39) in 129 games as a teenager led active NHL defensemen for most points before turning 20 until Dahlin recorded his 62nd point with an assist in his 108th NHL game on Dec. 14 at NY Islanders.
• Andrei Svechnikov is the only active teenager in the NHL with more career points than Dahlin’s 71. He had 79 points (38+41) in 129 career games entering Friday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
• Dahlin’s .58 points per game in his career currently ranks as the 19th-highest rate among active NHL defensemen with at least 10 career games played. His .675 points per game so far this season represent the best scoring rate by a Sabres defenseman since Brian Campbell (.683) in 2007-08.

JACK ATTACK

• Entering play Friday, Jack Eichel’s 28 goals this season ranked him fourth among all NHL players and his 62 points tied for seventh in the league.
• Eichel has been selected to represent the Sabres at NHL All-Star Weekend on Jan. 24 and 25 in St. Louis. With his third consecutive All-Star nod, Eichel becomes the seventh player in franchise history to represent the team in at least three NHL All-Star Games, joining Rick Martin (7), Gilbert Perreault (6), Dominik Hasek (5), Mike Ramsey (4), Phil Housley (3) and Alexander Mogilny (3).
• With his 60th point of the season on Jan. 14 vs. Vegas, Eichel became the first Sabre to reach 60 points in 46 or fewer games since 1992-93 (Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny).
• He joins Rick Martin as the only other player in franchise history to record at least 20 goals and 50 points in each of his first five NHL seasons.
• Eichel hasn’t been held without a point in three consecutive appearances since early November. In his 31 games played since then, he has totaled 45 points (21+24), including a stretch of 18 straight apperances (Nov. 16 to Dec. 21) that tied Gilbert Perreault (Oct. 24 to Dec. 4, 1971) for the most consecutive games played with a point in franchise history.
• The streak was the NHL’s fifth-longest personal point streak in the last decade, trailing only Taylor Hall (26 in 2017-18), Patrick Kane (26 in 2015-16), Sidney Crosby (25 in 2010-11) and Patrick Kane (20 in 2018-19).

SETTING THE PACE

• With his 28th goal in his 46th game of the season on Tuesday vs. Vegas, Jack Eichel tied his previous best total set in the 2018-19 season (77 GP).
• Eichel’s output through 48 team games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 48 goals and 107 points, which would be the highest goal and point totals by a Sabre since Pat LaFontaine (53+95) and Alexander Mogilny (76+51) in 1992-93.
• LaFontaine (83 in 1992-93) and Mogilny (78 in 1992-93) are the only Sabres ever to have recorded more even-strength points in a season than the 72 Eichel is currently on pace for.
• Despite missing eight games due to injury, Rasmus Dahlin is currently on pace to record 50 points this season, which would make him the Sabres’ first 50-point defenseman since Garry Galley (54) in 1995-96.
• Sam Reinhart is currently on pace to set career-high totals in goals (27) and points (68).

POINTS IN BUNCHES

• Jack Eichel has recorded 17 multi-point games this season, tying for the ninth-most in the NHL before Friday’s games. The Sabres are 12-3-2 (.765) in those games.
• Entering play Friday, Eichel’s six multi-goal games tied for third-most in the league and his nine multi-assist games tied for seventh-most.
• Eichel has recorded at least three points seven times this season, topping his previous career-high total (6) set in the 2016-17 season. Only Connor McDavid (11), Leon Draisaitl (9), Artemi Panarin (8) and David Pastrnak (8) had more games with at least three points this season entering play Friday.
• Sam Reinhart ranks second on the Sabres with 11 multi-point games this season. The team is 8-2-1 this season (.773) and 39-7-8 (.796) in his career when he records at least two points.

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 1/17 games)

• Eichel: 21 EVG (2nd), 28 G (4th), 6 GWG (T-3rd), 41 EVP (T-3rd), 62 PTS (T-7th)
• Hutton: 2 SO (T-7th)
• Olofsson: 9 PPG (T-6th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (143), Girgensons (75), McCabe (65)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (62), Ristolainen (54), Jokiharju (43)
Shots: Eichel (160), Skinner (128), Olofsson (99)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 8-1-1 (17), 38/24, 12/39, 23/30
11-20: 2-6-2 (6), 21/35, 2/26, 21/29
21-30: 3-4-3 (8), 34/34, 4/33, 23/32
31-40: 4-5-1 (9), 24/32, 4/23, 23/30
41-50: 5-3-0 (10), 27/25, 6/22, 18/22

OVERTIME RESULTS (4-6; 124-134 all-time)
Oct. 7 at CBJ: L, 4-3 (GWG-Texier, 2:08)
Oct. 9 vs. MTL: W, 5-4 (GWG-Johansson, 1:30)
Oct. 22 vs. SJS: W, 4-3 (GWG-Eichel, 3:13)
Nov. 14 vs. CAR: L, 5-4 (GWG-Hamilton, 2:28)
Nov. 27 vs. CGY: L, 3-2 (GWG-Lindholm, 1:17)
Nov. 30 at TOR: L, 2-1 (GWG-Tavares, 1:45)
Dec. 7 at VAN: L, 6-5 (GWG-Miller, 3:21)
Dec. 8 at EDM: W, 3-2 (GWG-Miller, 1:13)
Dec. 14 at NYI: L, 3-2 (GWG-Beauvillier, 3:04)
Jan. 2 vs. EDM: W, 3-2 (GWG-Eichel, 1:09)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-1; 76-70 all-time)
Oct. 11 vs. FLA: W, 3-2 (GDG-Eichel)
Oct. 28 vs. ARI: L, 3-2 (GDG-Schmaltz)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Linus Ullmark … 6 games … 100 career games played
Goals
Kyle Okposo … 8 goals … 200 career goals
Assists
Jack Eichel … 8 assists … 200 career assists
Points
Kyle Okposo … 1 point … 500 career points
Zach Bogosian … 6 points … 200 career points
Johan Larsson … 9 points … 100 career points 

RECENT MILESTONES
N/A

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Tuesday, December 10
St. Louis 2 at Buffalo 5
Goals: Eichel (2), Reinhart, Larsson, Girgensons
Goalie: Ullmark (28 saves/30 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 2/2; Shots: Buffalo 33 – St. Louis 30

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 151)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 32 games
Vladimir Sobotka (knee, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 16 games
Tage Thompson (upper body, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 12 games
Rasmus Dahlin (concussion, Nov. 27; injured reserve) – 8 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/7: Activated F Kyle Okposo from IR
12/12: Activated D Rasmus Dahlin from IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Dec. 12: Nashville at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 14: Buffalo at NY Islanders, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 17: Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 19: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
PREDATORS at SABRES

• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Predators this season.
• Last meeting: Nashville defeated Buffalo 3-2 in Buffalo on April 2
• Next meeting: Saturday, Jan. 18 in Nashville
• The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Predators; 1-6-3 at home.
• This is the 28th game all-time between Buffalo and Nashville; Buffalo has a 10-13-4 series record.
• The Sabres are 1-8-4 at home against the Predators all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 9-8-4 all-time on December 12.
• December 12, 1981: Gilbert Perreault factors in on all four goals, including his 13th career hat trick, as the Sabres top the Red Wings by a score of 4-2 in Detroit.
• December 12, 2000: J-P Dumont records his first hat trick as a member of the Sabres and Dominik Hasek stops all 22 Bruins shots in a 3-0 win at Boston.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Jack Eichel has totaled nine points (3+6) in eight career games against the Predators, including a franchise record-tying five assists on March 31, 2018 in Nashville.
• Jeff Skinner has posted 17 points (9+8) in 15 career meetings with the Predators. His 1.1 points per game against Nashville trails only his six points (5+1) in five career games against the Carolina Hurricanes (1.2 PTS/GP) as his best scoring rate against any NHL opponent.
• Kyle Okposo has 12 points (7+5) in 13 career games against Nashville.
• Sam Reinhart has seven points (6+1) in eight career games against the Predators, including four goals in his last three.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has totaled four assists in his last three games against Nashville.
• Jake McCabe (1+2) and Evan Rodrigues (0+3) each have three points in their last three matchups with the Predators.
• Brandon Montour has tallied an assist in two straight meetings with Nashville entering tonight’s game.

HOME COOKING
The Sabres are 9-3-3 (.700) through their first 15 home games of the season, putting the team on pace to tie its ninth-best home record in a season. Buffalo’s plus-17 goal differential at home ranked fourth in the NHL entering play Wednesday.

WHO’S HOT?

• Jack Eichel was selected as the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the week ending Dec. 8 after leading all NHL players with seven points (2+5) in four games last week. He followed up the honor with a two-goal performance vs. St. Louis on Tuesday, becoming the third NHL player to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
• Victor Olofsson has recorded 18 points (6+12) in his last 17 games, including two-point performances in four of the team’s last five games.
• Johan Larsson enters tonight’s game with nine points (2+7) and a plus-9 rating in Buffalo’s last seven contests. He’s currently on his first three-game point streak since November 2016. With a point tonight, he’d tie his career-best four game streak from March 29 to April 5, 2016 (3+3).
• Sam Reinhart has totaled five points (3+2) in Buffalo’s last four games.
• Linus Ullmark is 5-1-1 with a .923 save percentage in his last seven appearances. In those games, Ullmark has posted a .939 save percentage at 5-on-5.

5-ON-5 GOALS

• According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Sabres entered play Wednesday with three players among the league’s leaders in 5-on-5 goals: Jeff Skinner (11, T-8th), Jack Eichel (10, T-12th), Sam Reinhart 10, T-12th).
• Only 18 NHL players had at least 10 goals during 5-on-5 play entering play Wednesday. Buffalo joined the Edmonton Oilers (Draisaitl, Kassian, McDavid) as one of two teams with three players among those 18.

JACK ATTACK

• Jack Eichel enters today’s game on a career-best 14-game point streak that began on Nov. 16. Entering play Wednesday, his 12 goals, 25 points and plus-16 rating during the streak all led the NHL during that timeframe. His 13 assists trailed only Evgeni Malkin (14) for the league lead.
• Eichel’s streak is the longest active point streak in the NHL and the second-longest streak in the league this season, one game shy of Patrick Kane’s 15-game streak from Nov. 2 to 30 (11+13)
• The streak is the longest by a Sabre since Tim Connolly tallied points in 16 consecutive games from Dec. 23, 2009 to Jan. 25, 2010. Only four players in Sabres history have recorded a point streak of more than 14 games: Dave Andreychuk (2x), Tim Connolly, Rick Martin and Gilbert Perreault.
• Perreault holds Buffalo’s franchise record with points in 18 consecutive games from Oct. 24 to Dec. 4, 1971 (10+21).

EVEN-STRENGTH IMPROVEMENT
The Sabres have seen positive trends at even strength in the team’s 15 games since returning from Stockholm, Sweden. In that span, Buffalo’s 5-on-5 numbers have improved on the team’s per-60 rates from its first 17 games in every meaningful category, including goals for and against, shots for and against, shot attempts for and against, and scoring chances for and against.

During the 15-game stretch that began on Nov. 14 vs. Carolina, the team has tied or led its opponent at 5-on-5 in…

• goals: 11 times
• shots: nine times
• shot attempts: 10 times
• scoring chances: 10 times

SETTING THE PACE

• With 20 goals in 32 games so far this season, Jack Eichel is on pace to shatter his previous best goal total (28), set in the 2018-19 season.
• Eichel’s output through 32 games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 51 goals and 113 points, which would be the highest goal and point totals by a Sabre since Pat LaFontaine (53+95) and Alexander Mogilny (76+51) in 1992-93.
• LaFontaine (83 in 1992-93) is the only Sabre ever to have recorded more even-strength points in a season than the 79 Eichel is currently on pace for.
• Victor Olofsson’s goal and point totals currently have him on pace for the best offensive season by a Sabres rookie in decades. If he maintains his current pace, he would finish the season with the most goals by a Sabres rookie (31) since Donald Audette’s 31 in 1991-92 and the most points by a Sabres rookie (72) since Rick Martin’s franchise-record 74 in 1971-72. Gilbert Perreault (72 in 1970-71) is the only other player in franchise history to finish his rookie season with a point total as high as Olofsson’s current pace.
• Sam Reinhart’s 12 goals in 32 games put him on pace for a career-high goal total (31).

POINTS IN BUNCHES

• Jack Eichel has recorded 12 multi-point games this season, tying for ninth-most in the NHL before Wednesday’s games.
• Entering play Wednesday, his five multi-goal games tied for the league lead and his eight multi-assist games tied for second-most, trailing only Connor McDavid (9).
• Eichel has already recorded at least three points seven times this season, topping his previous career-high total (6) set in the 2016-17 season. Only Connor McDavid (9) and Leon Draisaitl (8) had more games with at least three points this season entering play Wednesday.
• Eichel’s three games with at least four points this season tied for the league lead entering play Wednesday. Since he entered the league in 2015-16, only seven players have totaled at least four points more times than Eichel’s eight: Nikita Kucherov (15), Patrick Kane (10), Connor McDavid (10), Johnny Gaudreau (9), Brad Marchand (9), Alex Ovechkin (9) and Steven Stamkos (9).

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 12/11 games)

• Eichel: 15 EVG (T-1st), 20 G (3rd), 31 EVP (T-4th), 4 GWG (T-5th), 44 PTS (6th), 24 A (T-8th), 113 S (T-10th)
• Hutton: 2 SO (T-2nd)
• Olofsson: 7 PPG (T-5th)
• Ristolainen: 100 hits (9th)
• Skinner: 118 S (T-6th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (100), Girgensons (47), McCabe (47)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (52), Ristolainen (40), Jokiharju (28)
Shots: Skinner (118), Eichel (113), Olofsson (79)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 8-1-1 (17), 38/24, 12/39, 23/30
11-20: 2-6-2 (6), 21/35, 2/26, 21/29
21-30: 3-4-3 (8), 34/34, 4/33, 23/32
31-40: 2-0-0 (4), 8/4, 0/5, 4/5

OVERTIME RESULTS (3-5; 123-133 all-time)
Oct. 7 at CBJ: L, 4-3 (GWG-Texier, 2:08)
Oct. 9 vs. MTL: W, 5-4 (GWG-Johansson, 1:30)
Oct. 22 vs. SJS: W, 4-3 (GWG-Eichel, 3:13)
Nov. 14 vs. CAR: L, 5-4 (GWG-Hamilton, 2:28)
Nov. 27 vs. CGY: L, 3-2 (GWG-Lindholm, 1:17)
Nov. 30 at TOR: L, 2-1 (GWG-Tavares, 1:45)
Dec. 7 at VAN: L, 6-5 (GWG-Miller, 3:21)
Dec. 8 at EDM: W, 3-2 (GWG-Miller, 1:13)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-1; 76-70 all-time)
Oct. 11 vs. FLA: W, 3-2 (GDG-Eichel)
Oct. 28 vs. ARI: L, 3-2 (GDG-Schmaltz)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Jeff Skinner … 7 games … 700 career games played
Goals
Sam Reinhart … 1 goal … 100 career goals
Kyle Okposo … 10 goals … 200 career goals
Assists
Marco Scandella … 9 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Jimmy Vesey … 1 point … 100 career points
Kyle Okposo … 6 points … 500 career points
Zach Bogosian … 8 points … 200 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Jack Eichel … 300th NHL point … Dec. 7 at VAN

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Sunday, March 31
Columbus 4 at Buffalo 0
Goals: N/A
Goalie: Ullmark (32 saves/36 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 2/2; Shots: Buffalo 38 – Columbus 36

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 239)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (upper body, March 23) – 6 games
Zach Bogosian (lower body, March 25) – 5 games
Rasmus Ristolainen (illness, March 26) – 4 games
Vladimir Sobotka (upper body, March 30) – 2 games
Marco Scandella (lower body, March 31) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
3/27: Recalled F Victor Olofsson from Rochester (AHL)
3/28: Recalled D Matt Tennyson from Rochester (AHL); Assigned F Tage Thompson to Rochester (AHL)

REMAINING GAMES
Thursday, April 4: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 6: Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
PREDATORS at SABRES

• This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Predators this season.
• Last meeting: Nashville defeated Buffalo 2-1 in Nashville on Dec. 3, 2018
• The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Predators; 1-5-4 at home.
• This is the 27th game all-time between Buffalo and Nashville; Buffalo has a 10-12-4 series record.
• The Sabres are 1-7-4 at home against the Predators all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 8-7-3 all-time on April 2.
• April 2, 2011: Thomas Vanek records his 200th NHL goal in a 5-4 overtime loss at Washington.
• April 2, 2013: Ryan Miller plays his 492nd game in the NHL, breaking Dominik Hasek’s franchise record for most games played by a goaltender.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Jack Eichel has totaled nine points (3+6) in seven career games against the Predators, including a franchise record-tying five assists on March 31, 2018 in Nashville.
• Jeff Skinner has posted 16 points (8+8) in 14 career meetings with the Predators.
• Kyle Okposo has 11 points (6+5) in 12 career games against Nashville.
• Sam Reinhart has seven points (6+1) in seven career games against the Predators, including four goals in his last two.
• Jake McCabe has points in each of his last two matchups with the Predators (1+2).

WELCOME TO THE NHL

• Victor Olofsson, who made his NHL debut on March 28 vs. Detroit, recorded a point in each of his first two NHL games (1+1).
• According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Olofsson ranks among Buffalo’s leaders in shots (3rd, 10), shot attempts (T-2nd, 18) and scoring chances (2nd, 9) in his three games with the team.
• He is also among the team’s leaders at 5-on-5 during those games in corsi for percentage (2nd, 62.50%), shots for percentage (2nd, 66.04%) and scoring chance percentage (T-1st, 66.67%).
• In his first season in North America, Olofsson has recorded a team-high 60 points (27+33) in 64 AHL games with the Rochester Americans, also leading all Rochester skaters in assists and tying for the team lead in goals. He led all SHL players with 27 goals in 2017-18.

A FRESH START

• Through his first 17 games with the Sabres, Brandon Montour has recorded eight points (2+6), trailing only Jack Eichel (6+3) for most points during that stretch. Six of his eight points as a Sabre (2+4) have come at even strength.
• According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Montour’s CF%, FF% and SCF% during 5-on-5 play through 17 games with the Sabres top his full-season rates in each of those categories from both of his first two NHL seasons, as well as his rates through 62 games with Anaheim this season.
• In these 17 games, Montour has also seen a drastic uptick in scoring rates in goals (.38), assists (.57) and points (.94) per 60 minutes played at 5-on-5 compared to his rates from the last two seasons.

DAH-LEAN ON ME

• Entering play Monday, Rasmus Dahlin led rookie defensemen and ranked fourth among all NHL rookies in points (41). His 33 assists ranked second among all rookies.
• With 41 points (8+33) through 79 games, Dahlin is already guaranteed to finish the season with more points per game than he had in the Swedish Hockey League last season, when he totaled 20 points (7+13) in 41 games for Frölunda.
• With his assist on March 20 vs. Toronto, Dahlin passed Bobby Orr (38 points in 1966-67) for the second-most points ever recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 19th birthday, trailing only Phil Housley (57 points in 1982-83).
• With seven multi-point games so far this season, Dahlin has recorded more multi-point games as an 18-year-old than all but two defensemen in NHL history: Housley (13) and Orr (8).
• Dahlin’s three game-winning goals this season are the most ever recorded by a Sabres rookie defenseman. His total also ties for ninth-most by any Sabres rookie and eighth-most in a season by any defenseman in franchise history.

JACK ATTACK

• Jack Eichel has set new career-high marks in goals (27), assists (50) and points (77) this season. He is the first Sabres player to record at least 75 points in a season since Derek Roy (81) and Jason Pominville (80) both did so in 2007-08.
• Eichel is the first Sabres player to record at least 50 assists since Jason Pominville (53) in 2007-08.
• He has also joined Rick Martin and Thomas Vanek as the third player in franchise history to record at least 20 goals in each of his first four NHL seasons.

SKINNER, SKINNER, CHICKEN DINNER

• Jeff Skinner has scored 37 goals this season, becoming the fifth player ever to score at least 35 in his first season with the Sabres and tying his previous single-season high set in 2016-17.
• With his next goal, he will tie Gilbert Perreault (1970-71) and Ray Sheppard (1987-88) for third-most ever scored by a first-year Sabre.
• Skinner’s 29 even-strength goals are already the most ever recorded by player in his first year with the Sabres, breaking a record previously held by Danny Gare (26) since 1974-75.
• Skinner has a chance to become the first Sabres player to score at least 40 goals since Thomas Vanek (40) in 2008-09. He would become just the 11th different player in Sabres history to score at least 40 in a season.

LEADING THE WAY
Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart have both shattered their previous career high point totals on the strength of improved production at even strength:

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 4/1 games)

• Eichel: 293 S (5th)
• Ristolainen: 24:42 TOI/GP (9th)
• Skinner: 3 OTG (T-3rd), 29 EVG (T-6th), 7 GWG (T-7th)

BUF-NSH Connections
Former Predators:

• Sabres Head Coach Phil Housley was an assistant coach with the Predators from 2013 to 2017.
• Sabres G Carter Hutton spent three seasons (2013 to 2016) with the Predators, posting a 66-33-23 record with a 2.55 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.

Jason Botterill:

• Was the assistant general manager for the Penguins when Predators F Nick Bonino was playing in Pittsburgh.

Matt Hunwick:

• Played with Predators F Cody McLeod in Colorado.
• Played with Predators F Brian Boyle in Toronto.
• Won a bronze medal for Team USA with Predators F Craig Smith at the 2013 IIHF World Championship.

Johan Larsson:

• Played with Predators F Mikael Granlund in Minnesota.
• Won a gold medal for Team Sweden with Predators F Filip Forsberg at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship. The duo won a second gold medal together at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, a team that Predators F Viktor Arvidsson and D Mattias Ekholm were also on.

Jake McCabe:

• Played for Team USA with Predators F Craig Smith at the 2014 IIHF World Championship. Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette was the head coach of the team.

Kyle Okposo:

• Played for Team USA with Predators F Craig Smith at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.

Jason Pominville:

• Played with Predators F Mikael Granlund in Minnesota.

Sam Reinhart:

• Won a gold medal with Predators D Ryan Ellis while representing Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

Rasmus Ristolainen:

• Represented Finland at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship with Predators F Mikael Granlund. The duo played together again at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
• Played for the Finnish National Team with Predators G Juuse Saros at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship. Ristolainen scored the overtime, gold-medal-clinching goal.
• Represented Finland with Predators G Pekka Rinne at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Marco Scandella:

• Played with Predators F Mikael Granlund in Minnesota.
• Won a silver medal for Team Canada with Predators D Ryan Ellis at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Conor Sheary:

• Played with Predators F Nick Bonino in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Skinner:

• Played for Team Canada with Predators D P.K. Subban at the 2013 IIHF World Championship.
• Played for Team Canada with Predators F Wayne Simmonds at both 2013 and 2017 IIHF World Championships. The pair won a silver medal together in 2017.

Scott Wilson:

• Played with Predators F Nick Bonino in Pittsburgh.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (219), Girgensons (139), Larsson (107)
Blocked Shots: Ristolainen (119), Bogosian (116), McCabe (95)
Shots: Eichel (293), Skinner (260), Ristolainen (177)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 6-4-0 (12), 26/28, 8/38, 22/30
11-20: 6-2-2 (14), 35/27, 4/28, 26/29
21-30: 5-3-2 (12), 31/32, 5/28, 23/29
31-40: 4-4-2 (10), 24/27, 7/31, 27/29
41-50: 4-6-0 (8), 30/34, 1/25, 14/20
51-60: 3-6-1 (7), 26/38, 7/30, 19/22
61-70: 2-8-0 (4), 23/39, 6/27, 18/26
71-80: 1-7-1 (3), 18/39. 4/21, 16/21

OVERTIME RESULTS (7-7; 120-128 all-time)
Oct. 27 at CBJ: L, 5-4 (GWG-Panarin, 0:31)
Oct. 30 vs. CGY: L, 2-1 (GWG-Gaudreau, 2:40)
Nov. 8 at MTL: W, 6-5 (GWG-Ristolainen, 1:38)
Nov. 19 at PIT: W, 5-4 (GWG-Eichel, 0:45)
Nov. 23 vs. MTL: W, 3-2 (GWG-Skinner, 3:06)
Nov. 27 vs. SJS: W, 3-2 (GWG-Skinner, 1:41)
Nov. 30 at FLA: L, 3-2 (GWG-Barkov, 2:26)
Dec. 4 vs. TOR: L, 4-3 (GWG-Matthews, 4:57)
Dec. 11 vs. LAK: W, 4-3 (GWG-Skinner, 1:49)
Dec. 29 vs. BOS: L, 3-2 (GWG-Kuraly, 3:44)
Jan. 16 at CGY: W, 4-3 (GWG-Eichel, 1:10)
Feb. 8 vs. CAR: L, 6-5 (GWG-Teravainen, 3:25)
March 1 vs. PIT: W, 4-3 (GWG-Sheary, 4:11)
March 28 vs. DET: L, 5-4 (GWG-Bertuzzi, 2:18)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (5-3; 75-69 all-time)
Nov. 10 vs. VAN: W, 4-3 (GDG-Mittelstadt)
Nov. 16 at WPG: W, 2-1 (GDG-Sheary)
Nov. 24 at DET: W, 3-2 (GDG-Reinhart)
Dec. 15 at WSH: L, 4-3 (GDG-Ovechkin)
Feb. 5 vs. MIN: W, 5-4 (GDG-Reinhart)
Feb. 21 at TBL: L, 2-1 (GDG-Stamkos)
March 7 at CHI: L, 5-4 (GDG-Kane)
March 17 vs. STL: W, 4-3 (GDG-Reinhart)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Goals
Jason Pominville … 1 goal … 217 goals with Sabres (sole possession, 10th in franchise history)
Assists
Kyle Okposo … 1 assist … 300 career assists
Jeff Skinner … 2 assists … 200 career assists 

RECENT MILESTONES
Victor Olofsson … 1st NHL game … March 28 vs. DET
Victor Olofsson … 1st NHL point (assist) … March 28 vs. DET
Jack Eichel … 100th NHL goal … March 28 vs. DET
Victor Olofsson … 1st NHL goal … March 30 at NYI