BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 84) Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Jack Quinn (Achilles, Oct. 12; injured reserve) – 26 games
Zemgus Girgensons (lower body, Nov. 25; injured reserve) – 6 games
Jordan Greenway (upper body, Dec. 3; injured reserve) – 2 games
Alex Tuch (undisclosed; injured reserve) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/6: Acquired forward Eric Robinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft; Assigned forward Brandon Biro to the Rochester Americans (AHL).
12/5: Activated forward Tage Thompson off injured reserve; Recalled goaltender Devon Levi from Rochester (AHL); Placed forwards Jordan Greenway and Alex Tuch on injured reserve
TONIGHT’S GAME SABRES AT BRUINS
• This is the second of three meetings between the Sabres and Bruins this season. • Next meeting: Wednesday, Dec. 27 in Buffalo. • Last meeting: Boston defeated Buffalo 5-2 in Buffalo on Nov. 14. • The Sabres are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games against the Bruins; 1-7-2 on the road. • This is the 314th game all-time between Buffalo and Boston; Buffalo has a 127-139-47 series record. • The Sabres are 52-80-23 on the road against the Bruins all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Since Nov. 19, the Sabres have gone 7-for-27 (25.9 percent) on the power play. During that span, the team ranked eighth in the NHL in power-play percentage and was tied for fourth in the league in power-play goals entering play Wednesday. • Peyton Krebs has tallied three points (1+2) in his last two road contests. • Rasmus Dahlin has notched 10 points (3+7) in his last 10 games. • Dahlin has 13 points (4+9) in 14 road games this season and has not gone consecutive road contests without a point. • Kyle Okposo needs one point to reach 600 in his NHL career. • Victor Olofsson has tallied seven points (1+6) in his last eight games, including three multi-assist performances in that span. • Casey Mittelstadt has recorded nine points (3+6) in his last nine games, including seven points (2+5) in six road games during that span.
BOSTON BRUINS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME
-The Bruins host the Sabres tonight in the second of four games between these teams this season and the frst of two Buffalo game atTD Garden this year … The Bruins are 17-4-3 overall this season and they are 9-1-1 on home ice … They are 9-4-2 in games vs. Eastern Conference teams this season. -The Bruins play game two of a three-game home stand tonight vs. Buffalo (1-0-0), and conclude vs. Arizona on 12/9 … They will then play road contests in New Jersey on 12/13 and at NY Islanders on 12/15.
RECENT GAMES
-The Bruins have won three straight games with a 3-0 win vs. San Jose on 11/30, a 4-3 OT win on 12/2 at Toronto and a 3-1 victory vs. Columbus on 12/3 … That followed three consecutive setbacks in regulation for the frst time since 4/10-12-14/2022 and they are 8-3-2 in their last 13 games.
– 11/30: Bos 3 vs SJ 0 … Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha (1-1=2 totals) scored plus 2A from David Pastrnak to rebound from their recent stretch … Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves for his second shutout of the season and 11th of his career … SOG: Bos 37, SJ 26 … PP: 1/4 … PK: 0/5
– 12/2: Bos 3 at Tor 3 … David Pastrnak had 1-2=3 totals, Kevin Shattenkirk scored his frst goal as a Bruin, and Trent Frederic scored en route to overtime … Brad Marchand scored his 18th career OT goal, extending his career record … Linus Ullmark earned the win … SOG: Bos 37, Tor 40 … PP: 0/1 … PK: 0/1
– 12/3: Bos 3 vs Cmb 1 … Brad Marchand netted his sixth career hat trick and Charlie McAvoy added two assists for Boston’s third straight win … Jeremy Swayman notched the win in goal … SOG: Bos 28, Cmb 25 … PP: 2/6 … PK: 0/4
INJURIES (37 man-games lost)
– None reported
BOSTON vs BUFFALO, LIFETIME SERIES
– The Bruins and Sabres are meeting for the 314th time in their histories with a 157-114-29-13 record and a 1,024-954 scoring edge in those games. – The Bruins are 89-46-14-6 lifetime in 155 games in Boston with a 555-442 scoring advantage in those contests. – The Bruins are 10-0-1 overall in their last 11 games of this lifetime series, including a 5-2 win on 11/14 in the frst game this season.
NUMBERS
2: Hat tricks by Boston this season: Charlie Coyle (11/9 vs NYI, 1st career), Brad Marchand (12/3 vs CMB, 6th career)
2: Shutouts by Boston this season: Jeremy Swayman (10/24 at CHI, 10th and 11/30 vs SJ, 11th career)
2: Penalty shots taken by Boston this season with two goals scored … Both were taken by David Pastrnak on 10/14 vs NSH (Juuse Saros) and 10/28 vs DET (Ville Husso) and he is three for six in his career.
3: Season series completed this season (ANA 1-0-1; CHI 2-0-0; SJ 2-0-0)
3: Bruins who have played their first NHL games this season – Johnny Beecher, Mason Lohrei, Matt Poitras … All three have scored their first NHL goals as well.
.771: The Bruins currently are tied for the league’s best win percentage at .771 and they are also tied for the league lead at 37 points. 2.08 / .932: Jeremy Swayman ranks third overall this season in goals against and second in save percentage overall. 89.0%: The Bruins currently rank first overall in the NHL in penalty killing (81/91).
588: Current streak of regular season and playoff games sold out at TD Garden.
SEASON NOTABLES
– The Bruins started the 2023-24 season with a ten-game point streak at 9-0-1 from 10/11-11/2/2023), which was their longest such streak in club history … The Bruins had opened their season at 6-0-0, tying their 1937-38 Bruins for the longest win streak to open a season in franchise history. – Jeremy Swayman started his 2023-24 season with his longest such win streak at 6-0-0 … That tied Tuukka Rask (2016-17) and Tiny Thompson (1937-38) for second-longest such stretch in club history ahead of Tim Thomas (7-0-0 in 2010-11). – Swayman extended his point streak to nine straight games to start this season at 7-0-2 before falling on 11/24 vs. Detroit.
FUN FACTS
– The Bruins currently have 22 players on their active roster … 13 were drafted by the team, three were acquired in trade and six were signed as free agents. – The Bruins play 11 matinees this season (local time 4:00 pm or earlier) … They have an 0-2-0 record in afternoon games so far. – The Bruins play 12 sets of back-to-back games this season … They are currently 2-1-0 in the frst game of those sets and 2-1-0 in the second games – The Bruins play game three of their 13-game December schedule tonight (six home/seven road, 2-0-0) … They will play 14 games in January (seven home/seven road) …They will play 12 games in February (eight home/four road) … They will play 14 games in March (seven home/seven road) … They will play seven games in April (three home/four road) … They played nine games in October (8-0-1); and 13 games in November (7-4-2). – The Bruins have seven players on the current roster new to the organization this season – Johnny Beecher, Morgan Geekie, Danton Heinen, Ian Mitchell, Matt Poitras, Kevin Shattenkirk, James van Riemsdyk – The Bruins have nine players on the current roster who played college hockey – Johnny Beecher, Charlie Coyle, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, Danton Heinen, Charlie McAvoy, Ian Mitchell, Kevin Shattenkirk, James van Riemsdyk – The Bruins have 11 former frst round draft picks on the current roster – Johnny Beecher, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, Kevin Shattenkirk, James van Riemsdyk, Pavel Zacha
