Tag Archives: Tampa Bay Lightning

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Friday, November 8
Tampa Bay 3 at Buffalo 2
Goals: Reinhart (2)
Goalie: Ullmark (31 saves/34 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 3/4; Shots: Tampa Bay 34 – Buffalo 22

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 67)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zach Bogosian (hip, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 16 games
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 16 games
Marco Scandella (lower body, Oct. 25; injured reserve) – 5 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/3: Recalled D Lawrence Pilut from Rochester (AHL); Placed D Marco Scandella on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Nov. 14: Carolina at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 16: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 17: Buffalo at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 19: Minnesota at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 21: Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at LIGHTNING

• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
• Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 3-2 in Stockholm on Nov. 8.
• Next meeting: Monday, Nov. 25 in Tampa
• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 2-7-1 on the road.
• This is the 104th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-39-9 series record.
• The Sabres are 29-19-4 on the road against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 6-8-4 all-time on November 9.
• November 9, 2005: Thomas Vanek scores twice, including his first career NHL goal, and adds an assist in a 5-3 home loss against the Carolina Hurricanes.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Casey Mittelstadt is expected to appear in his 100th NHL game tonight.
• Sam Reinhart has five points (3+2) in his last five games. He has recorded eight points (7+1) in his last eight games against the Lightning, including three two-goal outings.

THINK GLOBALLY

• Tonight’s game is the final of three NHL games to be contested in Europe this season as part of the 2019 NHL Global Series, following the season-opening matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers in Prague, Czech Republic.
• This marks the third straight year (and the eighth season overall) that the NHL has contested regular-season games in Europe. It is the second time the Sabres have been part of those games, as the team defeated the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland and the Los Angeles Kings in Berlin, Germany as part of the 2011 NHL Premiere.
• The Sabres and Lightning become the eighth and ninth teams to play at least four regular-season games in Europe tonight. With a win, Buffalo would join Ottawa (3-0-1) and Anaheim (3-3-0) as the only teams with three wins in those games.

DOUBLE CENTURY

• Rasmus Ristolainen recorded his 200th NHL point with an assist in yesterday’s game against the Lightning.
• He became the ninth defenseman in franchise history to record at least 200 points for the Sabres.
• Ristolainen’s 36 career goals rank him 13th among all Sabres defensemen in franchise history, trailing Jocelyn Guevremont by two for the 12th spot. His 164 assists leave him two shy of John Van Boxmeer for eighth-most.

HOME-AND-HOME

• While today’s game is being contested at a neutral-site venue, it represents the second game in a home-and-home series between the Sabres and the Lightning.
• It is the third home-and-home series ever to be played between the teams. Buffalo previously went 0-2-0 in a series against Tampa Bay on Oct. 22 and 25, 2011 and 1-1-0 on Dec. 2 and 4, 2014.
• The Sabres have played in 164 previous home-and-home series in franchise history, going 93-48-23 (.637) in the home games and 57-78-29 (.436) in the road games in previous series.
• The team is 71-64-29 (.521) all-time in the first game of these previous series and 79-62-23 (.552) in the second.
• Buffalo’s points breakdown in these previous series is as follows: four points (32), three points (24), two points (67), one point (17), zero points (24).
• Buffalo swept San Jose in their last home-and-home series on Oct. 19 and 22. They will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in their next one on Nov. 29 and 30.

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s fourth of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 3-2 loss last night vs. Tampa Bay. The Sabres are 0-4-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 2-1-0 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 (2), one point (0) and zero points (1).

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

• Buffalo Sabres: 25.9% PP% (3rd)
• Dahlin: 7 PPA (T-5th)
• Eichel: 1 OTG (T-5th), 9 PPP (6th), 4 PPG (T-8th), 301 FO (9th)
• Hutton: 2 SO (T-1st), 2.09 GAA (5th), .928 SV% (7th)
• Johansson: 1 OTG (T-5th)
• McCabe: 36 BkS (T-10th)
• Olofsson: 6 PPG (4th), 8 PPP (T-9th)
• Ristolainen: 54 hits (7th)
• Skinner: 58 S (9th)
• Ullmark: 1 SO (T-6th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (54), McCabe (30), Miller (30)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (36), Ristolainen (25), Jokiharju (17)
Shots: Skinner (58), Eichel (53), Reinhart (38)

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: 1-4-1 (3), 9/19, 2/15, 13/15

OVERTIME RESULTS (2-1; 122-129 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)

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
Casey Mittelstadt … 1 game … 100 career games played
Rasmus Dahlin … 2 games … 100 career games played
Carter Hutton … 3 games … 200 career games played
Brandon Montour … 9 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Sam Reinhart … 7 goals … 100 career goals
Points
Jimmy Vesey … 8 points … 100 career points
Kyle Okposo … 8 points … 500 career points 

RECENT MILESTONES
Rasmus Ristolainen … 200th NHL point … Nov. 8 vs. TBL

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Saturday, November 2
NY Islanders 1 at Buffalo 0
Goals: N/A
Goalie: Hutton (20 saves/21 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 1/1; Shots: Buffalo 27 – NY Islanders 21

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 64)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Zach Bogosian (hip, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 15 games
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 15 games
Marco Scandella (lower body, Oct. 25; injured reserve) – 4 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/2: Activated D Brandon Montour from IR
11/3: Recalled D Lawrence Pilut from Rochester (AHL); Placed D Marco Scandella on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Nov. 9: Buffalo at Tampa Bay (Stockholm, Sweden), 1 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 14: Carolina at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 16: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 17: Buffalo at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 19: Minnesota at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
LIGHTNING at SABRES

• This is the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
• Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 2-1 (SO) in Tampa Bay on Feb. 21.
• Next meeting: Saturday, Nov. 9 in Stockholm, Sweden
• The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 3-6-1 at home.
• This is the 103rd game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has an 55-38-9 series record.
• The Sabres are 26-19-5 at home against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 8-5-4 all-time on November 8.
• November 8, 1980: Danny Gare scores twice in a 10-second span in a 3-3 tie at Washington.
• November 8, 2001: The Sabres get goals from seven different scorers and Martin Biron makes 16 saves as Buffalo shuts out the Atlanta Thrashers by a score of 8-0 at home.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The Sabres are 20-17-4 all-time in the first game after a break of at least five days (excludes season-openers).
• Buffalo had the No. 3 power play in the league before Thursday’s games, converting on 14 of the team’s 52 power plays this season (26.9%). Only the Boston Bruins (16) had scored more goals with the man advantage this season.
• The Sabres have scored the first goal in 10 of their 15 games so far this season, going 8-1-1 in those contests. Only Boston (11) had scored first in more games entering play Thursday.
• Sam Reinhart recorded four points (3+1) in four games against the Lightning last season.
• Jimmy Vesey totaled three points (1+2) in three meetings with Tampa Bay in 2018-19.
• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded a point in each of his last two games against the Lightning (1+1).

THINK GLOBALLY

• Tonight’s game is the second of three NHL games to be contested in Europe this season as part of the 2019 NHL Global Series, following the season-opening matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers in Prague, Czech Republic.
• The final game of the series will take place between the Sabres and Lightning tomorrow at Ericsson Globe.
• This marks the third straight year (and the eighth season overall) that the NHL has contested regular-season games in Europe. This is the second time the Sabres have been part of those games, as the team defeated the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland and the Los Angeles Kings in Berlin, Germany as part of the 2011 NHL Premiere.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The Sabres are playing a regular-season home game away from the team’s home arena for the eighth time in franchise history. Buffalo is 1-3-3 in the seven previous games, with the win coming against the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland as part of the 2011 NHL Premiere.

 DIVISIONAL SUCCESS

• Entering today’s game, the Sabres have wins in five straight games against Atlantic Division opponents dating back to last season, including a 3-0-0 record so far in 2019-20.
• A win today would give Buffalo wins in six consecutive divisional matchups for the first time since the team won seven in a row against Northeast Division opponents from Dec. 15, 2010 to Feb. 15, 2011.

HOME-AND-HOME

• While today’s game is being contested at a neutral-site venue, it represents the first game in a home-and-home series between the Sabres and the Lightning. It concludes with tomorrow’s rematch at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.
• It is the third home-and-home series ever to be played between the teams. Buffalo previously went 0-2-0 in a series against Tampa Bay on Oct. 22 and 25, 2011 and 1-1-0 on Dec. 2 and 4, 2014.
• The Sabres have played in 164 previous home-and-home series in franchise history, going 93-48-23 (.637) in the home games and 57-78-29 (.436) in the road games in previous series.
• The team is 71-64-29 (.521) all-time in the first game of these previous series and 79-62-23 (.552) in the second.
• Buffalo’s points breakdown in these previous series is as follows: four points (32), three points (24), two points (67), one point (17), zero points (24).
• Buffalo swept San Jose in their last home-and-home series on Oct. 19 and 22. They will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in their next one on Nov. 29 and 30.

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game opens Buffalo’s fourth of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season, which continues tomorrow at Tampa Bay. The Sabres are 0-3-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 2-1-0 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 (2), one point (0) and zero points (1).

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 11/7 games)

• Buffalo Sabres: 26.9% PP% (3rd)
• Dahlin: 7 PPA (T-3rd)
• Eichel: 9 PPP (T-4th), 1 OTG (T-5th), 4 PPG (T-6th), 282 FO (10th)
• Hutton: 2 SO (T-1st), 2.09 GAA (6th), .928 SV% (8th)
• Johansson: 1 OTG (T-5th)
• McCabe: 36 BkS (T-9th)
• Olofsson: 6 PPG (T-3rd), 8 PPP (T-8th)
• Ullmark: 1 SO (T-6th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (45), McCabe (29), Miller (28)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (36), Ristolainen (22), Jokiharju (17)
Shots: Skinner (55), Eichel (52), Reinhart (31)

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: 1-3-1 (3), 7/16, 2/13, 10/11

OVERTIME RESULTS (2-1; 122-129 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)

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
Casey Mittelstadt … 2 games … 100 career games played
Carter Hutton … 3 games … 200 career games played
Rasmus Dahlin … 3 games … 100 career games played
Brandon Montour … 10 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Sam Reinhart … 9 goals … 100 career goals
Points
Rasmus Ristolainen … 1 point … 200 career points
Jimmy Vesey … 8 points … 100 career points
Kyle Okposo … 8 points … 500 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
N/A

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Tuesday, February 19
Buffalo 2 at Florida 4
Goals: Eichel, Sobotka
Goalie: Ullmark (37 saves/41 shots)
PP: 1/4; PK: 4/4; Shots: Florida 41 – Buffalo 34

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 194)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Marco Scandella (upper body, Feb. 17; injured reserve) – 2 games
Kyle Okposo (concussion, Feb. 17) – 2 games
Matt Hunwick (lower body, Feb. 19) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
2/17: Recalled D Casey Nelson from his conditioning assignment in Rochester (AHL)
2/19: Activated D Casey Nelson from IR; Placed D Marco Scandella on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Feb. 23: Washington at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 25: Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 26: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 1: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 2: Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at LIGHTNING

• This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
• Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-3 in Buffalo on Jan. 12
• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 2-8-0 on the road.
• This is the 102nd game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-38-8 series record.
• The Sabres are 29-19-3 on the road against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 12-9-3 all-time on February 21.
• February 21, 2008: Thomas Vanek scores his 100th career goal vs. Toronto.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• With a win tonight, the Sabres would split the season series with the Lightning for the second consecutive season.
• Sam Reinhart has recorded six points (5+1) in his last six games against the Lightning, including points in each of the three meetings this season (3+1).
• Reinhart has totaled 18 points (7+11) in his last 18 road games and enters tonight’s game on a three-game point streak (1+2).
• Tage Thompson has scored in both of the last two games between these teams.
• Jack Eichel has totaled six points (1+5) in six career visits to Amalie Arena.
• Casey Mittelstadt has a point in both of his career road games against Tampa Bay (1+1), including his first NHL goal on April 6, 2018.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has recorded an assist each of his last three road games against the Lightning.

DYNAMIC DUO

• Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner have both recorded a point on the same goal 28 times this season, making them the most productive Sabres duo since Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek combined on 39 goals in the 2011-12 season.
• At least one of the two has recorded a point on 89 of the team’s 166 goals this season (53.6%).
• Eichel has posted 14 points (4+10) in his last 13 games and Skinner has totaled nine points (5+4) in his last nine games.

JACK ATTACK

• Jack Eichel’s next goal will make him the third player in franchise history to record 20 goals in each of his first four NHL seasons, joining Rick Martin and Thomas Vanek.
• With 44 assists so far this season, Eichel is the first Sabres player to record at least 44 assists in a season since Tim Connolly recorded 48 in 2009-10.
• Eichel is currently on pace for 45 even-strength assists this season. Only five different players have recorded at least 45 even-strength assists since the 2005-06 season: Henrik Sedin (3x), Joe Thornton (3x), Connor McDavid (2x), Evgeni Malkin and Michael Nylander. Pat Lafontaine (52 in 1992-93) is the only player in franchise history to record at least 45 in a season.

DAH-LEAN ON ME

• Entering play Wednesday, Rasmus Dahlin led rookie defensemen and tied for second among all NHL rookies with 32 points. He also ranked second among all rookies with 26 assists.
• With 32 points (6+26) through 59 games, Dahlin is scoring at a higher rate than he did in the Swedish Hockey League last season, when he totaled 20 points (7+13) in 41 games for Frölunda.
• Dahlin’s current point total puts him on pace for 44 points this season. He would trail only Phil Housley (57 points in 1982-83) for the most ever recorded by a defenseman before his 19th birthday.
• With six 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: Phil Housley (13) and Bobby Orr (8).

SAM I AM
Sam Reinhart has already set career-high totals in points (52), assists (38) and multi-point games (15) this season. The Sabres are 20-11-5 this season when Reinhart records at least one point and 29-4-7 (.813) in his career when he records at least two.

LEADING THE WAY

• All three of the Sabres’ top three scorers are currently on pace to shatter their previous personal bests in points on the strength of career-best production at even strength:

MAKING HISTORY

• At his current pace, Jack Eichel would finish the season with the fifth-most even-strength points ever recorded by a Sabre, trailing only Pat LaFontaine (83) and Alexander Mogilny (78) in 1992-93, and Gilbert Perreault in 1975-76 (70) and 1979-80 (68).
• Eichel is one point off of the pace to become the first Sabres player to record at least 90 points since Daniel Briere (95) in 2006-07 and would trail only LaFontaine’s franchise-record 52 even-strength assists in 1992-93.
• Jeff Skinner is on pace to log the seventh 50-goal season in Sabres history and the first since 1992-93 (Mogilny and LaFontaine). His 39 even-strength goals would tie for the fourth-most in team history behind only Mogilny’s even-strength total from 1992-93 (49), Rick Martin’s 44 in 1973-74 and Danny Gare’s 41 in 1975-76.

SCORING WHEN IT COUNTS

• Jeff Skinner’s seven game-winning goals tied for second-most in the NHL this season entering play Wednesday. He is the first Sabres player with at least seven game-winners in a season since Derek Roy (9) in 2008-09 and is four shy of matching the single-season franchise record of 11 shared by Danny Gare (1979-80) and Alexander Mogilny (1992-93).
• Skinner was also tied for third in the league with three overtime goals this season. Skinner’s total matches the Sabres’ single-season record shared by Daniel Briere (2006-07) and Derek Roy (2009-10) and ties him for 10th-most career overtime goals in franchise history.

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 2/20 games)

• Buffalo Sabres: 82.2% PK% (7th)
• Eichel: 2 OTG (T-8th), 219 S (10th), 32 EVA (10th)
• Ristolainen: 24:56 TOI/GP (10th)
• Skinner: 28 EVG (2nd), 36 G (T-2nd), 7 GWG (T-2nd), 3 OTG (T-3rd)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (176), Girgensons (96), McCabe (83)
Blocked Shots: Bogosian (91), Ristolainen (90), McCabe (83)
Shots: Eichel (219), Skinner (191), Ristolainen (147)

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: 3-5-1 (7), 25/36, 7/26, 16/19

OVERTIME RESULTS (6-6; 119-127 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)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (4-1; 74-67 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)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Tage Thompson … 8 games … 100 career games played
Goals
Jason Pominville … 2 goals … 213 goals with Sabres (T-10th in franchise history)
Jack Eichel … 8 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Kyle Okposo … 3 assists … 300 career assists
Jeff Skinner … 7 assists … 200 career assists
Matt Hunwick … 8 assists … 100 career assists
Jason Pominville … 10 assists … 310 assists with Sabres (T-7th in franchise history)
Points
Sam Reinhart … 8 points … 200 career points 

RECENT MILESTONES
Zemgus Girgensons … 400th NHL game … Feb. 19 at FLA
Jason Pominville … 713th game with Sabres (sole possession, 8th in franchise history) … Feb. 19 at FLA

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Friday, January 11
Buffalo 3 at Carolina 4
Goals: Skinner, Pominville, Okposo
Goalie: Hutton (26 saves/30 shots)
PP: 1/4; PK: 2/2; Shots: Buffalo 33 – Carolina 30

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 169)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Casey Nelson (upper body, Dec. 8; injured reserve) – 15 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/8: Activated F Zemgus Girgensons from IR; Placed F Jack Eichel on IR; Placed F Scott Wilson on waivers
1/9: Assigned F Scott Wilson to Rochester (AHL)
1/11: Activated F Jack Eichel from IR; Assigned F C.J. Smith to Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Jan. 14: Buffalo at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 16: Buffalo at Calgary, 9:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 18: Buffalo at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 29: Buffalo at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 30: Buffalo at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
LIGHTNING at SABRES

• This is the third of four meetings between the Sabres and Lightning this season.
• Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-4 in Tampa Bay on Nov. 29, 2018
• Next meeting: Thursday, Feb. 21 at Tampa Bay
• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Lightning; 3-5-2 at home.
• This is the 101st game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 55-37-8 series record.
• The Sabres are 26-18-5 at home against the Lightning all-time.

THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 11-7-3 all-time on January 12.
• January 12, 1978: Gilbert Perreault scores all three Sabres goals to collect his fourth hat trick of the season in a 6-3 loss at Cleveland.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The Sabres are 5-2-2 at home against the Atlantic Division this season.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has recorded an assist in four of his last five games against Tampa Bay.
• Sam Reinhart has recorded five points (4+1) in his last five games against the Lightning.
• Reinhart has already set career-high totals in assists (32) and multi-point games (13) this season. The Sabres are 17-6-4 this season when he records at least one point and 28-4-6 (.816) in his career when he records at least two.
• With his 211th goal as a member of the Sabres last night at Carolina, Jason Pominville has tied Alexander Mogilny for 11th-most in franchise history. He now trails 10th-place Don Luce by five goals.

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR

• Jeff Skinner led all Atlantic Division candidates in fan votes during the NHL’s “Last Men In” vote to earn a spot on the Atlantic Division All-Star Team. He will make his second All-Star Game appearance and first since his Calder Trophy-winning season in 2010.
• Skinner will join Jack Eichel, also making his second career All-Star Game appearance, as the first pair of Sabres to appear in an All-Star Game together since the team had three representatives (Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell and Ryan Miller) in 2007.

30 FOR 53

• Jeff Skinner’s goal last night gave him 30 goals for the fourth time in his career. He became the first Sabres player to score 30 goals in a season since Jason Pominville did so in 2011-12.
• Skinner’s 44 games needed to reach the 30-goal mark tied him with Rick Martin in 1971-72 as the sixth-fastest Sabre to score 30. He trailed only Alexander Mogilny (30 GP in 1992-93), Pat LaFontaine (31 GP in 1991-92 and 42 GP in 1992-93), Gilbert Perreault (40 GP in 1977-78) and Rick Martin (41 GP in 1973-74).

HOME COOKING
Buffalo enters tonight’s game with a 14-5-3 (.705) record at home. The team’s .705 points percentage at home ranked seventh in the NHL after last night’s game. It would rank as the Sabres’ eighth-best home record ever and would be their best since the 1982-83 season (25-7-8, .725).

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s ninth of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 4-3 loss last night at Carolina. The Sabres are 4-4-1 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 5-1-2 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in their previous back-to-back sets is: four points (3), three points (1), two points (2), one point (2) and zero points (0).

COMEBACK KIDS

• The Sabres are 6-12-2 this season when trailing after two periods. Their six wins when trailing after 40 minutes tied for second-most in the league after last night’s game and their .300 win percentage in those games ranked fourth.
• Buffalo’s six wins when trailing after two have already surpassed last season’s total and leave the team three third-period comebacks shy of the franchise record of nine set in the 2005-06 season.

SCORING WHEN IT COUNTS

• After last night’s game, Jeff Skinner’s seven game-winning goals tied for the most in the NHL this season. He is the first Sabres player with at least seven game-winners in a season since Derek Roy (9) in 2008-09 and is four shy of matching the single-season franchise record of 11 shared by Danny Gare (1979-80) and Alexander Mogilny (1992-93).
• Skinner also finished last night’s game tied for second in the league with three overtime goals this season. Skinner’s total matches the Sabres’ single-season record shared by Daniel Briere (2006-07) and Derek Roy (2009-10) and ties him for 10th-most career overtime goals in franchise history.

DAH-LEAN ON ME
After last night’s game, Rasmus Dahlin led rookie defensemen and ranked third among all NHL rookies with 23 points (4+19) this season.

• With his 20th point in his 37th game on Dec. 22 vs. Anaheim, he became the fourth-fastest 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to reach the 20-point mark, trailing only Phil Housley (28 GP), Ray Bourque (30 GP) and Aaron Ekblad (34 GP).
• Only eight defensemen in NHL history have recorded more points before their 19th birthdays than Dahlin’s
• Dahlin’s totals put him on pace for 43 points this season. It would trail only Phil Housley (57 points in 1982-83) for most ever by a defenseman before his 19th birthday.

LEADING THE WAY

• All three of the Sabres’ top three scorers are currently on pace to shatter their personal bests in points on the strength of career-best production at even strength that ranks them each among the best even-strength players in the league this season:

MAKING HISTORY

• If the Sabres’ top scorers continue their current pace, the team would have three 75-point players for the first time since 1992-93 (Pat LaFontaine, Alexander Mogilny, Dale Hawerchuk).
• At his current pace, Jack Eichel would finish the season with the fourth-most even-strength points ever recorded by a Sabre, trailing only LaFontaine (83) and Mogilny (78) in 1992-93, and Gilbert Perreault in 1975-76 (70). He would trail only LaFontaine’s franchise-record 52 even-strength assists that season and would become the first Sabre to record more than 90 points since Daniel Briere in 2006-07 (95).
• Jeff Skinner is currently on pace to tie Danny Gare in 1979-80 (56) for the second-most goals in Sabres history, trailing only Mogilny in 1992-93 (76). His 43 even-strength goals would finish behind only Mogilny’s even-strength total from 1992-93 (49) and Rick Martin’s 44 in 1973-74 for third-most in team history.

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

• Buffalo Sabres: 84.4% PK% (3rd)
• Eichel: 165 S (T-10th), 25 EVA (T-9th)
• Ristolainen: 25:29 TOI/GP (5th), 135 hits (10th)
• Skinner: 7 GWG (T-1st), 30 G (2nd), 23 EVG (T-2nd), 3 OTG (T-2nd)
• Ullmark: .924 SV% (4th)

BUF-TBL CONNECTIONS
Nathan Beaulieu:

• Played with Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern and D Mikhail Sergachev in Montreal.

Jason Botterill:

• Played with Lightning assistant general manager Pat Verbeek in Dallas.
• Was a scout for the Stars when Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern played in Dallas.
• Was the assistant general manager in Pittsburgh when Lightning D Cameron Gaunce was playing for the Penguins.

Jack Eichel:

• Played for Team North America with Lightning F T. Miller at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Chris Hajt:

• Played with Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern in Washington.

Phil Housley:

• Coached Lightning F J.T. Miller at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, winning a gold medal together for the United States.

Matt Hunwick:

• Played for the Rangers with Lightning D Dan Girardi, D Ryan McDonagh and F J.T. Miller.
• Played for Team USA with Lightning D Ryan Callahan at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Johan Larsson:

• Represented Sweden with Lightning D Victor Hedman at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.

Jake McCabe:

• Played for Team USA with Lightning F Tyler Johnson at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.
• Won a gold medal with Lightning F J.T. Miller at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Jason Pominville:

• Played for Team USA with Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

Sam Reinhart:

• Won a gold medal for Canada with Lightning F Brayden Point at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Played under Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper for Team Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship, winning a bronze medal.

Marco Scandella:

• Played in Minnesota when Lightning assistant coach Todd Richards was the head coach of the Wild.

Conor Sheary:

• Played with Lightning D Cameron Gaunce in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Skinner:

• Played for Team Canada with Lightning F Steven Stamkos at the 2013 IIHF World Championship.
• Won a silver medal for Canada with Lightning F Brayden Point at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.

Vladimir Sobotka:

• Represented the Czech Republic at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey with Lightning F Ondrej Palat.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (135), Girgensons (63), Okposo (58)
Blocked Shots: Ristolainen (73), Bogosian (72), McCabe (65)
Shots: Eichel (165), Skinner (139), Ristolainen (109)

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: 2-2-0 (4), 13/10, 1/9, 10/11

OVERTIME RESULTS (5-5; 118-126 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)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (3-1; 73-67 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)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Johan Larsson … 4 games … 300 career games played
Sam Reinhart … 7 games … 300 career games played
Zach Bogosian … 9 games … 600 career games played
Rasmus Ristolainen … 10 games … 400 career games played
Marco Scandella … 10 games … 500 career games played
Goals
Jason Pominville … 1 goal … 212 goals with Sabres (sole possession, 11th in franchise history)
Assists
Kyle Okposo … 4 assists … 300 career assists
Matt Hunwick … 8 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Jason Pominville … 2 points … 511 points with Sabres (T-8th in franchise history) 

RECENT MILESTONES
C.J. Smith … 1st NHL goal … Jan. 8 vs. NJD
Lawrence Pilut … 1st NHL goal … Jan. 8 vs. NJD