STAFF REPORTS
LAST GAME:
Thursday, October 11
Colorado 6 at Buffalo 1
Goals: Beaulieu
Goalie: Hutton (24 saves/30 shots)
PP: 0/7; PK: 2/4; Shots: Buffalo 31 – Colorado 30
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 22)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missedZach Bogosian (lower body, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 4 games
Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 4 games
Sean Malone (knee, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 4 games
Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 4 games
Vladimir Sobotka (upper body, Oct. 6) – 3 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/11: Activated F Johan Larsson from IR; Placed D Zach Bogosian on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Oct. 16: Buffalo at Vegas, 10 p.m.
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.
TONIGHT’S GAMESABRES at COYOTES
- This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Coyotes this season.
- Next meeting: Thursday, Dec. 13 in Buffalo
- Last meeting: Arizona defeated Buffalo 4-1 in Buffalo on March 21
- The Sabres are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Coyotes; 8-2-0 on the road.
- This is the 79th game all-time between Buffalo and Arizona/Winnipeg; Buffalo has a 46-23-9 series record.
- The Sabres are 21-15-2 at home against the Coyotes/Jets all-time.
THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY
- The Sabres are 10-11-2 all-time on October 13.
- October 13, 1976: Bob Sauve makes his first NHL start, a 4-3 loss to the NY Islanders.
- October 13, 2014: The NHL announces that Buffalo has been chosen to host the 2016 NHL Draft.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Tonight’s game is the first of a five-game Pacific Division road trip that continues on Tuesday at Vegas.
- The Sabres are looking to avoid losing consecutive matchups with the Coyotes for the first time since they lost three in a row from Dec. 4, 2003 to Jan. 21, 2008. Buffalo is 12-3-1 against Arizona in the 16 games since then, outscoring the Coyotes 53-34 in those contests.
- Buffalo is 12-3-1 in its last 16 games against Arizona, including a 7-2-1 record since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
- The Sabres are 9-2-0 on the road against the Coyotes since the beginning of the 2001-02 season and 10-5-0 in 15 road games against the Coyotes since they relocated from Winnipeg prior to the 1996-97 season
COYOTE KILLERS
- Jack Eichel has totaled nine points (3+6) in six career games against Arizona, including five points (2+3) in three road games. It’s his second-best per-game output against any opponent, trailing only his four points in two career meetings with the Vegas Golden Knights.
- Eichel has more than nine career points against just three NHL teams: NY Rangers, Ottawa and Toronto (11 points)
- Kyle Okposo has 12 points (4+8) in 12 career games against the Coyotes, who are one of six teams Okposo has totaled at least a point per game against in his career (Arizona, Edmonton, Nashville, San Jose, Vancouver, Vegas).
- Jeff Skinner has five points (2+3) in his last five games against the Coyotes.
- Rasmus Ristolainen has totaled four points (1+3) in four career visits to Arizona.
- Jake McCabe enters tonight’s game with an assist in each of his last three games against the Coyotes.
MAKING HISTORY
- If he dresses, tonight’s game will be Jason Pominville’s 665th regular-season game as a member of the Sabres, passing Mike Foligno and Ric Seiling for sole possession of 10th-most games in franchise history.
- After tonight, Pominville will be just 16 games behind Rick Martin (681) for ninth and 47 games behind Alexei Zhitnik (712) for eighth.
- Pominville is the first player to break into the franchise’s top 10 in games played since Zhitnik passed Foligno, Seiling and Martin to move into eighth during the 2003-04 season.
- Pominville also ranks in or near the franchise’s regular-season top 10 in goals (12th, 202), assists (8th, 289) and points (11th, 491).
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, trailing only Rasmus Ristolainen (24:12) for the night. It was the highest ice time recorded by a Sabres player making his NHL debut and the 21st-highest ice time by any NHL player in their 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).
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.
2018-19 ROSTER NOTESOf the 23 players on Buffalo’s opening night roster:
- Nine were originally drafted by the Sabres — six were first-round selections (Girgensons, 2012; Ristolainen, 2013; Reinhart, 2014; Eichel, 2015; Mittelstadt, 2017; Dahlin, 2018), two were second-round picks (Pominville, 2001; McCabe, 2012) and one was a sixth-round pick (Ullmark, 2012).
- Nine were acquired in trades: Beaulieu, Berglund, Bogosian, Pominville, Scandella, Sheary, Skinner, Sobotka, Thompson
- Five were signed as free agents: Hutton, Nelson, Okposo, Rodrigues, Tennyson
- One was acquired via waivers: Elie
- Fifteen played in Buffalo at some point last season: Beaulieu, Bogosian, Eichel, Girgensons, McCabe, Mittelstadt, Nelson, Okposo, Pominville, Reinhart, Ristolainen, Rodrigues, Scandella, Tennyson, Ullmark
- Eight are new to the Sabres this season: Berglund, Dahlin, Elie, Hutton, Sheary, Skinner, Sobotka, Thompson
- Four opened the season on an NHL roster for the first time in their careers: Dahlin, Elie, Mittelstadt, Ullmark
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 10/12 games)
- Hutton: 124 SV (2nd), 2 W (T-4th)
- Ristolainen: 25:59 TOI/GP (5th)
- Sheary: 2 PPG (T-4th)
BUF-ARI CONNECTIONSNathan Beaulieu:
- Played with Coyotes F Alex Galchenyuk in Montreal.
Jason Botterill:
- Was the assistant general manager for the Penguins when Coyotes Assistant General Manager Steve Sullivan, F Josh Archibald and D Alex Goligoski were playing in Pittsburgh. Coyotes Head Coach Rick Tocchet was also an assistant coach for the team during this time.
Phil Housley:
- Played with Coyotes Assistant General Manager Steve Sullivan in Chicago and New Jersey.
- Played with Coyotes Assistant Coach John MacLean in New Jersey.
- Played with Coyotes Goaltending Coach Corey Schwab in New Jersey and Toronto.
- Played with Coyotes Head Coach Rick Tocchet in Washington.
Carter Hutton:
- Played with Coyotes D Niklas Hjalmarsson in Chicago.
Johan Larsson:
- Played with Coyotes G Darcy Kuemper in Minnesota.
Kyle Okposo:
- Played for the Islanders with Coyotes F Michael Grabner.
Davis Payne:
- Played with Coyotes Head Coach Rick Tocchet in Boston.
- Was an assistant coach in Los Angeles when Coyotes F Brad Richardson was playing for the Kings.
Jason Pominville:
- Played with Coyotes G Darcy Kuemper in Minnesota.
Marco Scandella:
- Played with Coyotes G Darcy Kuemper in Minnesota.
- Shares a birthday (Feb. 23, 1990) with Coyotes D Kevin Connauton.
Conor Sheary:
- Played in Pittsburgh with Coyotes F Josh Archibald when Coyotes Head Coach Rick Tocchet was an assistant coach for the Penguins.
Jeff Skinner:
- Played for the Hurricanes when Coyotes assistant coach John MacLean held the same role in Carolina.
Steve Smith:
- Was a scout for the Blackhawks when Coyotes D Niklas Hjalmarsson was playing in Chicago.
Matt Tennyson:
- Played with Coyotes D Jason Demers in San Jose.
Tage Thompson:
- Was born in Phoenix, Arizona.
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Ristolainen (11), Girgensons (8), Berglund/McCabe (7)
Blocked Shots: Berglund (8), Ristolainen (4), Eichel/McCabe/Sheary (3)
Shots: Eichel (17), Ristolainen (12), Reinhart/Scandella (9)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]1-10: 2-2-0 (4), 8/13, 3/15, 7/10
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 PlayedJason Pominville … 1 game … 664 games played with Sabres (sole possession of 10th in franchise history)
Patrik Berglund … 2 games … 700 career games played
Remi Elie … 8 games … 100 career games played
Jason Pominville … 9 games … 1,000 career games played
GoalsJason Pominville … 9 goals … 211 goals with Sabres (T-11th in franchise history)
PointsJason Pominville … 3 points … 700 career points
Conor Sheary … 4 points … 100 career points
Jason Pominville … 6 points … 497 points with Sabres (T-10th in franchise history)
RECENT MILESTONESRasmus Dahlin … 1st NHL point (assist) … Oct. 11 vs. COL
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