BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Buffalo 7 at Anaheim 3
Goals: Jost, Thompson, Krebs, Mittelstadt, Tuch, Girgensons, Cozens
Goalie: Comrie (19 saves/22 shots)
PP: 1/5; PK: 0/2; Shots: Buffalo 44 – Anaheim 22
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 102)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
N/A
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST SEVEN DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Feb. 21: Toronto at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 24: Buffalo at Florida, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26: Washington at Buffalo, 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28: Columbus at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
TODAY’S GAME
SABRES AT SHARKS
• This is the second and final meeting between the Sabres and Sharks this season.
• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated San Jose 6-3 in Buffalo on Dec. 4, 2022.
• The Sabres are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games against the Sharks; 6-4-0 on the road.
• This is the 47th game all-time between Buffalo and San Jose; Buffalo has a 28-12-6 series record.
• The Sabres are 8-9-5 on the road against the Sharks all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• A win in tonight’s game would give Buffalo consecutive wins against the San Jose for the first time since the team earned three consecutive wins against the Sharks from Nov. 27, 2018 to Oct. 22, 2019.
• The Sabres have held the Sharks to 29 or fewer shots on goal in each of the last four meetings between the two teams.
• The Sabres are 5-2-0 on the road against Pacific Division opponents this season. A win tonight would mark the first time the Sabres have ever recorded six road wins against the Pacific Division in a season.
• Casey Mittelstadt is riding a three-game point streak (2+3) and a point in tonight’s game would give him his first point streak of four or more games since he tallied a point in five consecutive games (2+4) from April 23 to May 1, 2021.
• Peyton Krebs has recorded a goal in back-to-back games and would earn his first career point streak of three or more games with a point in tonight’s game.
• Dylan Cozens has tallied 39 points (15+24) in his last 39 games, including four points (2+2) in his last four games.
• With a point in tonight’s game Cozens would record the second point streak of four or more games in his career, both of which will have occurred in 2022-23.
• A goal in tonight’s game would give Cozens a three-game goal streak for the third time in his career and the second time this season (three goals, Nov. 28 to Dec. 1).
• Cozens needs two points to reach 100 in his career.
• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 41 points (7+34) in his last 38 games, including 10 points (1+9) in his last 10 games.
• Alex Tuch has notched 12 points (5+7) in his last 12 games.
• Tuch is two goals away from 100 in his career.
• Tage Thompson has recorded 19 points (9+10) in his last 18 games.
• In his last 32 games, Jeff Skinner has notched 37 points (15+22).
CHUM THE WATER
• In 46 matchups between the Sabres and the Sharks all-time, Buffalo has earned 67.4 percent of the total possible points, the highest percentage against any team the Sabres have faced.
• Jeff Skinner has recorded at least one goal in each of his last six games against the Sharks.
• Skinner has recorded at least one point in each of the seven games he has played against San Jose as a member of the Sabres (7+2).
• Skinner has recorded at least on point in each of his last five games in San Jose (4+2).
• A point in tonight’s game would give Alex Tuch a four-game point streak against the Sharks.
• In three career games against San Jose, Dylan Cozens has notched four points (0+4).
• In Buffalo’s last game against San Jose on Dec. 4, 2022, Jack Quinn recorded two goals on two shots.
ROAD RAGE
• The Sabres are 16-8-2 on the road this season and are ranked eighth in the NHL in road points percentage (.654) entering play on Feb. 17.
• .654 is the second-highest road points percentage in franchise history. The 2006-07 Sabres recorded a road points percentage of .659, the current team record.
• Since Nov. 22, the Sabres have gone 13-3-2 in away games and were tied for first in wins (13) and road points earned (28) in that span entering play on Feb. 17.
• Buffalo is currently scoring 3.77 goals per game on the road this season, which would rank second all-time in Sabres franchise history for the most goals scored per game on the road in a single season. The 1974-75 Sabres scored 3.88 goals per game on the road.
• The Sabres also currently have the second-highest road power-play percentage (24.2) in franchise history. Only the 1979-80 Sabres (26.0 percent) scored on a higher percentage of power plays on the road.
• The Sabres currently rank second in franchise history in road winning percentage when scoring first (.846), trailing just the 2005- 06 Sabres (.882).
• This season, the Sabres have gone 11-2-2 against Western Conference opponents on the road.
• Entering play on Feb. 17, Tage Thompson was ranked third among all NHL skaters in road points this season (37) and road points per game (1.42) and was tied for second in goals scored on the road (19).
• Rasmus Dahlin led all NHL defensemen in road goals (8) and ranked second in road points (29).
SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Game 56 – 2/16 – SJS 1 at VGK 2…Alexander Barabanov (1g, 0a) opened the scoring for the Sharks off a primary assist by MarcEdouard Vlasic (0g, 1a). San Jose was shorthanded a season-high seven times, and this marked the second game in the last decade where San Jose was perfect on the penalty kill while being shorthanded seven or more times. Kaapo Kahkonen saved 36 of 38 shots, including all 16 he faced while the Sharks were shorthanded.
SJ Goal: Barabanov (10)
SF: 26
SA: 38
SJ PP: 0/1
SJ PK: 7/7
San Jose Sharks: Media Notes
W: Hill
L: Kahkonen
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
2/16 Recalled D Nick Cicek from the San Jose Barracuda
2/15 Assigned D Nick Cicek and G Eetu Makiniemi to the San Jose Barracuda
2/14 Placed F Jonah Gadjovich on IR; Recalled G Eetu Makiniemi from the San Jose Barracuda
2/11 Recalled G Aaron Dell from the San Jose Barracuda
2/9 Recalled D Nick Cicek from the San Jose Barracuda
2/5 Acquired a conditional 2023 fourth-round selection (Seattle’s choice) from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for D Jaycob Megna
2/5 D Nikolai Knyzhov returned from his long-term injury conditioning loan with the San Jose Barracuda; assigned Knyzhov to the Barracuda
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – BUFFALO SABRES
The Sharks begin a season-long seven-game homestand with a tilt against Buffalo tonight. The Sabres defeated San Jose, 6-3, on Dec. 4 in their first meeting of the season. Dylan Cozens (0g, 3a) led Buffalo with three points while nine different Sharks skaters logged a point. San Jose look to bounce back from back-to-back losses, while the Sabres look to build on a strong 7-3 win in Anaheim on Feb. 15. Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt are each on three-game point streaks.
