Tag Archives: Toronto Maple Leafs

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Thursday, February 13
Columbus 3 at Buffalo 4 (OT)
Goals: Olofsson (2), Eichel, Rodrigues
Goalie: Hutton (28 saves/31 shots)
PP: 1/1; PK: 1/1; Shots: Columbus 31 – Buffalo 27

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 284)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 58 games
Vladimir Sobotka (knee, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 42 games
Tage Thompson (shoulder, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 38 games
Linus Ullmark (lower body, Jan. 30; injured reserve) – 8 games
Marcus Johansson (upper body, Feb. 13) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
2/10: Assigned G Andrew Hammond to Rochester (AHL)
2/13: Assigned F Scott Wilson to Rochester (AHL); Activated F Kyle Okposo and F Victor Olofsson from IR
2/14: Placed D Zach Bogosian on waivers; Assigned D Lawrence Pilut to Rochester (AHL)
2/15: Recalled D John Gilmour and G Andrew Hammond from Rochester (AHL); Assigned D Zach Bogosian to Rochester

UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Feb. 18: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23: Winnipeg at Buffalo, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 26: Buffalo at Colorado, 8 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 28: Buffalo at Vegas, 10 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
MAPLE LEAFS at SABRES

• This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season.
• Last meeting: Toronto defeated Buffalo 5-3 in Toronto on Dec. 17, 2019.
• The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Maple Leafs; 5-4-1 at home.
• This is the 218th game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto; Buffalo has a 116-73-28 series record.
• The Sabres are 71-29-9 at home against the Maple Leafs all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 13-4-4 all-time on February 16.
• February 16, 2004: Miroslav Satan scores a career-high four goals, including his 250th NHL goal and 500th NHL point, leading the Sabres to a 7-2 victory vs. Atlanta.
• February 16, 2012: Thomas Vanek scores his 225th NHL goal in a 7-2 loss at Philadelphia, passing Miroslav Satan for seventh-most goals in team history. Vanek would finish his time with the Sabres ranked fifth in team history with 254 career regular-season goals.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Today’s game is the final in a 20-day stretch during which the Sabres played nine of 10 games at home. The lone road game during that span was a 3-2 win on Feb. 7 at NY Rangers. After today, the team will play six of its next seven games on the road.
• The Sabres are 20-5-2 in their last 27 home games against the Maple Leafs.
• Jack Eichel has recorded seven multi-point games in his last 12 games against the Maple Leafs.
• Rasmus Dahlin has totaled five points (1+4) in five career meetings with Toronto, including two points (1+1) in his sole matchup with the Maple Leafs this season on Dec. 17.
• Victor Olofsson has three points (1+2) in three games against the Maple Leafs this season.
• Carter Hutton is 3-1-1 with a .925 save percentage in six career games against Toronto.
• Sam Reinhart has recorded 17 points (9+8) in 17 games since the beginning of January. His nine goals during that stretch tied for 10th-most in the league entering play Saturday.

EICHEL AND THE LEAFS

• Jack Eichel has totaled 22 points (13+9) in 16 career games against Toronto, including 11 points (7+4) in seven home games.
• His 1.4 points per game against the Maple Leafs is his third-best career output against any NHL team, trailing only his 1.5 points per game against the Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights.
• Eichel has scored more goals against the Maple Leafs (13) than against any other NHL opponent.
• His .81 goals per game against Toronto also represents his highest rate against any NHL team. Among active NHL players with at least five career games against the Maple Leafs, only Alex Ovechkin (.82) has scored at a higher rate against Toronto.

RETURN OF THE ROOKIE

• Victor Olofsson, who missed 15 games with a lower body injury from Jan. 4 to Feb. 11, scored twice in his return to the lineup on Thursday vs. Columbus. The overtime winner was his first career overtime goal and his fourth game-winning goal of the season.
• Entering play Saturday, Olofsson ranked second among all NHL rookies with 18 goals this season.
• Olofsson’s 37 points in 43 games so far this season match Dave Andreychuk’s total from his 43-game rookie season with the Sabres in 1982-83. Olofsson’s current .860 points per game this season ties Andreychuk for the fourth-best scoring rate among Sabres rookies with at least 15 games played:
  • Rick Martin (1971-72): 1.014 PTS/GP
  • Gilbert Perreault (1970-71): .923 PTS/GP
  • Ray Sheppard (1987-88): .878 PTS/GP
  • Victor Olofsson (2019-20)/Dave Andreychuk (1982-83): .860 PTS/GP
  • Phil Housley (1982-83): .857 PTS/GP
  • Christian Ruuttu (1986-87): .855 PTS/GP

TEEN TITAN

• Rasmus Dahlin has totaled 78 points (13+65) through his first 130 NHL games, including 34 points (4+30) in 48 games this season.
• With his assist on Feb. 13 vs. Columbus, Dahlin surpassed Rick Hampton (76) for third-most points recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 20th birthday. He now trails only Phil Housley (132) and Ray Bourque (79) 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 78.
• Entering play Saturday, Dahlin’s .60 points per game in his career ranked as the 14th-highest rate among active NHL defensemen with at least 10 career games played. His .71 points per game so far this season represent the best single-season scoring rate by a Sabres defenseman with at least 15 games played since Phil Housley (1.01) in 1989-90.

SETTING THE PACE

• With his 29th goal in his 49th game of the season on Jan. 28 vs. Ottawa, Jack Eichel topped his previous best total set in the 2018-19 season (77 GP). He now has 32 goals in 57 games played this season.
• Eichel’s output through 58 team games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 45 goals and 104 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 71 Eichel is currently on pace for.
• Eichel is on pace to become just the ninth player in franchise history to record 80 points in back-to-back seasons at least once, joining Danny Gare, Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine, Rick Martin, Alexander Mogilny, Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert and Pierre Turgeon.
• Sam Reinhart scored his 20th goal of the season in his 55th game on Feb. 7 at NY Rangers, surpassing the 2015-16 season as his previous quickest season to 20 goals (69 games). Reinhart is currently on pace to set career-high totals in both goals (30) and points (68).
• Despite missing 10 games due to injury, Rasmus Dahlin is currently on pace to record 51 points this season, which would make him the Sabres’ first 50-point defenseman since Garry Galley (54) in 1995-96.
• Victor Olofsson, who has missed 15 games due to injury this season, is on pace for 58 points, which would rank as the seventh-most prolific rookie season in Sabres history and the best since Ray Sheppard’s 65 points in 1987-88. He is on pace for 28 goals, which would rank him sixth among all rookies in franchise history.

JACK ATTACK

• Jack Eichel has been held without a point in just four of his last 39 games played. During that stretch, which began with a four-goal performance vs. Ottawa on Nov. 16, Buffalo’s captain has totaled 54 points (24+30) in 39 appearances, also missing one game due to injury. Only Artemi Panarin (56) had more points during that stretch entering play Saturday.
  • Entering play Saturday, only three NHL players had recorded at least a point in more games this season than Eichel’s 43: Leon Draisaitl (47), Nathan MacKinnon (46) and Patrick Kane (44).
• With his assist on Feb. 11 vs. Detroit, Eichel became the 14th player ever to record 70 points in consecutive seasons at least once as a member of the Sabres. The last player to do so was Derek Roy in 2007-08 (81) and 2008-09 (70).
• Eichel recorded his 70th point of the season in his 56th game on Feb. 11 vs. Detroit, tying for the 10th-fastest season to 70 points in Sabres history. Only six different players in franchise history have reached the 70-point mark quicker: Gilbert Perreault (3x), Pat Lafontaine (2x), Rick Martin, Alexander Mogilny, Rene Robert, Pierre Turgeon.
• With his 40th assist on Feb. 13 vs. Columbus, Eichel became the first Sabres player to record 30 goals and 40 assists in a season since Jason Pominville (30+43) in 2011-12. He became the 16th different player in franchise history to accomplish this feat at least once.

POINTS IN BUNCHES

• Jack Eichel has recorded 19 multi-point games this season, tying as the 10th-most in the NHL before Saturday’s games. The Sabres are 14-3-2 (.789) in those games.
• Entering play Saturday, Eichel’s six multi-goal games tied for fifth-most in the league and his 11 multi-assist games tied for seventh-most.
• Eichel has recorded at least three points eight times this season, topping his previous career-high total (6) set in the 2016-17 season. Only Leon Draisaitl (11), Connor McDavid (11) and David Pastrnak (10) had more games with at least three points this season entering play Saturday.
• Sam Reinhart ranks second on the Sabres with 12 multi-point games this season. The team is 9-2-1 this season (.792) and 40-7-8 (.800) in his career when he records at least two points.

SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 2/15 games)

• Eichel: 3 OTG (T-2nd), 24 EVG (3rd), 7 GWG (T-3rd), 32 G (T-4th), 50 EVP (T-4th), 73 PTS (6th), 22 PPP (T-10th)
• Olofsson: 10 PPG (T-9th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (171), Girgensons (92), McCabe (75)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (75), Ristolainen (66), Jokiharju (53)
Shots: Eichel (193), Skinner (149), Reinhart (122)

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: 5-5-0 (10), 30/32, 7/29, 21/29
51-60: 4-3-1 (9), 19/24, 3/16, 12/14

OVERTIME RESULTS (6-6; 126-134 all-time)
Oct. 7 at CBJ: L, 4-3 (Texier, 2:08)
Oct. 9 vs. MTL: W, 5-4 (Johansson, 1:30)
Oct. 22 vs. SJS: W, 4-3 (Eichel, 3:13)
Nov. 14 vs. CAR: L, 5-4 (Hamilton, 2:28)
Nov. 27 vs. CGY: L, 3-2 (Lindholm, 1:17)
Nov. 30 at TOR: L, 2-1 (Tavares, 1:45)
Dec. 7 at VAN: L, 6-5 (Miller, 3:21)
Dec. 8 at EDM: W, 3-2 (Miller, 1:13)
Dec. 14 at NYI: L, 3-2 (Beauvillier, 3:04)
Jan. 2 vs. EDM: W, 3-2 (Eichel, 1:09)
Feb. 1 vs. CBJ: W, 2-1 (Eichel, 0:36)
Feb. 13 vs. CBJ: W, 4-3 (Olofsson, 2:44)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-2; 76-71 all-time)
Oct. 11 vs. FLA: W, 3-2 (GDG-Eichel)
Oct. 28 vs. ARI: L, 3-2 (GDG-Schmaltz)
Feb. 6 vs. DET: L, 4-3 (GDG-Larkin)

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Henri Jokiharju … 4 games … 100 career games played
Jimmy Vesey … 6 games … 300 career games played
Colin Miller … 8 games … 300 career games played
Evan Rodrigues … 10 games … 200 career games played
Goals
Kyle Okposo … 8 goals … 200 career goals
Assists
Jack Eichel … 1 assist … 200 career assists
Points
Kyle Okposo … 1 point … 500 career points
Johan Larsson … 8 points … 100 career points
Wins
Carter Hutton … 9 wins … 100 career wins 

RECENT MILESTONES
N/A

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Saturday, December 14
Buffalo 2 at NY Islanders 3 (OT)
Goals: Olofsson, Eichel
Goalie: Ullmark (23 saves/26 shots)
PP: 2/3; PK: 3/3; Shots: Buffalo 35 – NY Islanders 26

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 157)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 34 games
Vladimir Sobotka (knee, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 18 games
Tage Thompson (upper body, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 14 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/12: Activated D Rasmus Dahlin from IR
12/15: Assigned F Casey Mittelstadt to Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Dec. 19: Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 23: Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 27: Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 29: Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at MAPLE LEAFS

• This is the third of four meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season.
• Last meeting: Toronto defeated Buffalo 2-1 (OT) in Toronto on Nov 30.
• Next meeting: Sunday, Feb. 16 in Buffalo
• The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Maple Leafs; 3-5-2 on the road.
• This is the 217th game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto; Buffalo has a 116-72-28 series record.
• The Sabres are 45-43-19 on the road against the Maple Leafs all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 9-9-2 all-time on December 17.
• December 17, 1978: Danny Gare scores seven seconds after the opening faceoff in a 6-3 win vs. Vancouver.
• December 17, 1983: Adam Creighton gets his first NHL point in his NHL debut, assisting on the game-winning goal in a 4-1 win at Hartford.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Buffalo enters the game with a point in each of the team’s last five games (3-0-2). A win or overtime loss tonight would give the Sabres their second six-game point streak of the season after going 5-0-1 in the first six games of 2019-20.
• After scoring at least a goal in each of Buffalo’s last three games, Jack Eichel entered play Monday with the second-most goals in the league this season (23). Eichel has been selected as the NHL’s Third Star of the week for each of the last two weeks.ac
• Victor Olofsson has recorded 20 points (8+12) in his last 19 games, including two-point performances in four of the team’s last seven games. He has failed to record a point in just three of those 19 games and entered play Monday leading all NHL rookies in goals (14) and points (30) this season.

EICHEL AND THE LEAFS

• Jack Eichel has totaled 20 points (12+8) in 15 career games against Toronto, including nine (5+4) in eight road games.
• His 1.33 points per game against the Maple Leafs ties as his second-best career output against any NHL team, trailing only his 1.64 points per game against the Ottawa Senators.
• Eichel has scored more goals against the Maple Leafs (12) than against any other NHL opponent.
• His .80 goals per game against Toronto represent his highest rate against any NHL team.

DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
In Buffalo’s seven games since the beginning of December (all stats before Monday’s games):

• The Sabres are 4-1-2 and are tied for the third-best goal differential (plus-8) in the NHL.
• Jack Eichel leads all NHL players with 13 points and is tied for second in the league lead with seven goals. His plus-8 rating ranks fourth in the league.
• Victor Olofsson is tied for sixth in the NHL with six assists and tied for third with 10 points
• Johan Larsson is tied for sixth in the league in assists (6) and tied for fifth in plus/minus (plus-7).
• Rasmus Ristolainen’s plus-9 rating ranks third in the NHL and his six assists tie for sixth-most among all NHL players.
• Linus Ullmark is 4-1-1 with a .924 save percentage in six appearances, tying for the most wins in the NHL.

JACK ATTACK

• Jack Eichel enters today’s game on a career-best 16-game point streak that began on Nov. 16. The streak is the longest recorded by an NHL player this season.
• Entering play Monday, his 15 goals, 29 points and plus-19 rating during the streak all led the NHL during that timeframe. His 13 assists were one shy of the league lead during that stretch.
• The streak is tied for the fourth-longest in franchise history and is the longest by a Sabre since Tim Connolly tallied points in 16 consecutive games from Dec. 23, 2009 to Jan. 25, 2010.

5-ON-5 GOALS

• According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Sabres entered play Monday with three players among the league’s leaders in 5-on-5 goals: Jack Eichel (12, T-5th), Jeff Skinner (11, T-10th), Sam Reinhart 10, T-17th).
• Only 21 NHL players had at least 10 goals during 5-on-5 play entering play Monday. Buffalo joined the Edmonton Oilers (Draisaitl, Kassian, McDavid) as one of two teams with three players among those 21.

EVEN-STRENGTH IMPROVEMENT
The Sabres have seen positive trends at even strength in the team’s 17 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 17-game stretch that began on Nov. 14 vs. Carolina, the team has tied or led its opponent at 5-on-5 in…

• goals: 12 times
• shots: 10 times
• shot attempts: 11 times
• scoring chances: 10 times

SETTING THE PACE

• With 23 goals in 34 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 34 games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 55 goals and 116 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 80 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 (34) since Ray Sheppard’s 38 in 1987-88 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 34 games put him on pace for a career-high goal total (29).

POINTS IN BUNCHES

• Jack Eichel has recorded 14 multi-point games this season, tying for sixth-most in the NHL before Monday’s games.
• Entering play Monday, his six multi-goal games led the league 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 Monday.
• Eichel’s three games with at least four points this season tied for the league lead entering play Monday. 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 12/16 games)

• Eichel: 17 EVG (1st), 23 G (2nd), 33 EVP (T-3rd), 48 PTS (T-5th), 15 PPP (T-7th), 4 GWG (T-8th), 25 A (9th), 123 S (9th), 6 PPG (T-9th)
• Hutton: 2 SO (T-3rd)
• Olofsson: 8 PPG (T-3rd)
• Ristolainen: 103 hits (T-9th)

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (103), Girgensons (51), McCabe (51)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (54), Ristolainen (40), Jokiharju (30)
Shots: Eichel (123), Skinner (118), Olofsson (85)

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: 3-0-1 (7), 14/10, 2/9, 9/10

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
Jeff Skinner … 5 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
Kyle Okposo … 6 points … 500 career points
Zach Bogosian … 8 points … 200 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Jimmy Vesey … 100th NHL point … Dec. 12 vs. NSH

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

LAST GAME
Friday, November 29
Toronto 4 at Buffalo 6
Goals: Eichel (2), Skinner, Mittelstadt, Olofsson, Vesey
Goalie: Ullmark (25 saves/29 shots)
PP: 0/2; PK: 4/4; Shots: Buffalo 36 – Toronto 29

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 122)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 3; injured reserve) – 26 games
Vladimir Sobotka (knee, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 10 games
Kyle Okposo (concussion, Nov. 17; injured reserve) – 7 games
Tage Thompson (upper body, Nov. 19; injured reserve) – 6 games
Evan Rodrigues (lower body, Nov. 25) – 3 games
Rasmus Dahlin (concussion, Nov. 27; injured reserve) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/24: Acquired D Matthew Spencer from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for D Devante Stephens; Assigned Spencer to Cincinnati (ECHL)
11/25: Recalled F Jean-Sebastien Dea from Rochester (AHL)
11/27: Activated F Marcus Johansson from IR; Placed D Rasmus Dahlin on IR

UPCOMING GAMES
Monday, Dec. 2: New Jersey at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 5: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7: Buffalo at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 8: Buffalo at Edmonton, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 10: St. Louis at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

TODAY’S GAME
SABRES at MAPLE LEAFS

• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Toronto 6-4 in Buffalo on Nov 29.
• Next meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 17 in Toronto
• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Maple Leafs; 3-6-1 on the road.
• This is the 216th game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto; Buffalo has a 116-73-26 series record.
• The Sabres are 45-43-18 on the road against the Maple Leafs all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 6-8-4 all-time on November 30.
• November 30, 1939: Ground is broken on Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
• November 30, 1980: The Sabres defeat the Colorado Rockies 4-1 at the Aud. Rookie Alan Haworth scores his first NHL goal for the Sabres, who extend their unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive home games, and Rene Robert scores the lone Rockies goal.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• If he dresses, tonight’s game would be the 300th NHL game of Jake McCabe’s NHL career.
• Sam Reinhart has recorded 13 points (6+7) in 14 games against the Maple Leafs dating back to the beginning of the 2016-17 season.
• Jeff Skinner has totaled seven points (3+4) in eight games against Toronto since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. All 10 of Skinner’s goals this season have come during 5-on-5 play.
• Jimmy Vesey has posted five points (3+2) in his last six games against the Maple Leafs
• Marco Scandella has recorded four assists in his last five games against the Maple Leafs.

EICHEL AND THE LEAFS

• Jack Eichel has totaled 19 points (12+7) in 14 career games against Toronto, including eight (5+3) in seven road games.
• His 1.36 points per game against the Maple Leafs rate as his second-best career output against any NHL team, trailing only his 1.64 points per game against the Ottawa Senators.
• Eichel has scored more goals against the Maple Leafs (12) than against any other NHL opponent.
• His .79 goals per game against Toronto represent his highest rate against any NHL team.

48 HOURS, 99 MILES, TWO GAMES

• The Sabres and the Leafs will wrap up a home-and-home series tonight after Buffalo’s 6-4 win last night in Buffalo. It’s the first home-and-home series between the teams since Nov. 15 and 16, 2013.
• Buffalo has not won the home portion of a home-and-home series with Toronto since the team’s last home-and-home sweep against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 30 and 31, 1998.
• The Sabres are 11-1-2 (two ties) all-time in the home portion of their home-and-home series with the Maple Leafs and 2-10-1 in the road games.
• Seven of the previous 13 home-and-home sets between the Sabres and Maple Leafs also took place on consecutive nights.
• Buffalo’s points breakdown in those 13 previous home-and-home sets is: four points (2), three points (0), two points (9), one point (1) and zero points (1).

HOME-AND-HOME

• The Sabres have played in 165 previous home-and-home series in franchise history, going 93-49-23 (.633) in the home games and 57-79-29 (.433) in the road games in previous series.
• The team is 71-65-29 (.518) all-time in the first game of these previous series and 79-63-23 (.548) 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 (25).
• Buffalo previously swept San Jose in a home-and-home series on Oct. 19 and 22 and were swept by the Lightning on Nov. 8 and 9 in Stockholm Sweden. They will face the Boston Bruins in their next one on Dec. 27 and 30.

BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s seventh of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 6-4 win last night vs. Toronto. The Sabres are 2-4-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 2-4-0 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 (4), one point (0) and zero points (2).

GOING STREAKING

• Jack Eichel enters today’s game on an eight-game point streak that began on Nov. 16. As of the conclusion of last night’s game, his 15 points (8+7) during the streak led the NHL during that timeframe.
• Victor Olofsson has recorded points in 10 of his last 11 games (4+6). He enters today’s game on a career-best, six-game point streak (3+3).
• Jimmy Vesey enters today’s game with points in each of Buffalo’s last four games, totaling five points (3+2) during that span. It is Vesey’s first career four-game point streak. His current three-game goal scoring streak matches his previous best stretch, set from Feb. 23 to 27, 2019.

SETTING THE PACE

• With 16 goals in 26 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 26 games currently has him on pace to finish the season with 50 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.
• Sam Reinhart’s nine goals 26 games put him on pace for a career-high goal total (28).
• 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 (32) and most points by a Sabres rookie (63) since Ray Sheppard’s 65 points (38+27) in 1987-88.

POINTS IN BUNCHES

• Jack Eichel has recorded nine multi-point games this season, tying for 10th-most in the as of the conclusion of last night’s game.
• Following last night’s game, his four multi-goal games tied for second-most (one shy of the league lead) and his six multi-assist games tied for fourth-most (also one behind the league leaders).
• Eichel has already recorded at least three points six times this season, matching his previous career-high total set in the 2016-17 season. Only Leon Draisaitl (8) and Connor McDavid (8) had more games with at least three points this season after last night’s game.
• Eichel’s three games with at least four points this season tie 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) and Steven Stamkos (9).

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

• Eichel: 12 EVG (T-3rd), 523 FO (4th), 16 G (T-5th), 24 EVP (T-6th), 97 S (T-6th), 34 PTS (7th), 1 OTG (T-9th), 244 FOW (10th)
• Hutton: 2 SO (T-1st)
• Johansson: 1 OTG (T-9th)
• Olofsson: 6 PPG (T-6th)
• Skinner: 10 EVG (T-9th)
• Ullmark: 1 SO (T-9th)

BUF-TOR CONNECTIONS

• Sabres forward Rasmus Asplund played for Team Sweden with Maple Leafs forward William Nylander at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian played with Maple Leafs goaltender Michael Hutchinson in Winnipeg for two seasons (2013-14 to 2014-15).
• Sabres forward Jack Eichel, Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews and Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly were all part of Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Eichel and Matthews previously played together for Team USA at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe represented the United States with Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.
• Sabres forward Curtis Lazar and Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Ceci were teammates in Ottawa for three seasons (2014-15 to 2016-17).
• Sabres forward Curtis Lazar and Maple Leafs forward Nicholas Shore were both part of the Calgary Flames’ organization during the 2017-18 season.
• Sabres forwards Curtis Lazar and Sam Reinhart played for Team Canada with Maple Leafs forwards Frederik Gauthier and Nic Petan at both the 2014 and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships. They won a gold medal together in 2015.
• Sabres forward Victor Olofsson and Maple Leafs forward William Nylander played for Team Sweden together at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Sabres forward Sam Reinhart and Maple Leafs defensemen Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci won a gold medal for Team Canada together at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.
• Sabres forward Jeff Skinner and Maple Leafs forwards Jason Spezza and John Tavares represented Canada together at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. Skinner and Tavares played together again the following year at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.
• Sabres forward Jeff Skinner won a silver medal with Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (81), McCabe (44), Girgensons (35)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (43), Ristolainen (36), Jokiharju/Scandella (24)
Shots: Eichel (97), Skinner (92), Olofsson (66)

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: 2-3-1 (5), 18/21, 1/17, 18/23

OVERTIME RESULTS (2-3; 122-131 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)

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
Jake McCabe … 1 game … 300 career games played
Goals
Sam Reinhart … 4 goals … 100 career goals
Assists
Marco Scandella … 10 assists … 100 career assists
Points
Jimmy Vesey … 3 points … 100 career points
Jack Eichel … 7 points … 300 career points

RECENT MILESTONES
Brandon Montour … 200th NHL game … Nov. 27 vs. CGY
Rasmus Asplund … 1st NHL point (assist) … Nov. 27 vs. CGY