Sabres game preview: 11/24/18 at Detroit

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 78)Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missedMatt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 23 games
Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 23 games
Patrik Berglund (upper body, Oct. 21; injured reserve) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS11/21: Recalled D Lawrence Pilut from Rochester (AHL); Placed F Patrik Berglund on IR
11/23: Assigned D Lawrence Pilut to Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMESTuesday, Nov. 27: San Jose at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 29: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 30: Buffalo at Florida, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 3: Buffalo at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 4: Toronto at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAMESABRES at RED WINGS

• This is the first of four meetings between the Sabres and Red Wings this season.
• Last meeting: Detroit defeated Buffalo 6-3 in Buffalo on March 29
• Next meeting: Saturday, Feb. 9 in Buffalo
• The Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Red Wings; 4-5-1 on the road
• This is the 138th game all-time between Buffalo and Detroit; Buffalo has a 60-59-18 series record.
• The Sabres are 23-39-8 at home against the Red Wings all-time.

THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY

• The Sabres are 7-9-3 all-time on November 24.
• November 24, 1974: Bill Hajt scores his first NHL goal and the Sabres and Canadiens combine for 154 penalty minutes as the Buffalo defeats Montreal 6-4 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
• November 24, 1986: Gilbert Perreault announces his retirement from the NHL and Lindy Ruff is selected to serve as the sixth captain in franchise history.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Buffalo is seeking its first five-game road winning streak in the same season since the team won its first 10 road games of the 2006-07 season. Since then, the Sabres have twice won at least five consecutive road games spanning two seasons: 2009 (7-0-0) and 2011 (6-0-0).
• The Sabres are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games. It is the first time the team has won nine games in a 10-game stretch in a single season since the team’s 10-game winning streak to begin the 2006-07 season.
• Jeff Skinner’s 10 goals in 12 road games trailed only John Tavares (11) for most in the league after last night’s game. With 17 goals through Buffalo’s first 23 games, Skinner finished last night’s game tied with David Pastrnak for most in the NHL this season.
• Entering tonight’s game, the Sabres have wins in four straight games against the Atlantic Division for the first time since Nov. 15 to Dec. 2, 2014. They are seeking their first five-game winning streak against divisional opponents since they won seven in a row against Northeast Division opponents from Dec. 15, 2010 to Feb. 15, 2011.
• Buffalo is 20-for-22 on the penalty kill in the team’s last 10 games dating back to Nov. 3 vs. Ottawa.

GOING STREAKING

• The Sabres enter tonight’s game on their first eight-game winning since the team won its first 10 games of the 2006-07 season.
• With a win or overtime loss tonight, the Sabres would have points in nine straight games for the first time since March 10 to 27, 2012 (7-0-2).

SABRES-RED WINGS

• Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Buffalo is 5-2-1 against Detroit, including a 3-1-0 record on the road.
• Jack Eichel has six points (3+3) in six games against Detroit since the beginning of the 2016-17 season.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has totaled 12 points (1+11) in 12 games against Detroit since the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
• In his last two games against the Red Wings, Carter Hutton has stopped 60 of his 61 shots faced and won both contests.
• Jason Pominville and Sam Reinhart both have an assist in each of their last two games against the Red Wings.

SCORING EARLY IS GREAT…

• The Sabres are 10-0-2 when scoring first so far this season. After last night’s game, they were one of four teams who have earned at least a point in every game in which they’ve opened the scoring in 2018-19.
  • Their current win percentage when scoring first (.833) is the team’s best since the 1998-99 season (37-28-17, .846).
• Buffalo is 9-0-2 when leading after the first period. After last night’s game, they were one of five teams who have earned at least a point in every game in which they’ve led after 20 minutes in 2018-19.
  • Their current win percentage when leading after one (.818) is the team’s best since the 2006-07 season (53-22-7, .893).

…BUT SCORING LATE IS NICE TOO

• The Sabres are 5-6-1 when trailing after two periods. Their five wins when trailing after 40 minutes ranked as the second-most in the league after last night’s game.
• Buffalo’s current win percentage when trailing after two periods is .417. The franchise record for best win percentage when trailing after two periods is currently the team’s .286 mark (7-19-0) from the 1983-84 season.

NOT TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORTThe Sabres are 8-0-2 in one-goal games so far this season. Buffalo last won more than half of its one-goal games in a season in 2011-12 (21-9-11). The team’s current .800 winning percentage in one-goal games would top the franchise record of .714 (10-4-0) set in the 1977-78 season.
MR. CARTER

• Carter Hutton is 7-0-0 with a .934 save percentage and a 1.98 goals-against average in his last seven games.
• The seven-game winning streak tops his previous high, a five-game streak from March 21, 2014 at Calgary to April 13, 2014 at Minnesota. It’s the longest winning streak by a Sabres goaltender since Ryan Miller’s eight-game streak from Oct. 8 to 30, 2009.
• After last night’s game, Hutton’s 11 wins trailed only Frederik Andersen (12 wins) for most in the NHL.

WINNING WAYSSam Reinhart has recorded 11 points (2+9) in his last 10 games, including four two-point games during that stretch. The Sabres are 12-0-0 this season when Reinhart records at least one point and 25-2-3 (.883) in his career when he records at least two.
BACK-TO-BACKTonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s fourth of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 3-2 overtime win yesterday against Montreal. The Sabres are 4-0-0 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 their previous back-to-back sets is: four points (2), three points (0), two points (1), one point (0) and zero points (0).
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings after yesterday’s game)

• Buffalo Sabres: 30 PTS (2nd), 15 W (T-2nd), 81.5 PK% (9th)
• Eichel: 92 S (3rd), 21 A (4th), 20 EVP (T-4th), 1 OTG (T-9th)
• Hutton: 11 W (2nd), 496 SV (6th)
• Ristolainen: 76 hits (4th), 25:20 TOI/GP (9th), 1 OTG (T-9th)
• Skinner: 13 EVG (1st), 17 G (T-1st), plus-14 (2nd)
• Ullmark: 1 SO (T-7th)

BUF-DET CONNECTIONSFormer Sabres:

• Red Wings assistant coach Dan Bylsma served as the head coach of the Sabres for two seasons (2015-2017).
• Red Wings assistant coach Doug Houda spent parts of six seasons (1994-1996, 1999-2003) with the Sabres organization. He played in 68 games with the club and recorded seven points (2+5). He was a teammate of Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill during his second stint with the team. Houda also spent two seasons (2004-2006) as an assistant coach for the Rochester Americans.
• Red Wings video coach Adam Nightingale held the same role for the Sabres for one season (2016-17).
• Red Wings F Thomas Vanek spent the first nine years of his career (2005-2014) playing for the Sabres. In 598 games in the club, Vanek had 497 points (254+243), which currently ranks 10th on the Sabres franchise all-time scoring list.

Nathan Beaulieu:

• Played with Red Wings F Jacob de la Rosa and F Thomas Vanek in Montreal.

Jason Botterill:

• Was a scout for the Stars when Red Wings D Trevor Daley was playing in Dallas. The two later reunited in Pittsburgh where Botterill was the assistant general manager when Daley was playing for the Penguins.
• Was the assistant general manager in Pittsburgh when Red Wings assistant coach Dan Bylsma was the head coach of the Penguins.

Kyle Okposo:

• Played for the Islanders with Red Wings F Frans Nielsen and F Thomas Vanek.

Davis Payne:

• Was an assistant coach for the Kings when Red Wings G Jonathan Bernier was playing in Los Angeles.

Jason Pominville:

• Played with Red Wings F Thomas Vanek in Minnesota.

Marco Scandella:

• Played with Red Wings F Thomas Vanek in Minnesota.

Conor Sheary:

• Played with Red Wings D Trevor Daley in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Skinner:

• Played with Red Wings F Martin Frk in Carolina.

Steve Smith:

• Was an assistant coach in Carolina when Red Wings F Martin Frk played for the Hurricanes.

Vladimir Sobotka:

• Played for the Bruins when Red Wings assistant coach Doug Houda held the same role in Boston.

SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERSHits: Ristolainen (76), McCabe (40), Girgensons (36)
Blocked Shots: McCabe (41), Ristolainen (36), Bogosian (31)
Shots: Eichel (92), Skinner (77), Pominville/Ristolainen (53)
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: 3-0-0 (6), 13/8, 2/10, 5/6
OVERTIME RESULTS (3-2; 116-123 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)Nov. 19 at PIT: W, 5-4 (GWG-Eichel, 0:45)Nov. 23 vs. MTL: W, 3-2 (GWG-Skinner, 3:06)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (2-0; 72-66 all-time)Nov. 10 vs. VAN: W, 4-3 (GDG-Mittelstadt)Nov. 16 at WPG: W, 2-1 (GDG-Sheary)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)Games PlayedNathan Beaulieu … 2 games … 300 career games played
Evan Rodrigues … 3 games … 100 career games played
Remi Elie … 6 games … 100 career games played
Kyle Okposo … 7 games … 700 career games played
GoalsJason Pominville … 1 goal … 211 goals with Sabres (T-11th in franchise history)
AssistsKyle Okposo … 6 assists … 300 career assists
PointsJason Pominville … 3 points … 511 points with Sabres (T-8th in franchise history)
RECENT MILESTONESJeff Skinner … 600th NHL game … Nov. 19 at PIT
Jack Eichel … 200th NHL point … Nov. 19 at PIT
Jason Pominville … 682nd game played with Sabres (9th in franchise history) … Nov. 21 vs. PHI

from Sabres Digital Press Box via IFTTT