Sabres game preview: 11/8/18 at Montreal

TONIGHT’S GAMESABRES at CANADIENS

• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Canadiens this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Montreal 4-3 in Buffalo on Oct. 25
• Next meeting: Friday, Nov. 23 in Buffalo
• The Sabres are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games vs. the Canadiens; 4-5-1 on the road
• This is the 281st game all-time between Buffalo and Montreal; Buffalo has a 127-112-41 series record.
• The Sabres are 54-72-13 on the road against the Canadiens all-time.

THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 7-5-4 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

• After their 4-3 win the last time these teams met, the Sabres are seeking wins in consecutive matchups with the Canadiens for the first time since Feb. 3 and 12, 2016.
• Conor Sheary is expected to appear in his 200th NHL game tonight.
• Patrik Berglund has six points (4+2) in his last six games against the Canadiens.
• Carter Hutton has appeared in five career games against Montreal, posting a 2-0-2 record with a .931 save percentage and a 1.79 goals-against average.
• Linus Ullmark stopped 21 of 22 shots (.954) in his only previous meeting with the Canadiens.
• Jeff Skinner has recorded 15 points (9+6) in 16 games against Montreal since the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Jason Pominville has totaled 11 points (9+2) in 12 games against the Canadiens during the same span.

SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUTThe Sabres have recorded at least 40 shots in five of their last seven games, including each of their last three. It’s the first time the team has done so in three consecutive games since March 20 to 25, 2009. With 40 shots tonight, they would extend that streak to four games for the first time since Jan. 19 to 26, 1975.

THREE’S COMPANYEntering play Wednesday, Buffalo’s top line of Jeff Skinner, Jason Pominville and Jack Eichel each ranked in the top 10 in the NHL in points since the trio began playing together as a line on Oct. 20 at Los Angeles. In those eight games, Skinner (8+5) and Pominville (7+6) have totaled 13 points each, and Eichel has recorded 12 points (1+11).

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

• Eichel: 13 A (T-7th), 59 S (8th) 13 EVP (T-8th)
• Hutton: 311 SV (10th)
• Pominville: 7 EVG (T-8th)
• Ristolainen: 25:10 TOI/GP (10th)
• Skinner: plus-10 (T-5th), 7 EVG (T-8th)
• Ullmark: 1 SO (T-5th), 2.00 GAA (7th)

BUF-MTL CONNECTIONSFormer Sabres:

• Canadiens F Joel Armia was drafted by the Sabres in the first round (16th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft and skated in one game for the team.
• Canadiens F Paul Byron spent one season (2010-2011) with the Sabres after being drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft. He played in eight games and recorded two points (1+1).
• Canadiens F Nicolas Deslauriers spent four seasons with the Sabres organization (2013-2017), playing in 211 games and recording 30 points (12+18). He was the only player to skate in all 82 games during the 2014-15 season and led the team with 206 hits in 2015-16.

Former Canadiens:

• Sabres D Nathan Beaulieu was selected by Montreal in the first round (17th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. He spent five seasons with the club (2012-2017), skating in 225 games and recording 60 points (7+53).

Local Players:

• Sabres F Jason Pominville is a native of Repentigny, Quebec, and played junior hockey with the Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL).
• Sabres D Marco Scandella grew up in Montreal. He played three seasons of junior hockey playing for the Val-d’Or Foreurs (QMJHL).

Patrik Berglund:

• Played for the Blues when Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller was an assistant coach in St. Louis.

Jason Botterill:

• Played with Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller in Dallas.

Jack Eichel:

• Played for Team North America with Canadiens F Jonathan Drouin at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Remi Elie:

• Played with Montreal D Jordie Benn in Dallas.

Phil Housley:

• Was an assistant coach in Nashville when Canadiens D Shea Weber was playing for the Predators.

Carter Hutton:

• Played with Canadiens G Antti Niemi and F Andrew Shaw in Chicago. Canadiens goaltending coach Stephane Waite was also on the Blackhawks coaching staff during Hutton’s tenure with the team.
• Played with Canadiens D Shea Weber in Nashville.

Jake McCabe:

• Played for Team USA at the IIHF 2013 World Junior Championship with Canadiens D Mike Reilly. McCabe captained the team and the duo won a gold medal together.
• Represented the United States with Canadiens D Jeff Petry at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.

Kyle Okposo:

• Represented the United States with Canadiens D Jeff Petry at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.

Jason Pominville:

• Played with Canadiens D Mike Reilly in Minnesota.

Sam Reinhart:

• Played with Canadiens F Jonathan Drouin for Team Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Won a gold medal with Canadiens F Max Domi for Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. Both Domi and Reinhart were named to the tournament’s All-Star Team. The duo also won a gold medal together while representing Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

Rasmus Ristolainen:

• Represented Finland with Canadiens F Artturi Lehkonen at both the 2013 and 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning gold in 2014. Canadiens F Joel Armia was also on Finland’s 2013 roster.

Marco Scandella:

• Played with Canadiens D Mike Reilly in Minnesota.

Conor Sheary:

• Played with Canadiens G Antti Niemi in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Skinner:

• Played in Carolina when Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller was the head coach of the Hurricanes.

Steve Smith:

• Was a scout for the Blackhawks when Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin was in the front office and goaltending coach Stephane Waite held the same role in Chicago. Canadiens G Antti Niemi also played for the Blackhawks during Smith’s time with the team.
• Was an assistant coach for the Oilers when Canadiens D Jeff Petry was playing in Edmonton.

Vladimir Sobotka:

• Played in Boston when Canadiens Head Coach Claude Julien was the head coach of the Bruins.
• Played for the Blues when Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller was an assistant coach in St. Louis.
• Has played for the Czech national team with Canadiens F Tomas Plekanec on three separate occasions: at the 2014 and 2017 IIHF World Championships and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERSHits: Ristolainen (42), Girgensons (24), McCabe (21)
Blocked Shots: Ristolainen (26), McCabe (25), Bogosian (21)
Shots: Eichel (59), Skinner (50), Pominville (41)

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: 1-2-2 (4), 18/15, 3/18, 13/15


OVERTIME RESULTS (0-2; 113-123 all-time)Oct. 27 at CBJ: L, 5-4 (GWG-Panarin, 0:31)
Oct. 30 vs. CGY: L, 2-1 (GWG-Gaudreau, 2:40)

SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 70-66 all-time)N/A

MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)Games PlayedConor Sheary … 1 game … 200 career games played
Remi Elie … 6 games … 100 career games played
Jeff Skinner … 6 games … 600 career games played
Nathan Beaulieu … 8 games … 300 career games played
Evan Rodrigues … 8 games … 100 career games played
GoalsJason Pominville … 2 goals … 211 goals with Sabres (T-11th in franchise history)
PointsJeff Skinner … 5 points … 400 career points
Jack Eichel … 6 points … 200 career points

RECENT MILESTONESConor Sheary … 100th NHL point … Nov. 3 vs. OTT

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