STAFF REPORTS
LAST GAMESaturday, October 13
Buffalo 3 at Arizona 0
Goals: Dahlin, Sheary, Skinner
Goalie: Ullmark (36 saves/36 shots)
PP: 1/3; PK: 3/3; Shots: Arizona 36 – Buffalo 23
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 26)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missedZach Bogosian (lower body, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 5 games
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 5 games
Sean Malone (knee, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 5 games
Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 5 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/11: Activated F Johan Larsson from IR; Placed D Zach Bogosian on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Oct. 18: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 20: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 21: Buffalo at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 25: Montreal at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27: Buffalo at Columbus, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at GOLDEN KNIGHTS
- This is the second of two meetings between the Sabres and Golden Knights this season.
- Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Vegas 4-2 in Buffalo on Oct. 8
- This is the fourth game all-time between Buffalo and Vegas; Buffalo has a 1-0-2 series record.
- The Sabres are 0-0-1 on the road against the Golden Knights all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 7-9-3 all-time on October 16.
- October 16, 1982: Phil Housley records his first career NHL goal in a 9-2 win at Washington.
- October 16, 2009: Jason Pominville scores his 100th career NHL goal in a 6-3 win at home against the New York Islanders.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Tonight’s game is the second game of a five-game Pacific Division road trip that continues on Thursday at San Jose.
- If he dresses, tonight will be Patrik Berglund’s 700th NHL game. He would become the 37th Swedish player to reach that milestone.
- The Sabres are 1-0-2 in their first three meetings with the Golden Knights. A win or overtime loss tonight would give them points in their first four games against an expansion franchise for the first time since the first four games against both teams that joined the league in 1992-93 (Ottawa and Tampa Bay).
- After stopping 35 shots when these teams last met, Carter Hutton is 2-0-0 against Vegas with a .957 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average.
- The Sabres have four players who have registered at least a point per game against the Golden Knights: Jack Eichel (2 GP, 2+2), Jason Pominville (3 GP, 1+2), Kyle Okposo (2 GP, 0+2), Evan Rodrigues (1 GP, 0+1).
- With three power-play goals in the first five games of the season, Conor Sheary has already topped his previous career high of two (2016-17 and 2017-18).
BESTING THE WEST
- The Sabres enter tonight’s game with a 6-0-1 record in their last seven road games against Pacific Division opponents, including wins in each of their last five and shutouts in each of their last three (Jan. 23 at Edmonton, Jan. 25 at Vancouver and Oct. 13 at Arizona).
- With wins in each of their last five road games against the Western Conference, the Sabres are in the midst of their best Western Conference road stretch since Jan. 6 to Oct. 8, 2011 (5-0-0).
- A win tonight would give Buffalo its first ever six-game winning streak against the Western/Campbell Conference. An overtime loss would give the Sabres their fifth road point streak of at least six games against the conference and the first since the team tied a franchise high with points in seven straight from Dec. 28, 2010 to Oct. 8, 2011 (6-0-1).
A FRESH FACE
- On Oct. 4 vs. Boston, Rasmus Dahlin (18 years, 175 days) became the second-youngest player ever to appear in a game with the Sabres, behind only fellow No. 1 pick Pierre Turgeon (18 years, 41 days on Oct. 8, 1987 vs. Minnesota).
- Dahlin skated 22:37 in his debut, marking the highest ice time recorded by a Sabres player making his NHL debut and the 21st-highest ice time by any NHL player in his first game since the league began tracking ice time in the 1997-98 season.
- With his assist on Oct. 11 vs. Colorado, Dahlin became the second-youngest player (18 years, 175 days) in franchise history to record a point, behind only Turgeon (18 years, 44 days on Oct. 11, 1987 vs. Washington).
- Dahlin scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 13 at Arizona, becoming the second-youngest player (18 years, 183 days) in franchise history to score, behind only Turgeon (Oct. 21, 1987 vs. Hartford).
- He was the youngest defenseman in 23 years to score an NHL goal. His goal came exactly 34 years after Doug Bodger (18 years, 117 days) became the youngest defenseman in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to score his first NHL goal (Oct. 13, 1984).
- With the goal, he also became the third-youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a game-winner, trailing only Craig Wolanin of the New Jersey Devils (12/9/85 at Minnesota) and Red Garrett of the New York Rangers (12/25/42 at Detroit).
CAPTAIN JACK
- After being named captain on Oct. 3, Jack Eichel became the 19th full-season captain in franchise history and the 28th player to wear the captain’s “C” for at least a one-month period for the Sabres.
- At 21 years of age, Eichel is the youngest captain in Sabres history, passing Jim Schoenfeld, who served as the team’s captain as a 23-year-old in the 1975-76 season.
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 10/15 games)
- Hutton: 124 SV (6th), 2 W (T-7th)
- Ristolainen: 25:44 TOI/GP (7th)
- Sheary: 3 PPG (T-3rd)
- Ullmark: 1 SO (T-1st), 1.000 SV% (T-1st), 0.00 GAA (T-1st)
BUF-VGK CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Golden Knights F William Carrier spent three seasons (2014-2017) with the Sabres organization. He played in 41 games and recorded eight points (3+5).
- Golden Knights D Brayden McNabb was selected by Buffalo in the third round (66th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He spent parts of two seasons (2011-12, 2013-14) with the team, appearing in 37 games and notching eight points (1+7).
Nathan Beaulieu:
- Played with Golden Knights F Max Pacioretty in Montreal.
Patrik Berglund:
- Played with Golden Knights D Brad Hunt, F Ryan Reaves and F Paul Stastny in St. Louis.
Jason Botterill:
- Was the assistant general manager for the Penguins when Golden Knights assistant coach Ryan Craig, D Deryk Engelland and G Marc-Andre Fleury were playing in Pittsburgh.
Jack Eichel:
- Played on Team North America during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey when Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant was an assistant coach for the team.
Chris Hajt:
- Played for the Capitals when Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee held the same role in Washington.
Phil Housley:
- Played in Washington when Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee was the vice president of hockey operations for the Capitals.
- Was an assistant coach for the Predators when Golden Knights D Brad Hunt was playing in Nashville.
Kyle Okposo:
- Played for the Islanders when Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee and Head Coach Gerard Gallant were a part of the front office in New York.
Davis Payne:
- Was on the coaching staff in Los Angeles when Golden Knights D Brayden McNabb played for the Kings.
- Was the head coach of the Blues when Golden Knights F Ryan Reaves played in St. Louis.
Jason Pominville:
- Played with Golden Knights F Erik Haula and F Alex Tuch in Minnesota.
Conor Sheary:
- Played with Golden Knights G Marc-Andre Fleury and F Ryan Reaves in Pittsburgh.
Steve Smith:
- Played with Golden Knights assistant coach Ryan McGill for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1991-1992.
- Was the assistant coach in Edmonton when Golden Knights D Brad Hunt was playing for the Oilers.
Vladimir Sobotka:
- Played with Golden Knights D Brad Hunt, F Ryan Reaves and F Paul Stastny in St. Louis.
Matt Tennyson:
- Played with Golden Knights F Ryan Carpenter in San Jose.
Tage Thompson:
- Played with Golden Knights F Paul Stastny in St. Louis.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (15), McCabe (10), Berglund/Girgensons/Thompson (9)
Blocked Shots: Berglund (9), McCabe/Nelson/Ristolainen/Scandella (6)
Shots: Eichel (21), Ristolainen/Skinner (12), Okposo/Sheary (11)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]1-10: 3-2-0 (6), 11/13, 4/18, 10/13
OVERTIME RESULTS (0-0; 113-121 all-time)N/A
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 70-66 all-time)N/A
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played:
Patrik Berglund … 1 game … 700 career games played
Remi Elie … 8 games … 100 career games played
Jason Pominville … 8 games … 1,000 career games played
Goals:
Jason Pominville … 9 goals … 211 goals with Sabres (T-11th in franchise history)
Points:
Jason Pominville … 3 points … 700 career points
Conor Sheary … 3 points … 100 career points
Jason Pominville … 6 points … 497 points with Sabres (T-10th in franchise history)
RECENT MILESTONES
Rasmus Dahlin … 1st NHL point (assist) … Oct. 11 vs. COL
Jason Pominville … 664 games with Sabres (10th in franchise history) … Oct. 13 at ARI
Rasmus Dahlin 1st NHL goal … Oct. 13 at ARI
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