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NHL Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:

LAST 2 GAMES
Nov. 1: Boston 6, Pittsburgh 5 (OT) – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Crosby, Malkin, Archibald, Rust, Rakell
Multiple Points: Malkin (1G-1A), McGinn (2A)
Goalie: Jarry (34 saves/40 shots)
Key Stats: Pittsburgh picked up a point for the fourth-straight home game (3-0-1) to open the season.
PP: 0-4
PK: 2-3

Oct. 29: Seattle 3, Pittsburgh 1 – Climate Pledge Arena
PIT Goals: Guentzel
Multiple Points: None
Goalie: DeSmith (27 saves/29 shots)
Key Stats: Jake Guentzel scored in his return to the Pittsburgh lineup, giving him four goals in five games this season.
PP: 0-2
PK: 2-2

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
F Teddy Blueger Upper-Body 10 10
F Jeff Carter Lower-Body 1 1
D Kris Letang Illness 1 1
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 18

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Oct. 31 F Drew O’Connor recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). F Drake Caggiula re-assigned to WBS.
Oct. 23 F Sam Poulin and F Drake Caggiula recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Oct. 23 F Teddy Blueger placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 11.
Oct. 10 D Ty Smith re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).

Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Sabres: 98-66-41
In Pittsburgh: 58-26-20
In Buffalo: 40-40-21
OT Record vs. Buffalo: 11-8-16
Shootout Record vs. Sabres: 4-2

2021-22 Results: Pittsburgh went 1-1-1.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. SABRES:
Sidney Crosby: 53 GP, 77 PTS (25G-52A)
Jaromir Jagr: 47 GP, 70 PTS (31G-29A)
Mario Lemieux: 40 GP, 70 PTS (29G-41A)

TEAM NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center for their first meeting of the 2022-23 season (TV: TNT, ATTSN-PT; Radio: 105.9 The X).
  • Last season, the Penguins went 1-1-1 against Buffalo. In the last 10 games at Buffalo, Pittsburgh has gone 7-1-2, outscoring them 35-18 with a power-play conversion rate of 48% (12/25).
  • Pittsburgh has points in 28 of its last 32 games against Buffalo (24-4-4) dating back to October 5, 2013. During that span, the Penguins have outscored the Sabres by a 116-64 margin.
  • The Penguins have points in 16 of their last 17 visits to Buffalo (13-1-3) dating back to Mar. 30, 2012.
  • Sidney Crosby led the Penguins last year versus the Sabres, notching one goal, three assists and four points in three games played.

QUICK HITS
1) Last night, Head Coach Mike Sullivan coached his 517th game with Pittsburgh, surpassing Ed Johnston for the most games coached in franchise history.

2) Kris Letang has 32 points (6G-26A) in 45 career games against the Sabres. He has 10 points (2G-8A) in his last 10 games versus them.

3) Winger Rickard Rakell has 10 points (4G-6A) in 14 career games versus the Sabres, which includes points in four of his last five visits to KeyBank Center (2G-3A).

4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins netminder Dustin Tokarski was named AHL Goaltender of the Month of October with a 4-0-1 record. His 1.38 goals-against average ranks first among AHL goalies, and his .949 SV% ranked third.

5) Evgeni Malkin has 61 points (20G-41A) in 47 career games versus Buffalo. In his last 17 games against them, Malkin has been held off the scoresheet just once (8G-16A).

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Goaltender Casey DeSmith looks to get the call tonight in Buffalo on the second half of Pittsburgh’s back-to-back. In six career games versus Buffalo, DeSmith is 3-1-2 with a 1.81 goals-against average, .941 save percentage and three shutouts.

Among active goaltenders with at least five games played against Buffalo, DeSmith’s .941 save percentage and 1.81 goals-against average rank second and sixth in the NHL, respectfully..

If DeSmith starts tonight, it will mark his 100th career NHL game. He will become the 17th goalie in franchise history, and fifth undrafted netminder, to appear in 100 games with the team.

CROSBY VS. BUFFALO
Captain Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s game with points in 17 of his last 20 games (10G-17A) versus Buffalo. He has recorded at least one point in 46 of 53 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 53 77 1.45

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.

10 STATS THROUGH 10 GAMES
10) Evgeni Malkin has TEN points (5G-5A) through 10 games this season, which trails only Sidney Crosby (12) for the team lead.

9) Sidney Crosby has NINE even-strength points on the year, the most on Pittsburgh and tied for 10th in the league.

8) The Penguins have EIGHT power-play goals on the year, converting at 20.5%, and Evgeni Malkin leads the team with four power-play points.

7) Jan Rutta is plus-SEVEN on the year, which is first on Pittsburgh and tied for 16th in the league.

6) The Penguins have scored SIX goals in four of their first 10 games. No other team has more six-goal performances this season.

5) Pittsburgh’s 37 goals this season are tied with Buffalo for FIFTH in the NHL.

4) The Penguins are FOURTH in the league in average shots on goal per game (37.2).

3) Jake Guentzel has THREE game-winning goals, which is tied for the league lead.

2) Pittsburgh has had TWO rookies dress in games for them this season – defenseman P.O Joseph and forward Sam Poulin. Joseph’s four points on the year (4A) are one shy of his career high.

1) Tristan Jarry has ONE assist on the season, he is one of six goalies to record a point this season.

BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:

LAST GAME
Monday, Oct. 31
Detroit 3 at Buffalo 8
Goals: Thompson (3), Quinn, Skinner, Dahlin, Cozens, Asplund
Goalie: Comrie (15 saves/18 shots)
PP: 2/5; PK: 1/1; Shots: Buffalo 46 – Detroit 18

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 14)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Henri Jokiharju (Upper body, Oct. 22; IR) – 5 games
Mattias Samuelsson (Lower body, Oct. 25; IR) – 4 games
Ilya Lyubushkin (Lower body, Oct. 29) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
10/30: Placed F Riley Sheahan on waivers
10/31: Recalled D Jeremy Davies from Rochester (AHL); Assigned F Riley Sheahan to Rochester (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Nov. 4: Buffalo at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 8: Arizona at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 10: Vegas at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12: Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
PENGUINS at SABRES
• This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Penguins this season.

• Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Pittsburgh 4-3 in a shootout in Buffalo on March 23, 2022.

• Next meeting: Friday, Dec. 9 in Buffalo

• The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games against the Penguins; 3-7-0 at home.

• This is the 206th game all-time between Buffalo and Pittsburgh; Buffalo has a 72-89-44 series record.

• The Sabres are 44-35-22 at home against the Penguins all-time.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• A win tonight would give the Sabres three consecutive wins for the second time this season.

• The Sabres have recorded 45 shots or more in three consecutive games, a franchise record.

• The Sabres are the 11th team in NHL history to record a streak of three or more consecutive games with 45 shots or more. If Buffalo records 45 shots or more in tonight’s game to extend their streak to four games, it would mark the first time in NHL history that a team has recorded at least 45 shots in four consecutive games.

• The Sabres are 3-0-0 when leading after the first period and 5-0-0 when leading after two periods of play.

• Four Sabres skaters (Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Olofsson, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch) have recorded six goals through Buffalo’s first nine games.

• Entering play on Tuesday, no other NHL team had more than two players with six or more goals.

• A point from Rasmus Dahlin, Casey Mittelstadt, Kyle Okposo and/or Tage Thompson in tonight’s game would give them a three-game point streak.

• Okposo has recorded multiple points in consecutive games for the first time since he tallied multiple points in three straight games from Jan. 9 to 18, 2018.

• Kyle Okposo has tallied more goals (15) against the Penguins than any team he has faced in his career.

• A point in tonight’s game would give Rasmus Asplund five points in his last five games.

• Entering play on Tuesday, Asplund was ranked first among all NHL skaters in on-ice shooting percentage at 5-on-5 (21.0) and he was the only NHL skater with an on-ice shooting percentage at 5-on-5 above 19 percent.

CLUB PENGUIN
• Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo have each recorded three points in their last three games against Pittsburgh.

• Tage Thompson has tallied three goals in his last three home games vs. the Penguins.

• With at least a point tonight, the Sabres would have a point in four straight games against the Penguins for the first time since Buffalo recorded a point in five straight games from Nov. 28, 2008 to Dec. 29, 2009.

COMING OUT MY TAGE AND I’VE BEEN DOING JUST FINE
• Tage Thompson has recorded nine points (5+4) in his last two games.

• Thompson is one of four players in Buffalo Sabres history (LaFontaine, Lorentz, Perreault) to record nine or more points in a two-game span, according to NHL Stats.

• With a point in tonight’s game, Thompson would become the first Sabres skater since Maxim Afinogenov in 2006-07, and the tenth in franchise history, to record 10 or more points in a three-game span, according to NHL Stats.

• Thompson’s previous career-high mark for points in a two-game span was four points, which he accomplished on four separate occasions during the 2021-22 season.

• Entering play on Nov. 1, Thompson led all Sabres skaters and was tied for 10th among NHL skaters in shots on goal (39) and shots per game (4.33).

• Among skaters with at least five games played, Thompson ranks fifth in the NHL in goals scored per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (2.61).

MY NAME’S JEFF
• Jeff Skinner became the 212th player in NHL history to record their 300th NHL goal on Oct. 31 vs. Detroit, has recorded six points (2+4) in his last three games and is riding a three-game point streak.

• According to Natural Stat Trick, Skinner has generated 15 individual scoring chances over the last three games and he ranks second among Sabres skaters in individual scoring chances through the team’s first nine games (32).

• Skinner ranks third among Sabres skaters in individual expected goals for (3.30), according to Natural Stat Trick, and shot attempts (45).

THE RULE OF THREE
• The line of Kyle Okposo, Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson owns a corsi for percentage of 76.19 and an expected goals for percentage of 76.42, according to Natural Stat Trick.

• The trio has recorded 32 shot attempts and they have allowed just 10 shot attempts for opposing teams.

• Their line has created seven high-danger scoring chances for Buffalo while allowing just one to the opposition in that time.

• At least one of Okposo, Skinner, and Thompson have recorded a point on 10 of Buffalo’s last 13 goals scored.

• Combined, the on-ice expected goals for percentage for their line is 76.42, higher than each of their individual expected goals for percentages, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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