BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Saturday, April 1
Buffalo 6 at Philadelphia 3
Goals: Tuch (3), Okposo, Greenway, Skinner
Goalie: Luukkonen (39 saves/42 shots)
PP: 0/3; PK: 2/2; Shots: Philadelphia 42 – Buffalo 29
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 142)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Tage Thompson (upper body, March 27) – 3 games
Craig Anderson (upper body, March 31) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST SEVEN DAYS
3/27: Recalled F Lukas Rousek from Rochester (AHL)
3/28: Loaned F Lukas Rousek to Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, April 6: Buffalo at Detroit, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 8: Carolina at Buffalo, 12:30 p.m.
Monday, April 10: Buffalo at NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11: Buffalo at New Jersey, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 13: Ottawa at Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.
TODAY’S GAME
SABRES AT PANTHERS
• This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Panthers this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Florida 3-1 in Florida on Feb. 24.
• The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games against Florida; 2-6-2 on the road.
• This is the 111th game all-time between Buffalo and Florida; Buffalo has a 53-48-9 series record.
• The Sabres are 23-25-5 on the road against the Panthers all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• The Sabres have notched at least one point in each of their last five games and a point in tonight’s game would mark the third time this season that they have earned a point in six or more consecutive games.
• Alex Tuch has recorded 17 points (11+6) in his last 15 games, including seven points (5+2) in his last five games.
• Tage Thompson has recorded 39 points (18+21) in his last 39 games, including 20 points (9+11) in his last 20 games.
• With one point in tonight’s game, Thompson would become the 10th skater in Sabres history to record 90 or more points in a single season.
Daniel Briere’s 95 points (32+63) in 2006-07 is the last instance of a Buffalo skater reaching 90 points.
• With a goal in tonight’s game, Thompson would become the first Sabres skater to score 45 or more goals in a single season since Alexander Mogilny (76) and Pat LaFontaine (53) did so in 1992-93.
• A point in tonight’s game would give Casey Mittelstadt a five-game point streak, which would match the longest point streak of his career.
• During his current four-game point streak, Mittelstadt has notched seven points (0+7).
• With an assist in tonight’s game, Mittelstadt would join Thompson (two times) and Rasmus Dahlin as the only Sabres skaters to record an assist streak of five or more games in 2022-23.
• Owen Power has earned one point in three consecutive games and would earn his second point streak of four or more games this season with a point in tonight’s game.
• An assist in tonight’s game would give Power his first assist streak of four or more games in his career.
• With a goal in tonight’s game, Jordan Greenway would earn a three-game goal streak for the first time in his career.
• Rasmus Dahlin needs one point in tonight’s game to earn his ninth point streak of three or more games this season.
• Jack Quinn has two points (0+2) in his last two games and needs one point in tonight’s game to earn the third point streak of three or more games in his career.
• Jeff Skinner has registered one goal in each of his last two games and has recorded three points in that span (2+1).
• Skinner has totaled six points (4+2) in his last six games.
• JJ Peterka has registered 10 points (3+7) in his last 11 games.
• In Buffalo’s last 12 games, Peterka is tied for the team lead in points (10)
FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 52
- F Sam Bennett | Games Missed: 7
- G Sergei Bobrovsky | Games Missed: 3
Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 227
LAST GAME
Panthers 7, Blue Jackets 0 – April 1 – Nationwide Arena
FLA Goals: Reinhart (29-PPG), Verhaeghe (37, 38, 39), Cousins (8), Verhaeghe (40), E. Staal (14)
CBJ Goals: –
FLA Goalie: Lyon (W) – 21 Saves
CBJ Goalie: Hutchinson (L) – 42 Saves
FLA Shots: 49
CBJ Shots: 21
Notes: Carter Verhaeghe matched the club single-game record with a career-high four goals…All four of Verhaeghe’s goals were scored at even strength, the most EVGs in one game in franchise history…Verhaeghe became the first Panthers skater since Pavel Bure in 2000-01 to reach 40 goals in a season…Alex Lyon recorded his first NHL shutout and extended his win streak to three games…Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov each notched three assists…Sam Reinhart matched his season high with three points (1-2-3), including his team-leading 15th power-play goal…Reinhart’s performance marked his third consecutive multi-point game…Aaron Ekblad notched an assist for the fourth consecutive game (0-4-4)…Eric Staal recorded two points (1-1-2)…FLA PP: 1-3, FLA PK: 4-4
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 3: F Ryan McAllister agreed to terms on a 3-year, entry-level contract beginning in 2023-24
- March 29: G Mack Guzda recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
PANTHERS vs. SABRES
ALL-TIME vs. BUF: 53-45-4-8
ALL-TIME HOME vs. BUF: 29-20-1-3
2022-23 vs. BUF: 2-1-0
CATS STATS
- The Panthers own the fifth-best power play since March 4, converting on 27.1% [13/48] of their power plays.
- Since the 2021-22 season, Sam Reinhart leads Florida in power-play goals (31) while ranking second in goals (62) and points (144).
- Florida’s 7-0 win at CBJ on April 1 represented matched the 2nd-largest margin of victory in a shutout in club history (8-0 at TOR on
Feb. 5, 2008).
HOME SWEET HOME
Tonight, the Panthers return home to FLA Live Arena where they have earned at least one point in six of their past eight games (5-2-1) since March 4. Florida has averaged 3.76 goals per game on home ice this season, a mark that ranks third among NHL teams and currently stands as the second-best goals-per-game average at home in franchise history. Matthew Tkachuk’s 56 points (19-37-56) at home rank fourth among NHL skaters while his 38 even-strength points at home are behind only Brayden Point (39) for the league lead. The Cats lead all teams with 39.1 shots on goal per game average at home and will play four of their final five games of the regular season at FLA Live Arena.
SEASON OF SCORING
The Panthers 270 goals scored this season are the club’s second-most in one season in franchise history, in addition to a goals per game average of 3.51 that also sits second in the franchise rankings. The Cats’ 22.5% power-play is the third-best mark in club history and their 36.8 shots on goal per game average rank second.
CATS AND SABRES
Florida faces off against Buffalo for the fourth and final time in 2022-23, with the Panthers having taken two of the three matchups this season. Both of Florida’s wins came at KeyBank Center. Prior to Florida’s loss to Buffalo at home on Feb. 24, the Cats had won six consecutive matchups against the Sabres. Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with five points (1-4-5) over Florida’s three outings against Buffalo this season, while Carter Verhaeghe (2-1-3) and Brandon Montour (2-0-2) have each scored two goals against the Sabres in 2022-23. Aleksander Barkov has amassed 30 points (9-21-30) over 26 career games against Buffalo, while Matthew Tkachuk has tallied eight goals (8-9-17) over 13 matchups against Buffalo.
