BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Friday, Dec. 9
Pittsburgh 4 at Buffalo 3 (OT)
Goals: Olofsson, Skinner, Okposo
Goalie: Anderson (29 saves/33 shots)
PP: 1/4; PK: 3/5; Shots: Pittsburgh 32 – Buffalo 31
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 65)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Eric Comrie (Lower body, Nov. 19; IR) – 10 games
Ilya Lyubushkin (Lower body, Nov. 30; IR) – 5 games
Vinnie Hinostroza (Undisclosed) – 3 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST SEVEN DAYS
12/4: Activated D Jacob Bryson off IR; Placed D Ilya Lyubushkin on IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Dec. 13: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 15: Buffalo at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Buffalo at Arizona, 9 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 19: Buffalo at Vegas, 10 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 23: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at PENGUINS
• This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and the Penguins this season.
• Last meeting: Pittsburgh defeated Buffalo 4-3 in overtime in Buffalo on Dec. 9, 2022.
• Next meeting: N/A
• The Sabres are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games against the Penguins; 4-5-1 on the road.
• This is the 208th game all-time between Buffalo and Pittsburgh; Buffalo has a 73-89-45 series record.
• The Sabres are 28-54-22 on the road against the Penguins all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Three Sabres skaters (Jack Quinn, Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson) have recorded at least one point in each of the team’s last six games.
• Tage Thompson has notched 38 points (20+18) in his last 20 games.
• In his current six-game point streak, Thompson owns 15 points (8+7).
• Thompson is also riding a six-game assist streak, the longest of his career.
• Dylan Cozens has tallied 19 points (6+13) in his last 14 games.
• Jeff Skinner has tallied 20 points (10+10) in his last 12 games, including 18 (8+10) in his last nine.
• Skinner has recorded more multi-point games (9) than single-point games (8) in 2022-23.
• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 15 points (2+13) in his last 12 games.
• Jack Quinn owns 11 points (5+6) in his last 10 games, including seven points (3+4) during his current six-game point streak.
• A point in tonight’s game would make Quinn the first NHL rookie to record a point streak of seven or more games in 2022-23. He would also become the first Sabres rookie since Paul Cyr (Feb. 20 to March 4, 1983) to record a point streak of seven or more games.
CLUB PENGUIN
• The Sabres have recorded at least one point in each of their last five meetings with Pittsburgh.
• Kyle Okposo has recorded at least one point in five straight games against the Penguins.
• Tage Thompson has notched five points (3+2) in his last three games against Pittsburgh, including at least one point in each game.
• Victor Olofsson has tallied three goals in two games against the Penguins in 2022-23.
• Olofsson entered this season with two goals against Pittsburgh in his career.
TAGE FRIGHT
• Tage Thompson is one of nine skaters in NHL history who have recorded multiple games of three or more goals and six or more points in a single season.
• Thompson is the second skater in Sabres history to record multiple six-point games in a single season (Pat LaFontaine, 1991-92). He is the only Sabres skater to accomplish the feat within the team’s first 26 games.
• Through Buffalo’s first 27 games, Thompson is on pace for 125 points and would become just the third Sabres skater to record 125 or more points in a single season (Pat LaFontaine, 148 points in 1992-93; Alexander Mogilny, 127 points in 1992-93)
• Thompson is also on pace to score 64 goals in 2022-23, which would make him the second skater in franchise history to score 64 or more goals in a single season.
Alexander Mogilny’s 76 goals in 1992-93 is the only other instance of a Sabres skater recording more than 64 goals in a single season.
• Following Buffalo’s game yesterday and dating back to Oct. 29, Thompson was first in the NHL in points (38), tied for first in goals (20) and ranked second points per game (1.90).
• Thompson leads all Sabres skaters in goals (21), points (41), even-strength goals (11), even-strength points (24), points per game (1.52), shots (124) and power-play goals (9).
• Thompson ranks first among all Sabres forwards in time on ice per game (18:41) and is tied for first among all Sabres skaters in time on ice per shift (0:49).
• According to Natural Stat Trick, Thompson leads all Sabres skaters with 57 individual high-danger scoring chances and he leads the team with 46 individual high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5.
• Following Buffalo’s game yesterday, Thompson ranked fourth among all NHL skaters with 124 shots on goal and was one of six NHL players who had recorded 120 or more shots in 2022-23.
• Thompson owned the highest shooting percentage (16.9) among the six skaters who had recorded 120 or more shots on goal.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
• Five Sabres skaters (Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch) are currently scoring at a point per game pace or better through the team’s first 27 games.
o The Sabres have never had a season in which five or more players have recorded at least one point per game played (Min. 25 games played).
• The Sabres have converted on 28.9 percent of their power-play opportunities through their first 27 games of 2022-23.
• The current franchise record for power-play percentage in a single season is 24.5 percent, set in 2016-17.
• An NHL team has only recorded a power-play percentage of 28.9 percent or higher in a full season seven other times in NHL history.
• Buffalo currently owns a 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage of 52.6 percent, the highest mark by a Sabres team in a single season since the league began tracking the stat in 2009-10.
• Buffalo’s 3.96 goals scored per game is the highest by a Sabres team since the 1992-93 Sabres recorded 3.99 goals per game.
LINE IT UP
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch owns a corsi for percentage of 63.91 and an expected goals for percentage of 58.51.
• When on the ice together this season, Skinner, Thompson and Tuch have recorded 37 goals and allowed just 14.
• The trio has recorded a combined 47 goals on the season, 45.19 percent of all goals scored by Buffalo skaters in 2022-23.
• Skinner (nine multi-point games), Thompson (10 multi-point games) and Tuch (six multi-point games) have all recorded multiple points in at least six games in 2022-23.
• There have been 20 instances of a Sabres skater tallying three or more points in a single game in 2022-23 and 12 of the 20 have been recorded by Skinner, Thompson or Tuch.
• Skinner (two times), Thompson (three times) and Tuch (one time) are the only Sabres skaters who have recorded four or more points in a single game in 2022-23.
• Skinner (32 points, 13+19), Thompson (41 points, 21+20) and Tuch (28 points, 13+15) all rank in the top three in points among Sabres forwards.
• In Buffalo’s last six games, the trio has recorded 33 combined points (15+18).
THE KIDS TABLE
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the line combination consisting of Dylan Cozens, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn has produced 35 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 when playing together for the Sabres in 2022-23.
• All but three of the high-danger scoring chances they have created as a line have come at 5-on-5.
• Cozens (21), Peterka (20) and Quinn (21) are all 21 years of age or younger and following Buffalo’s game last night, Cozens and Quinn were both two of the eight NHL skaters aged 21 or younger who had recorded a point streak of five or more games in 2022-23.
• Quinn was one of two rookies who had recorded a point streak of six or more games this season.
• At 5-on-5, the line’s expected goals for percentage is 61.92 and their corsi for percentage is 54.54.
• The line’s collective 5-on-5 corsi for percentage and 5-on-5 expected goals for percentage are higher than each individual member’s percentages without the other two.
• Following Buffalo’s game last night, Cozens was tied for second in points (27) among NHL skaters aged 21 or younger.
• Cozens (Dec. 1 to 7, 2022) became one of 19 NHL skaters aged 21 or younger, and the first since Erik Karlsson (Jan. 20 to Feb. 25, 2012), to record three or more points in three consecutive games at least one time.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Buffalo is 8-1-0 in games in which Rasmus Dahlin records multiple points in 2022-23.
• Dahlin is on pace for 100 points this season, which would shatter Phil Housley’s single-season franchise points record by a Sabres defenseman (81).
• Dahlin would be the first NHL defensemen since Brian Leetch (102 points) in 1991-92 to record 100 or more points in a single season.
• Following Buffalo’s game last night, among NHL defensemen, Dahlin ranked first in points per game (1.23), second in goals (9), second in points (32), first in power-play points (17), tied for first in power-play goals (4), tied for third in assists (23), and fourth in time on ice per game (25:43).
• Through his first 26 games, Dahlin has only failed to record a point on five occasions (Oct. 27 vs. Montreal, Nov. 12 vs. Boston, Nov. 23 vs. St. Louis, Nov. 25 vs. New Jersey, Dec. 9 vs. Pittsburgh).
• Dahlin (668:37) and Owen Power (638:02) are the only Sabres skaters who have logged more than 600 or more minutes of ice time through the team’s first 27 games.
• Following Buffalo’s game last night, only four skaters in the NHL had skated more minutes than Dahlin in 2022-23.
HOME-AND-HOME
• Tonight’s game wraps up Buffalo’s first and only home-and-home set this season, which began last night with a 4-3 overtime defeat against Pittsburgh in Buffalo.
• The Sabres have played in 171 previous home-and-home series in franchise history, going 95-51-25 in the home games and 60-81-30 in the road games in the previous series.
• The team is 74-67-30 all-time in the first game and 79-65-26 in the second.
• Buffalo’s points breakdown in these previous series is as follows: four points (33), three points (26), two points (68), one point (18), zero points (26).
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings following Buffalo’s game on 12/9)
• Buffalo Sabres: 107 GF (1st), 3.96 GF/GP (T-1st), 28.9 PP% (T-3rd), 32.5 S/GP (9th)
• Rasmus Asplund: 1 SHG (T-8th)
• Dylan Cozens: 1 SHG (T-8th), 2 SHP (T-5th)
• Rasmus Dahlin: 23 A (T-10th), 25:43 TOI/GP (4th), 17 PPP (4th)
• Casey Mittelstadt: 1 SHG (T-8th)
• Victor Olofsson: 1 OTG (T-8th)
• Tage Thompson: 21 G (3rd), 41 P (T-3rd), 1.52 P/GP (T-4th), 11 EVG (T-10th), 24 EVP (T-6th), 9 PPG (T-3rd), 16 PPP (T5th), 1 SHG (T-8th), 124 S (4th)
• Alex Tuch: 4 GWG (T-3rd)
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Thompson (124), Dahlin (84), Skinner (84)
Hits: Dahlin (40), Lyubushkin (36), Samuelsson (28)
Blocked Shots: Dahlin (43), Bryson (38), Power (33)
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: 2-8-0 (4), 32/42, 12/42, 23/34
21-30: 3-2-2 (8), 32/30, 9/24, 19/27
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-2; 131-148 all-time)
Oct. 29 vs. CHI: W, 4-3 (GWG-Olofsson)
Nov. 28 vs. TBL: L, 6-5 (GWG-Stamkos)
Dec. 9 vs. PIT: L, 4-3 (GWG-Carter)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-0; 85-77 all-time)
Nov. 30 at DET: W, 5-4 (GWG-Quinn)
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:
LAST 2 GAMES
Dec. 9: Pittsburgh 4, Buffalo 3 (OT) – KeyBank Center
PIT Goals: Guentzel (PP), Rakell, McGinn, Carter (PP)
Multiple Points: Rakell (1G-1A), Malkin (2A)
Goalie: Jarry (28 saves/31 shots)
Key Stats: Jeff Carter’s 16th career overtime tally helped the
Penguins win their fourth-straight game.
PP: 2-5
PK: 3-4
Dec. 6: Pittsburgh 4, Columbus 1 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Crosby (2), Rust, Blueger (EN)
Multiple Points: Rust (1G-1A), Crosby (2G), Guentzel (2A)
Goalie: Jarry (38 saves/39 shots)
Key Stats: Sidney Crosby’s two-goal effort helped the Penguins extend their win streak to three games.
PP: 1-5
PK: 5-5
INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
D Kris Letang Stroke 5 6
F Ryan Poehling Upper-Body 2 2
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 37
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Nov. 15 F Teddy Blueger activated off of LTIR. F Filip Hallander re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(AHL).
Nov. 13 D Mark Friedman re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 11 D Mark Friedman recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). F Sam Poulin re-assigned to WBS.
Nov. 7 F Filip Hallander recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 6 F Drew O’Connor re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Sabres: 99-67-41
In Pittsburgh: 58-26-20
In Buffalo: 41-41-21
OT Record vs. Buffalo: 12-8-16
Shootout Record vs. Sabres: 4-2
2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh is 1-1-0.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. SABRES:
Sidney Crosby: 55 GP, 77 PTS (25G-52A)
Jaromir Jagr: 47 GP, 70 PTS (31G-29A)
Mario Lemieux: 40 GP, 70 PTS (29G-41A)
TONIGHT’S GAME
-Pittsburgh returns home to PPG Paints Arena to play the Buffalo Sabres after facing them last night in Buffalo (TV: AT&T SportsNet; Radio: 105.9 The X).
-The Penguins are 9-3-1 in their last 13 games against Buffalo.
-The Penguins all-time record at home versus the Sabres is 58-26-20 and in the last six at home they are 5-1-0, outscoring the Sabres 22-10.
-Pittsburgh has won three-straight at home and look to continue their winning trend as they are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games overall.
QUICK HITS
1) Sidney Crosby (35) is one of just three players along with Erik Karlsson (32) and Artemi Panarin (31) to rank in the top-15 in scoring in the NHL over the age of 30.
2) Winger Rickard Rakell has 12 points (5G-7A) in 16 career games versus the Sabres.
3) Jeff Petry leads the team in blocked shots (54) and is second in hits (84). The last Penguin to lead the team in both categories was Jack Johnson in 2018-19.
4) Defenseman P.O Joseph’s plus-12 is first in the NHL among all rookies.
5) Jeff Carter’s overtime goal last night doubled as the 87th game-winning goal of his career. Among active players, only Alex Ovechkin (124) has more. His 87 game-winners are 24th most in NHL history.
TEAM NOTES
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Pittsburgh enters tonight’s game with a four-game winning streak, which is tied for the longest active win streak in the NHL with Winnipeg. The Penguins have also won each of their last three home games, which is tied with Washington, Minnesota and Calgary for the longest active home winning streak in the league. Dating back to November 9, Pittsburgh has points in 13 of its last 15 games overall (11-2-2). Since this 15-game stretch began, no one has picked up more points than the Penguins (24) and during this span, and they have vaulted from 27th in the league standings to seventh (tied).
Stat First 12 Games Last 14 Games
Record 4-6-2 11-2-2
Points 11 24
PTS% .417 .800
Standings 27th 1st
GF/GM 3.50 3.60
GA/GM 3.67 2.53
BEST IN THE BUSINESS
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby has been nothing short of dominant all season, as he enters tonight’s game ninth in the NHL with 35 points (15G-20A) in 27 games. Of his 35 points, 29 of them have come at even strength (13G-16A) which is first in the NHL, and he ranks in the top-20 in almost every major offensive category:
Stat NHL Rank
Goals (15) 10th
Assists (20) T-17th
Points (35) 9th
EV Goals (13) T-3rd
EV Points (29) 1st
GWG (4) T-3rd
Crosby is one of just four players in the NHL with at least 15 goals and 20 assists along with Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
POWER PLAY PRODUCING
Pittsburgh’s power play converted for the fourth-consecutive game last night in Buffalo, as Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter both scored on the man advantage. The Penguins power play has gone 6-for-18 (33.3%) in the past four games, a figure that is tied for fifth in the NHL. In this span, only Buffalo and Edmonton have more power-play goals than the Penguins:
PP Goals Since Dec. 1
Team PPG
Buffalo 8
Edmonton 8
Pittsburgh 6
Ottawa 6
Winnipeg 5
PENGUINS COACH’S CHALLENGES
2022-23 Record: 3-for-4, 75.0%
All-Time (Since 2015-16): 29-for-52, 55.8%
Last Challenge: (L) Nov. 12, 2022 – Call upheld; Video review confirmed no goaltender interference infractions occurred prior to Cole Caufield’s goal in Montreal.
Type of Challenge: Play Stoppage: 1-for-1, 100.0% Interference: 12-for-28, 42.9% Offsides: 16-for-23, 70.0%
OVERTIME HERO
Jeff Carter’s overtime goal last night against Buffalo was the 16th of his career and second with the Penguins. His 16 overtime tallies are tied for sixth in NHL history:
Player OTG
Alex Ovechkin 25
Sidney Crosby 19
Jaromir Jagr 19
Brad Marchand 17
Ilya Kovalchuk 17
Jeff Carter 16
Carter enters tonight’s game one assist from 400 in his career and is set to become the sixth player from the 2003 draft class to collect 400 goals and 400 assists along with Eric Staal, Patrice Bergeron, Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry and Zach Parise. He would also become the 100th player in NHL history to accomplish this feat. Carter has 36 career points (22G-14A) in 43 career games versus Buffalo, which includes seven goals over his last six games against them.
MALK-A-MANIA
Evgeni Malkin’s overtime assist was the 33rd overtime point of his career, moving him into a tie with Ilya Kovalchuk for 7th-most overtime points in NHL history. Only three active players have more overtime points than Malkin:
Player OTP
Sidney Crosby 38
Alex Ovechkin 38
Patrick Kane 35
Evgeni Malkin 33
Jakub Voracek 32
JAKE N’ BAKE
Jake Guentzel enters tonight’s game riding a six-game point streak (3G-6A). Only Mitch Marner (21), Kirill Kaprizov (14), Steven Stamkos (12), Connor McDavid (8), Jack Hughes (7), Brock Nelson (7) and Michael Bunting (7) have longer active point streaks than Guentzel. He also has points in five-straight home games (2G-6A), and has been held off the scoresheet just twice in 12 home games this year (6G-10A). His 16 home points trail only Sidney Crosby (18) for most on the team.
2022-23 REGULAR-SEASON SPECIAL TEAMS BREAKDOWN
Power Play Penalty Kill
PPG/PPO PP% Situation Killed/Times SH PK%
18-92 19.6% Overall 70-87 80.5%
15-88 17.0% 5-on-4 70-84 83.3%
1-1 100.0% 5-on-3 0-0 00.0%
2-5 40.0% 4-on-3 0-1 00.0%
HEINEN 100
Danton Heinen currently sits one assist shy of 100 in his career. Heinen, who was drafted in the fourth round (116th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, is looking to become the 21st member of his draft class to register 100 assists. Of the 20 players with 100 assists, only six players (Christian Dvorak and Brandon Montour, 2nd Round; Brayden Point, 3rd Round; Viktor Arvidsson and Devon Toews, 4th Round; Kevin Lebanc, 6th Round) were selected outside of the first round.
CROSBY VS. BUFFALO
Captain Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game with points in 17 of his last 22 games (10G-17A) versus Buffalo. He has recorded at least one point in 46 of 55 career games played against them, while his 77 points (25G-52A) are the most he’s tallied against any non-Metropolitan
Division opponent. Crosby enters tonight’s game with the sixth-highest career points-per-game average versus the Sabres (min. 15 GP):
Player GP PTS PTS/GM
Mario Lemieux 40 70 1.75
Steve Yzerman 41 67 1.63
Pavel Bure 22 35 1.59
Bobby Orr 29 44 1.52
Wayne Gretzky 55 83 1.51
Sidney Crosby 55 77 1.40
Crosby is one of 11 players in NHL history to record 50 assists against Buffalo, and is three points shy of becoming the ninth player in league history to accumulate 80 points against them.
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD
Despite only playing in the same division as Buffalo for one season (2020-21), the Penguins have the two top point scorers versus the Buffalo Sabres among all active players:
Active Point leaders vs. Buffalo
Player GP G A PTS
Sidney Crosby 55 25 52 77
Evgeni Malkin 49 20 45 65
Alex Ovechkin 59 37 24 61
Brad Marchand 57 23 35 58
Patrice Bergeron 85 23 34 57
In his last 19 games against the Sabres, Evgeni Malkin has been held off the scoresheet just once (8G-20A).
