BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Tuesday, Nov. 15
Vancouver 5 at Buffalo 4
Goals: Skinner (2), Tuch, Mittelstadt
Goalie: Anderson (27 saves/32 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 1/3; Shots: Buffalo 32 – Vancouver 32
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 33)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 25; IR) – 10 games
Kyle Okposo (Lower body, Nov. 12; IR) – 2 games
Jack Quinn (Undisclosed, Nov. 15) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/9: Assigned D Jeremy Davies to Rochester (AHL)
11/13: Assigned D Kale Clague to Rochester (AHL)
11/15: Recalled F Anders Bjork and F Riley Sheahan from Rochester (AHL); Activated D Henri Jokiharju from IR; Placed F Kyle Okposo
on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Nov. 19: Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 22: Buffalo at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 23: St. Louis at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 25: New Jersey at Buffalo, 8 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 28: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at SENATORS
• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Senators this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Ottawa 4-1 in Buffalo on Oct. 13, 2022.
• Next meeting: Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023 in Ottawa
• The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games against the Senators; 4-5-1 on the road.
• This is the 150th game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa; Buffalo has a 72-57-20 series record.
• The Sabres are 32-32-12 on the road against the Senators all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Each of the last 12 games between the Sabres and the Senators has been decided in regulation and by two or more goals.
• Tage Thompson has tallied 18 points (10+8) in his last nine games.
• Thompson has recorded seven points (4+3) in his last five games and is riding a five-game point streak.
• A point in tonight’s game would extend his point streak to six games, which would tie his career high.
• A point in tonight’s game would give Rasmus Dahlin a three-game point streak against the Senators.
• Victor Olofsson owns three multi-point performances in eight games against Ottawa in his career.
• Vinnie Hinostroza has tallied seven points (2+5) in seven career games against the Senators, including four (2+2) in his last four.
• Dylan Cozens has notched three points (0+3) in his last three games.
FIT OF TAGE
• After Tuesday night’s game and dating back to Oct. 29, Tage Thompson ranked first in the NHL in goals (10) and points (18).
• Thompson leads all Sabres skaters in goals (11), points (21), points per game (1.31) and shots (69).
• Thompson is also tied for the team lead in even-strength points (11), power-play goals (4), power-play points (8) and shorthanded goals (1).
• Thompson ranks second among all Sabres forwards in time on ice per game (17:56), trailing just Alex Tuch (18:15).
• According to Natural Stat Trick, Thompson leads all Sabres skaters in high-danger scoring chances for (33).
POWER RANKINGS
• After Tuesday night’s game, Owen Power was tied for first among rookie defensemen in points (8) and he was tied for second among rookie defensemen in even-strength points (6).
• After Tuesday night’s game, Power led all rookie skaters in time on ice per game (23:48), with the next closest rookie at 20:37 (Kaiden Guhle).
• Through Buffalo’s first 16 games, Power has recorded multiple points on three separate occasions (Oct. 20, 0+2; Nov. 2, 0+2; Nov. 5, 0+2), tied with Kaiden Guhle for the most among rookie skaters in 2022-23 after Tuesday’s game.
RAS IS IN SESSION
• After Buffalo’s game on Tuesday, among NHL defensemen, Rasmus Dahlin was ranked second in goals (7), third in points per game (1.20), tied for third in points (18), first in power-play goals (4), second in power-play points (8), second in time on ice per game (26:24) and second in shots (60).
• According to Natural Stat Trick, Dahlin is one of two NHL defensemen who had recorded 10 or more high-danger scoring chances after Tuesday night’s game.
• Through his first 15 games, Dahlin has only failed to record a point on two occasions (Oct. 27 vs. Montreal, Nov. 12 vs. Boston).
• Dahlin (395:57) and Owen Power (380:52) are the only two Sabres skaters who have logged 380 or more minutes of ice time through the team’s first 16 games.
BACK-TO-BACK
• Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s second of 13 sets of back-to-back games this season, which began with a 5-4 loss last night vs. Vancouver. The Sabres are 0-2-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 0-1-0 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in back-to-back sets this season is: four points (0), three points (0), two points (0), one point (0) and zero points (1).
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings after Buffalo’s game on Nov. 15, 2022)
• Buffalo Sabres: 59 GF (T-5th), 3.69 GF/GP (T-4th), 23.7 PP% (10th)
• Rasmus Asplund: 1 SHG (T-5th)
• Rasmus Dahlin: 26:24 TOI/GP (2nd)
• Casey Mittelstadt: 1 SHG (T-5th)
• Victor Olofsson: 7 EVG (T-10th), 1 OTG (T-2nd)
• Tage Thompson: 11 G (T-4th), 21 P (T-10th), 1 SHG (T-5th), 69 S (7th)
• Alex Tuch: 7 EVG (T-10th), 3 GWG (T-1st)
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Thompson (69), Dahlin (60), Olofsson/Skinner (45)
Hits: Lyubushkin (24), Dahlin (20), Cozens (17)
Blocked Shots: Dahlin (32), Bryson (26), Power (21)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 7-3-0 (14), 43/28, 9/38, 25/32
11-20: 0-6-0 (0), 16/29, 5/21, 10/16
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-0; 131-146 all-time)
Oct. 29 vs. CHI: W, 4-3 (GWG-Olofsson)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 84-77 all-time)
N/A
OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:
LAST GAME: Nov. 14, 4-2 win vs. N.Y. Islanders: The Islanders received goals from four different skaters to hand Ottawa their fifth consecutive loss at home in a 4-2 Senators setback at Canadian Tire Centre. The win moved New York to 9-1-0 in their last 10 games against Ottawa. Former Senator Pageau provided the game-winning goal at 8:21 of the third period while Wahlstrom, Dobson and Nelson also provided tallies for the visitors. Barzal provided two assists to give him 18 on the season, third in the NHL. Batherson (on the power-play) and Giroux replied for the home side while Tkachuk added an assist to become the first Senators forward to reach 20 points in 15 games or fewer since 2007-08. Stützle had two assists for Ottawa to equal a single game high. Varlamov made 36 saves to earn the win for New York while Talbot turned aside 31 shots in taking the loss for Ottawa Scratches: Gambrell, Zaitsev; Injuries: Chabot, Norris, Zub; Shots: OTT – 35, NYI – 38; PP: OTT – 1-6, NYI – 2-3.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Buffalo will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet and TVAS. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).
WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa concludes a three-game homestand against New Jersey on Saturday at 1 p.m. The contest will mark the second of three regular-season meetings and the lone matchup at Canadian Tire Centre.
INJURY REPORT: D Chabot, C Norris and D Zub are on IR and will not oppose the Sabres this evening. Total man-games lost: 29.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled D Larsson from Belleville on Nov. 13.
OTTAWA vs. BUFFALO – History:
2022-23 (0-1-0): Oct. 13 @ Buffalo (4-1 loss), Nov. 16 @ Ottawa, Jan. 1 @ Ottawa, April 13 @ Buffalo
2021-22 (2-1-0): 1/18/22 @ Ottawa (3-1 loss), 1/25/22 @ Ottawa (5-0 win), 2/17/22 @ Buffalo (3-1 win)
Series record: Overall: 67-57-10-15; Home: 37-23-7-9; Away: 30-34-3-6
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: 1/15/21 (5-0); @ Buffalo: 2/17/22 (3-1)
Last Buffalo win: @ Ottawa: 1/18/22 (3-1); @ Buffalo: Oct. 13 (4-1)
Last OT result: 2/15/18 (3-2 OT win) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: 3/8/18 (4-3 SO loss) @ Ottawa
Most goals, game: Scored: 10, (11/2/05, 10-4 win); Allowed: 12, (10/30/92, 12-3 loss); Both teams: 15, (10/30/92, 12-3 loss)
Last Game: Oct. 13, 4-1 loss @ Buffalo; OTT Goal: Tkachuk; BUF Goals: Olofsson (x2), Peterka, Dahlin; OTT Scratchwa: Brassard, Gambrell, Zaitsev; OTT Injuries: Talbot; OTT Goalie: Forsberg; BUF Goalie: Anderson; OTT PP: 0-4; BUF PP: 0-4; Shots: 36-36.
Career vs. Buffalo: Giroux leads all players in career games played (50), in goals (15), in assists (33) and in points (48); Watson leads
in penalty minutes (27) against Buffalo.
SWEATER WEATHER: The Senators enter their third season of wearing a primary logo which sees the organization return to its roots with the implementation of the modified original “2D” logo. The team has earned a 60-76-12 all-time record (5-9-1 this season) while wearing its current sweater. Ottawa unveiled their Reverse Retro jersey on Oct. 20 and will wear the sweater on five occasions in 2022-23 (0-0-0 this season). The Senators hold an all-time record of 112-75-7-25 when wearing an alternate; 27-19-2-5 when wearing a red alternate, 84-55-5-19 when wearing a black alternate and 1-1-0-1 when wearing a cream alternate.
HOME ON THE RANGE: Ottawa has a record of 4-5-0 at home this season … Claude Giroux is the Senators leader with six goals at home while Brady Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 10 assists at Canadian Tire Centre … Through nine home games, Tkachuk leads the team with 14 points on home ice … The Senators earned a record of 15-22-4 at home through 41 home contests in 2021-22.
ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 1-4-1 on the road this season … Shane Pinto leads with four goals on the road this season while Giroux ranks first with five assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through six road games this season, Giroux maintains the club lead with seven points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.
FRANCHISE RECORD: Ottawa has posted an all-time record of 1,009-991-115-177 over 2,292 games … The Senators are 552-440-60-97 through 1,149 all-time home games and 457-551-55-80 through 1,143 all-time road games.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will do so for the first time on Dec. 2 when the team visits the N.Y. Rangers ahead of welcoming San Jose to Canadian Tire Centre the following evening … The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (0-0-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (0-0-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.
ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 13 for 56 (23.2%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson and Pinto lead with three power-play goals while Alex DeBrincat and Giroux maintain the club lead with six points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals twice in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.
ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 43 of the 56 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 76.8% through 15 regular-season games … The team has registered one (Joseph) shorthanded marker this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
COACH SMITH: D.J. Smith was introduced as the Senators’ 14th head coach in franchise history on 5/23/19. A native of Windsor, Ont., Smith spent the four previous NHL seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to joining the Maple Leafs (which was also the team for which he made his NHL playing debut in 1996-97), Smith guided the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals to a record of 135-53-3-13 over three campaigns which included his having been recognized as the OHL’s Coach of the Year in 2013-14. One year later, he helped the team capture the Mastercard Memorial Cup. His 86 head coaching victories with Ottawa see him rank sixth in franchise history.
SECOND SEASON AS CAPTAIN FOR CHUCKY: Two-time NHL All-Star Brady Tkachuk was appointed the 10th captain in Senators franchise history on 11/5/21. A native of St. Louis, Tkachuk succeeded Erik Karlsson who served in the role for four seasons from 2014-15 to 2017-18. The bronze medal winner with Team U.S.A. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship is the first American-born skater to serve as team captain. Tkachuk is assisted by full-time alternates Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux.
THE G TRAIN KEEPS ROLLING: With a goal and an assist on Monday afternoon, Claude Giroux extended his point streak to nine games which is tied for the second longest streak of his career (10 games in 2016-17 and 10 games in 2017-18). The stretch is tied for the third-longest active run (Draisaitl – 11, McDavid – 10, Marner – nine) and has seen the Hearst, Ont. native total six goals and seven assists since Oct. 27. It is tied for the second-longest streak by a Senators player in their first season with the team joining Dany Heatley in 2005-06 and Norm McIver in 1992-93 and trailing only an additional 22-game streak by Heatley in 2005-06. The 17 total points through the first 15 games of the season are his third most through 15 games in a season trailing his 20 in 2014-15 and 19 in 2011-12.
ALL-TIME LEADERS: Chris Phillips is the Senators’ all-time leader in games played (1,179) … Daniel Alfredsson leads in goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108) … Following Phillips is Alfredsson (1,178), Chris Neil (1,026), Wade Redden (838), Radek Bonk (689), Jason Spezza (686) and Mike Fisher (675) … Neil leads in penalty minutes (2,522) while Patrick Lalime holds the lead in shutouts (30) and ranks second (283) to Craig Anderson (435) in games played among goaltenders. Anderson leads in wins (202).
