Tag Archives: Tampa Bay Lightning

Postgame Report: 10/25 vs. Tampa Bay

Final Score

1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Final SOG
Lightning
(2-3-1)
1 0 0 1 26
Sabres
(4-1-1)
1 1 3 5 36

Game Summary
Event Summary

Postgame Audio

Sabres head coach Don Granato

Sabres forward Drake Caggiula

Sabres forward Vinnie Hinostroza

Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

Lightning forward Alex Killorn

Lightning goaltender Brian Elliott

Top Notes

  • Craig Anderson’s win tonight was the 294th of his career, moving him into sole possession of 40th place in NHL history in goaltender wins.
  • Victor Olofsson opened the scoring for the Sabres tonight and added an empty-net goal to cap the scoring. He now has a point in four of his five career games against the Lightning (3+2).
  • Robert Hagg scored his first goal as a Sabre after notching his first assist as a Sabre in the first period.
  • Tage Thompson recorded two assists tonight and now has four points (2+2) in his last four games against Tampa Bay.
  • Vinnie Hinostroza’s goal tonight was his first as a member of the Sabres.
  • The Sabres scored the first goal in tonight’s game. It was the third time this season the team has scored first and Buffalo is 3-0-0 in those games this year.

Tonight’s Goaltenders

Tonight’s Stats
Team Goaltender Decision GA SA
Lightning
Bishop L 3 23
Sabres Anderson W 1 36
Updated Season Stats
Team Goaltender Record SV% GAA
Lightning Bishop 0-1-0 .870 3.15
Sabres Anderson 3-1-0 .944 1.76

 

Game Preview: 10/25/21 vs. Tampa Bay

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

Game Notes NHL Stats Rosters

LAST GAME
Saturday, October 23
Buffalo 1 at New Jersey 2 (OT)
Goals: Cozens
Goalie: Tokarski (37 saves/39 shots)
PP: 1/2; PK: 2/3; Shots: New Jersey 39 – Buffalo 25

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 20)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 5 games
Jack Eichel (Upper body, Oct. 14; injured reserve) – 5 games
Casey Mittelstadt (Upper body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 4 games
Henri Jokiharju (Lower body Oct. 16; injured reserve) – 4 games
Cody Eakin (Undisclosed) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/23: Recalled F Brett Murray from Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
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.
Thursday, Nov. 4: Buffalo at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 6: Detroit at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
LIGHTNING at SABRES

  • This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
  • Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 6-4 in Buffalo on Dec. 31, 2019.
  • Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 11 in Buffalo
  • The Sabres are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 2-7-1 at home.
  • This is the 107th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-42-9 series record.
  • The Sabres are 26-21-5 at home against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

  • The Sabres are 10-11-3 all-time on October 25.
  • October 25, 1991: The Sabres acquire Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood and Randy Hillier from the Islanders in exchange for Pierre Turgeon, Uwe Krupp, Dave McLlwain and Benoit Hogue.
  • October 25, 1991: The Sabres get 31 saves from Clint Malarchuk as they top the Sharks 3-1 in the first-ever game between the teams, earning the 800th win in franchise history.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

  • 21 of the last 24 meetings between Buffalo and Tampa Bay have been decided in regulation, including each of the last four contests.
  • Will Butcher has five assists ana a plus-6 rating in eight career games against the Lightning.
  • Among Sabres defensive pairs to have played at least five minutes together this season, Robert Hagg and Mark Pysyk lead Sabres defensive pairs in corsi for percentage (58.52) and expected goals for percentage (63.20).
    • The pair has the lowest offensive zone start percentage among Sabres defensive pairs at just 22.22 percent.
  • Colin Miller has a team-high five assists this season and now has eight assists in his last nine games played dating back to last season.

HOT START

  • Entering play Sunday, the Sabres ranked sixth in the NHL with a 54.7 shot attempts percentage at 5-on-5 this season.
  • Buffalo has 121 scoring chances for and 82 scoring chances against at 5-on-5 through its first five games, good for third in the NHL entering play Sunday with a 59.61 scoring chance for percentage.
  • The team’s 57.25 expected goals percentage at 5-on-5 ranked second in the NHL before Sunday’s game.
  • The Sabres have successfully killed 12 of their 13 penalties to begin the season, tied for seventh in the league with a 85.7 penalty kill percentage this season entering play Sunday.

TERRIFIC TRIO

  • The line of Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson has accounted for five goals and eight points for the Sabres this season.
  • According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, the trio has skated 54:03 together and registered a 63.04 CF%, a 68.20 xGF% and a 69.57 HDCF%.
  • At all strengths, Thompson (1.78) and Asplund (1.77) lead the Sabres in individual expected goals and Thompson leads the team in individual corsi for (34).

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 10/24 games)

  • Buffalo Sabres: 7 PTS (T-10th), 3 W (T-8th), 2.00 GA/GP (4th), 29.4 PP% (8th), 85.7% PK% (T-7th), 34.6 S/GP (8th)
  • Girgensons: 1 GWG (T-7th)
  • Skinner: 1 GWG (T-7th)
  • Thompson: 20 SOG (T-10th)
  • Tokarski: .950 SV% (T-6th), 1.40 GAA (5th) 

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Hagg (17), Dahlin (10), Caggiula/Miller (8)
Blocked Shots: Hagg (12), Pysyk (8), Dahlin/Miller (5)
Shots: Thompson (20), Okposo (16), Skinner (15)

SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-1-1 (7), 14/10, 5/17, 12/14

OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 126-138 all-time)
Oct. 23 at NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Zacha)

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 … 6 games played … 500 career games played

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
Colin Miller recorded his 100 career NHL assist on Oct. 22 vs. Boston

Post-Game Report: 12/31 vs. Tampa Bay

Final Score

1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Final SOG
Lightning
(21-13-4)
0 3 3 6 27
Sabres
(17-17-7)
1 3 0 4 28

Game Summary

Event Summary

 

Top Notes

  • The Sabres fell to 14-1-0 this season when leading after two periods.
  • With a goal and two assists tonight, Conor Sheary tied his career high by recording his fifth career three-point game. His last three-point effort came on March 1, 2019 vs. Pittsburgh (2+1).
  • Jack Eichel’s goal tonight was the first shorthanded marker of his career. In his last seven games against Tampa Bay, Eichel has recorded seven points (2+5).
  • Eichel has now totaled 32 points (18+14) in 19 home games this season.
  • Dalton Smith logged a plus-1 rating in his NHL debut.

 

Tonight’s Goaltenders

Tonight’s Stats
Team Goaltender Decision GA SA
Lightning Vasilevskiy W 4 28
Sabres Ullmark L 5 26
Updated Season Stats
Team Goaltender Record SV% GAA
Lightning Vasilevskiy 17-9-2 .906 2.89
Sabres Ullmark 11-11-3 .909 2.90

 

Post-Game Audio

Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger

Sabres forward Jack Eichel

Sabres forward Marcus Johansson

Sabres forward Conor Sheary

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

Lightning forward Alex Killorn

Lightning forward Ondrej Palat

Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman

Game Preview: 12/31/19 vs. Tampa Bay

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

Game Notes NHL Stats Press Clips

LAST GAME
Sunday, December 29
Buffalo 2 at Boston 3
Goals: Ristolainen, Lazar
Goalie: Ullmark (19 saves/22 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 4/6; Shots: Buffalo 26 – Boston 22

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 183)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 40 games
Vladimir Sobotka (knee, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 24 games
Tage Thompson (upper body, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 20 games
Marco Scandella (illness, Dec. 27) – 2 games
Jeff Skinner (upper body, Dec. 29; injured reserve) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/27: Recalled F Curtis Lazar from Rochester (AHL)
12/30: Signed F Dalton Smith to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000; Placed F Jeff Skinner on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Jan. 2: Edmonton at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4: Florida at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 9: Buffalo at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 11: Vancouver at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 12: Buffalo at Detroit, 5 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
LIGHTNING at SABRES

  • This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
  • Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-2 in Tampa on Nov. 25
  • The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 2-7-1 at home.
  • This is the 106th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-41-9 series record.
  • The Sabres are 26-20-5 at home against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

  • The Sabres are 13-14-5 all-time on December 31.
  • December 31, 1987: The Sabres trade Paul Cyr and a 10th-round draft pick in 1988 (Eric Fenton) to the New York Rangers for Mike Donnelly and a fifth-round pick in 1988 (Alexander Mogilny).
  • December 31, 1993: Alexander Mogilny appears in his 300th NHL game and Dominik Hasek stops 39 of 40 shots as the Sabres defeat the Rangers 4-1 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
  • December 31, 1997: Michael Peca scores two shorthanded goals in a 3-0 win over Ottawa. Peca still shares the franchise record for most shorthanded goals scored in one game by a single player with Don Luce, Bob Sweeney, Alexei Zhitnik and Evander Kane.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

  • The Sabres are 12-11-3 all-time in New Year’s Eve home games, including a 5-1 loss against the Lightning on Dec. 31, 2014.
  • Sam Reinhart has recorded 11 points (9+2) in his last 10 games against the Lightning, including at least one goal in five of the last six meetings.
  • Jack Eichel has totaled six points (1+5) in his last six meetings with the Lightning, including three points (1+2) in three games so far this season.
  • Victor Olofsson has tallied a point in each of his first three career matchups with Tampa Bay this season (1+2).
  • Olofsson has recorded 20 points (9+11) in his last 20 games. He has failed to record a point in just five of those 20 games and leads all NHL rookies in goals (16) and points (34) this season.
  • If he dresses, tonight’s game will be the first of Dalton Smith’s NHL career.

HOME COOKING

  • The Sabres are 11-4-3 (.694) through their first 18 home games of the season, putting the team on pace for its 12th-best home record in a season and its best since 2006-07.
  • Linus Ullmark has won five of his last six games at KeyBank Center, posting a .928 save percentage and a 2.35 goals-against average in those games.
  • With 31 points (17+14) in 18 home games this season, Jack Eichel’s 1.72 points per game at home ranked second in the league entering play Monday. His plus-21 rating at home led the league, with Colorado’s Ryan Graves ranking second at plus-15.
  • Victor Olofsson is also playing at a point-per-game pace at home this season, totaling 18 points (9+9) in 18 home games.
  • Sam Reinhart is just one point off of a point-per-game pace at home in 2019-20, having recorded 17 points (7+10) in 18 home games, including two-point outings in three of the team’s last four games at KeyBank Center.
  • Johan Larsson has recorded seven points (2+5) and a plus-7 rating in his last six home games.

JACK ATTACK

  • Jack 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).
  • Entering play Monday, Eichel’s 24 goals tied for third-most among all NHL players and his 52 points were the seventh-most in the league.
  • With his 50th point of the season on Dec. 17 at Toronto, Eichel became the first Sabre to reach 50 points in 35 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 23 games played since then, he has totaled 35 points (17+18), including a stretch of 18 straight games (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 24 goals in 39 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 40 team games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 50 goals and 108 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 75 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 (33) since Ray Sheppard’s 38 in 1987-88 and the third-most points ever recorded by a Sabres rookie (70), trailing only Rick Martin (74 in 1971-72) and Gilbert Perreault (72 on 1970-71).
  • Rasmus Dahlin, who has missed eight games due to injury this season, is currently on pace to record 49 points this season, which would be the highest total by a Sabres defenseman since Garry Galley’s 54 in 1995-96.
  • Sam Reinhart’s 12 goals in 40 games put him on pace to tie his career-high goal total (25) from 2017-18.

POINTS IN BUNCHES

  • Jack Eichel has recorded 15 multi-point games this season, tying for ninth-most in the NHL entering play Monday.
  • Prior to Monday’s games, his six multi-goal games ranked second in the league and his eight multi-assist games tied for fifth-most.
  • 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 Monday.
  • Eichel’s three games with at least four points this season tied for the league lead before Monday’s games. Since he entered the league in 2015-16, only seven players had totaled at least four points more times than Eichel’s eight: Nikita Kucherov (15), Patrick Kane (11), Connor McDavid (10), Johnny Gaudreau (9), Brad Marchand (9), Alex Ovechkin (9) and Steven Stamkos (9).

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 12/30 games)

  • Eichel: 18 EVG (2nd), 24 G (T-3rd), 36 EVP (T-3rd), 52 PTS (7th), 4 GWG (T-9th)
  • Hutton: 2 SO (T-5th)
  • Olofsson: 9 PPG (T-3rd)
  • Ristolainen: 119 hits (T-9th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (119), Girgensons (61), McCabe (59)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (59), Ristolainen (47), Jokiharju (36)
Shots: Eichel (139), Skinner (128), Olofsson (97)

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

OVERTIME RESULTS (3-6; 123-134 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)

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
Conor Sheary … 5 games … 300 career games played
Goals
Sam Reinhart … 1 goal … 100 career goals
Kyle Okposo … 9 goals … 200 career goals
Assists
Marco Scandella … 9 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Kyle Okposo … 5 points … 500 career points
Zach Bogosian … 8 points … 200 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Jeff Skinner … 700th NHL game … 12/27 vs. BOS

Game Preview: 11/25/19 at Tampa Bay

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

Game Notes NHL Stats Press Clips

LAST GAME
Sunday, November 24
Buffalo 5 at Florida 2
Goals: Girgensons (2), Skinner, Eichel, Olofsson
Goalie: Ullmark (43 saves/45 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 3/4; Shots: Florida 45 – Buffalo 26

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 104)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 23 games
Vladimir Sobotka (lower body, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 7 games
Marcus Johansson (upper body, Nov. 14; injured reserve) – 6 games
Kyle Okposo (concussion, Nov. 17; injured reserve) – 4 games
Tage Thompson (upper body, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 3 games
Evan Rodrigues (lower body, Nov. 25) – 0 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/21: Activated D Zach Bogosian from IR; Placed F Tage Thompson on IR
11/22: Placed D John Gilmour on waivers
11/23: Assigned D John Gilmour to Rochester (AHL)
11/24: Acquired D Matthew Spencer from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for D Devante Stephens; Assigned Spencer to Cincinnati (ECHL)
11/15: Recalled F Jean-Sebastien Dea from Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Wednesday, Nov. 27: Calgary at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 29: Toronto at Buffalo, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30: Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 2: New Jersey at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 5: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at LIGHTNING

  • This is the third of four meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
  • Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-3 in Stockholm, Sweden on Nov. 9.
  • Next meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 31 in Buffalo
  • The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 2-7-1 on the road.
  • This is the 105th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-40-9 series record.
  • The Sabres are 29-20-4 on the road against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

  • The Sabres are 8-11-2 all-time on November 25.
  • November 25, 1970: The Sabres acquire Eddie Shack and Dick Duff from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Mike McMahon.
  • November 25, 2000: Vladimir Tsyplakov scores 10 seconds after the opening faceoff in a 5-3 Sabres win at Montreal.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

  • With a win tonight, the Sabres would sweep a Florida road trip for the first time since earning wins against Tampa Bay and Florida on Nov. 10 and 12, 2015. It would be their first time doing so on consecutive nights since Jan. 29 and 30, 2008.
  • All nine of Jeff Skinner’s goals this season have come during 5-on-5 play. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, he finished last night’s game tied for sixth-most in the league.
  • Sam Reinhart has recorded 10 points (8+2) in his last nine games against the Lightning, including four two-point outings.
  • Zach Bogosian, who recorded an assist and 22:03 of ice time in his season debut last night at Florida, has an assist in each of his last three visits to Tampa.
  • Victor Olofsson tallied a point in each of his first two career matchups with Tampa Bay in Stockholm, Sweden (1+1) as part of the 2019 NHL Global Series.
  • Rasmus Ristolainen has assists in six of his last nine meetings with the Lightning, including both of this season’s previous matchups.

SETTING THE PACE

  • With 14 goals in 23 games so far this season, Jack Eichel is already halfway to his previous best goal total (28), set in the 2018-19 season.
  • Eichel’s output through 23 games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 50 goals and 103 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.
  • Sam Reinhart’s eight goals through 23 games put him on pace for a career-high total (29).
  • 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 (29) since Donald Audette’s 31 in 1991-92 and the most points by a Sabres rookie (61) since Ray Sheppard’s 65 in 1987-88.

POINTS IN BUNCHES

  • Jack Eichel has recorded eight multi-point games this season, tying for 12th-most in the league.
  • At the conclusion of last night’s game, his three multi-goal games tied for fifth-most (two shy of the league lead) and his six multi-assist games tied for fourth-most (one behind the league leaders).
  • Eichel has already recorded at least three points five times this season, matching his previous career-high total set in the 2016-17 season. Only Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have more games with at least three points this season.
  • As of the conclusion of last night’s game, Eichel’s three games with at least four points this season tied Connor McDavid for the league lead. Since he entered the league in 2015-16, only six 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), Steven Stamkos (9)

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s sixth of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 5-2 win last night at Florida. The Sabres are 2-4-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 2-3-0 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in previous back-to-back sets is: four points (0), three points (0), two points (3), one point (0) and zero points (2).

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

  • Eichel: 463 FO (4th), 10 EVG (T-6th), 14 G (T-7th), 1 OTG (T-9th), 29 PTS (T-10th), 19 EVP (T-10th)
  • Hutton: 2 SO (T-1st)
  • Johansson: 1 OTG (T-9th)
  • Olofsson: 6 PPG (T-6th)
  • Ristolainen: 77 hits (T-6th)
  • Ullmark: 1 SO (T-8th)

BUF-TBL CONNECTIONS

  • Lightning forward Cory Conacher played for the Sabres for one season (2013-14), posting six points (3+3) in 19 games.
  • Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju played for the Blackhawks with Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta during the 2018-19 season.
  • Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton played in St. Louis with Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for part of the 2016-17 season.
  • Sabres forward Johan Larsson played for Team Sweden with Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.
  • Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe and Lightning forward Tyler Johnson played for Team USA together at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.
  • Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe played with Lightning forward Pat Maroon for Team USA at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.
  • Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour and Lightning defenseman Luke Schenn played together in Anaheim for part of the 2018-19 season.
  • Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Sam Reinhart played for Team Canada together with Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.
  • Sabres forwards Sam Reinhart and Curtis Lazar won a gold medal for Team Canada with Lightning forwards Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.
  • Sabres forward Jeff Skinner played for Team Canada with Lightning defenseman Luke Schenn at the IIHF World Championship three times: in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Lightning forward Steven Stamkos was also on the 2013 squad.
  • Sabres forward Jeff Skinner and Lightning forwards Alex Killorn and Brayden Point played for Team Canada together at the 2017 IIHF World Championship. The trio won a silver medal together.
  • Sabres forward Jimmy Vesey played for the Rangers with Lightning defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (77), McCabe (43), Girgensons (32)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (41), Ristolainen (35), Jokiharju (22)
Shots: Skinner (82), Eichel (80), Olofsson (57)

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: 1-2-0 (2), 8/9, 1/9, 9/13

OVERTIME RESULTS (2-2; 122-130 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)

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
Brandon Montour … 2 games … 200 career games played
Jake McCabe … 3 games … 300 career games played
Goals
Sam Reinhart … 5 goals … 100 career goals
Points
Jimmy Vesey … 7 points … 100 career points 

RECENT MILESTONES
N/A