STAFF REPORTS
GAME-DAY RESOURCESLAST GAME
Tuesday, November 13
Tampa Bay 1 at Buffalo 2
Goals: Skinner, Okposo
Goalie: Hutton (29 saves/30 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 1/1; Shots: Tampa Bay 30 – Buffalo 19
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 65)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 18 games
Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 18 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/10: Acquired a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft from Dallas in exchange for D Taylor Fedun
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Nov. 17: Buffalo at Minnesota, 6 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 19: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 21: Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 23: Montreal at Buffalo, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 24: Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at JETS
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Jets this season.
- Last meeting: Winnipeg defeated Buffalo 7-4 in Buffalo on Jan. 9
- Next meeting: Sunday, Feb. 10 in Buffalo
- The Sabres are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Jets; 3-6-1 on the road
- This is the 62nd game all-time between Buffalo and Winnipeg/Atlanta; Buffalo has a 26-24-11 series record.
- The Sabres are 9-14-7 on the road against the Jets/Thrashers all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 8-9-1 all-time on November 16.
- November 16, 1974: Rick Martin scores the 1,000th goal in franchise history in a 7-5 loss at Boston.
- November 16, 1983: Phil Housley and Sean McKenna lead the way with a goal and two assists each as the Sabres rally back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Jets 6-5 in overtime in Winnipeg.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- The Sabres enter tonight’s game on a three-game wining streak. A win today would give the team its first four-game winning streak since Dec. 9 to 15, 2014.
- Jack Eichel entered play Thursday tied for sixth in the league with seven multi-point games this season, 11 shy of his career-high 18 in a season. Jeff Skinner tied for 14th with six, 10 shy of his career-high 16.
- Jeff Skinner’s nine goals in nine road games this season tied for the league lead entering play Thursday.
HOT AGAINST WINNIPEG
- Carter Hutton made 48 saves to shut out the Jets in his only meeting with them last season. He has a 4-4-1 record and a .933 save percentage in 10 career appearances against Winnipeg. Linus Ullmark stopped 42 of 44 shots (.955) to earn the win in his only previous meeting with the Jets on Jan. 10, 2016.
- Jason Pominville has 17 points (5+12) in his last 17 games against Winnipeg, including seven points (3+4) in his last three.
- Kyle Okposo has 15 points (5+10) in his last 14 games against the Jets. In 26 career games against Winnipeg/Atlanta, Okposo has posted nine multi-point outings, including four in his six matchups with the Jets since the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
- Sam Reinhart has recorded six points (4+2) in six career games against the Jets, including his first career hat trick on Jan. 10 in Winnipeg.
- Jack Eichel has totaled five points (3+2) in five career games against Winnipeg.
- Marco Scandella has five points (2+3) in his last five games against the Jets.
- Jeff Skinner has recorded four points (2+2) in four games against Winnipeg since the beginning of the 2016-17 season.
- Conor Sheary has three points (1+2) in his last three games against the Jets.
- Evan Rodrigues and Rasmus Ristolainen each recorded two assists in two games against Winnipeg last season.
WHAT’S THE SKINNY?
- With 13 goals through Buffalo’s first 18 games, Jeff Skinner entered play Thursday trailing only David Pastrnak (17 goals) for most in the NHL this season.
- With his 10th goal in the team’s 16th game of the season on Thursday at Montreal, Skinner reached the 10-goal mark quicker than any Sabres player since Thomas Vanek (10 games) in 2012-13.
- Only three players in franchise history have scored more goals through 18 team games than Skinner’s current total: Dave Andreychuk (17 in 1992-93), Thomas Vanek (15 in 2008-09) and Rick Martin (14 in 1972-73 and 1973-74).
WINNING WAYS
Sam Reinhart has recorded seven points (1+6) in his last five games, including three two-point games during that stretch. The Sabres are 9-0-0 this season when Reinhart records at least one point and 24-2-3 (.879) in his career when he records at least two.
BACK-TO-BACK
Tonight’s game opens Buffalo’s third of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which continues tomorrow night at Minnesota. The Sabres are 2-0-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-1-0 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in their previous back-to-back sets is: four points (1), three points (0), two points (1), one point (0) and zero points (0).
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 11/15 games)
- Eichel: 15 EVP (T-9th), 69 S (T-9th), 15 A (T-10th)
- Ristolainen: 1 OTG (T-5th), 57 hits (T-5th), 25:24 TOI/GP (7th)
- Skinner: 10 EVG (T-1st), 13 G (2nd), plus-12 (T-2nd), 15 EVP (T-9th)
- Ullmark: 1 SO (T-6th)
BUF-WPG CONNECTIONS
Former Sabres:
- Jets goaltending coach Wade Flaherty was selected by the Sabres in the ninth round (181st overall) of the 1988 NHL Draft.
- Jets assistant coach Charlie Huddy spent parts of two seasons with the Sabres (1994-1996), playing in 84 games and recording 16 points (7+9).
- Jets D Tyler Myers spent six seasons (2009-2015) with the Sabres after being selected by the team in the first round (12th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft, recording 151 points (45+106) in 485 games played. He won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie and earned All-Rookie Team honors at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season.
- Jets F Brendan Lemieux was selected by the Sabres in the second round (31st overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft.
Former Jets:
- Sabres D Zach Bogosian spent parts of seven seasons (2008-2015) with the Jets organization after being selected by the Thrashers in the first round (3rd overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft. He skated in 393 games and recorded 127 points (40+87), and currently ranks in the top five among franchise defenseman in goals (3rd), assists (5th), points (4th) and games played (3rd).
- Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill grew up in Winnipeg and spent part of one season with the Jets’ franchise when they were located in Atlanta. In 25 games with the Thrashers, Botterill scored one goal and had five assists.
Nathan Beaulieu:
- Won a bronze medal with Jets F Mark Scheifele while representing Canada at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Jason Botterill:
- Was a scout for the Blackhawks when Jets D Dustin Byfuglien played in Chicago.
Jack Eichel:
- Played for Team USA with Jets F Andrew Copp at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship.
- Played for Team North America with Jets G Connor Hellebuyck, F Mark Scheifele and D Jacob Trouba at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Phil Housley:
- Coached Jets D Jacob Trouba at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. The duo won a gold medal together for the United States and Trouba was named to the tournament’s All-Star Team and earned Best Defenseman honors.
Jake McCabe:
- Won a gold medal with Jets D Jacob Trouba for the United States at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. Both McCabe and Trouba were named to the tournament’s All-Star Team.
- Represented the United States with Jets F Blake Wheeler at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.
- Played for Team USA with Jets F Kyle Connor at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.
Davis Payne:
- Was an assistant coach in Los Angeles when Jets assistant coach Todd Woodcroft was a scout for the Kings.
Sam Reinhart:
- Played for Team Canada with Jets D Josh Morrissey at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 2014 and 2015. The duo won a gold medal together in 2015 and both were named to the tournament’s All-Star Team.
- Won a gold medal with Jets F Mark Scheifele while representing Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.
Rasmus Ristolainen:
- Represented Finland with Jets F Patrik Laine at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Jeff Skinner:
- Played for the Hurricanes when Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice held the same role in Carolina.
- Won a silver medal with Jets F Mark Scheifele for Team Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
Steve Smith:
- Was a scout for the Blackhawks when Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was the assistant general manager in Chicago.
- Played with Jets assistant coach Charlie Huddy in Edmonton.
Vladimir Sobotka:
- Played with Jets F Blake Wheeler in Boston.
Tage Thompson:
- Won a gold medal with Jets F Jack Roslovic while representing the United States at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (57), McCabe (27), Girgensons (26)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (31), Ristolainen (31), Bogosian (27)
Shots: Eichel (69), Skinner (60), Ristolainen (46)
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: 4-2-2 (10), 30/24, 3/24, 23/25
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-2; 114-123 all-time)
Oct. 27 at CBJ: L, 5-4 (GWG-Panarin, 0:31)
Oct. 30 vs. CGY: L, 2-1 (GWG-Gaudreau, 2:40)
Nov. 8 at MTL: W, 6-5 (GWG-Ristolainen, 1:38)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-0; 71-66 all-time)
Nov. 10 vs. VAN: W, 4-3 (GDG-Mittelstadt)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Jeff Skinner … 3 games … 600 career games played
Nathan Beaulieu … 5 games … 300 career games played
Evan Rodrigues … 5 games … 100 career games played
Remi Elie … 6 games … 100 career games played
Goals
Jason Pominville … 2 goals … 211 goals with Sabres (T-11th in franchise history)
Assists
Kyle Okposo … 10 assists … 300 career assists
Points
Jeff Skinner … 1 point … 400 career points
Jack Eichel … 4 points … 200 career points
RECENT MILESTONES
N/A
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