TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING NOTES:
LAST GAME
Lightning 5 vs. St. Louis 2
The Tampa Bay Lightning got back in the win column with a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night at AMALIE Arena…The Bolts improved to 12-7-1 on the season with a home record of 7-3-1…Brayden Point opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season 3:29 into regulation with Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov picking up the assists…Alex Killorn quickly made it 2-0 when he scored his seventh goal of the season at the 3:57 mark of the first as Nick Paul and Steven Stamkos recorded the helpers…The two goals 28 seconds apart were the fastest two goals scored by Tampa Bay this season…Point scored his second goal of the game with 11:56 remaining in the first period to give the Lightning a 3-0 lead with Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev picking up the assists…Pavel Buchnevich got the Blues on the board with a power-play goal at the 16:50 mark of the first to make it a 3-1 game…Jordan Kyrou pulled St. Louis within one when he made it 3-2 with 13:36 left in the second period…Hagel scored his sixth goal of the season just 18 seconds after Kyrou’s goal to make it a 4-2 game with Kucherov and Point collecting the assists…Paul recorded his ninth goal of the season when he found the empty net with 3:48 remaining in regulation as Killorn and Stamkos picked up the assists…Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves on 27 shots against for his eighth win of the season…Alex Barre-Boulet made his season debut for the Bolts and logged 10:01 time on ice with one shot and one takeaway…Cal Foote returned to the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury…Ross Colton also made his return to game action after a one-game absence due to an upper-body injury…Rudolfs Balcers left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.
PP: TBL – 1-2 STL – 1-3
SOG: TBL – 27 STL – 27
Attendance: 19,092
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Lightning and the Sabres are playing the second of four matchups this season and the first of two meetings at KeyBank Center…Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-3 in the first meeting Nov. 5 at AMALIE Arena as the Bolts beat the Sabres for the seventh-straight time at AMALIE Arena and extended their home point streak against Buffalo to 10 games (9-0-1), tied for their longest active run against a franchise (also: 8-0-2 vs. MTL)…After falling behind 3-2 at the 4:25 mark of the third period, the Lightning rattled off three straight goals from Brandon Hagel, Nick Perbix and Nikita Kucherov to earn the victory…Brian Elliott got the start in goal and made 24 saves on 27 shots against in the win…Kucherov factored into the final four goals of the game for Tampa Bay with one goal and three assists…Kucherov’s linemates Hagel (1-2—3) and Brayden Point (1-1—2) also recorded multi-point efforts in the victory…Perbix’s goal was the first of his NHL career and also served as the game-winner…The Bolts have won 10 of the last 11 games against the Sabres and 11 of the last 15 meetings at KeyBank Center…Tampa Bay is 49-48-8 with five ties all-time vs. Buffalo, including a road record of 25-24-3 with two ties…Kucherov has recorded points in 10 consecutive games against the Sabres (10-8—18) with goals in three straight (5-3—8) and has notched a point in 19 of the last 20 meetings (14-15—29)…Steven Stamkos has picked up points in three straight games vs. Buffalo (1-4—5) and eight of the last 10 meetings overall (3-8—11)…Hagel, who was drafted by the Sabres in the 6th round (159th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, has played two career games vs. Buffalo and recorded four points (2-2—4)…Stamkos (19-22—41) holds the TBL all-time record for career points vs. the Sabres.
TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS VS. BUF
- Steven Stamkos – 41 pts. (19-22—41, 46 GP)
- Martin St. Louis – 40 pts. (15-25—40, 47 GP)
- Vincent Lecavalier – 38 pts. (19-19—38, 49 GP)
- Nikita Kucherov – 35 pts. (17-18—35, 29 GP)
- Alex Killorn – 26 pts. (9-17—26, 36 GP)
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
Tampa Bay is playing the first game of a three-game road trip, tying their longest road trip of the season thus far…The Bolts will play just four of their 13 games in November on the road…The Lightning are 3-1-0 against Atlantic Division rivals this season…Tampa Bay is 5-4-0 on the road this season and have won three of their last four road contests…Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Bolts have posted an NHL-best .648 points percentage (120-62- 14) on the road…The Lightning are playing the first game of their fourth back-to-back set this season and have posted a 2-1-0 record in the previous three back-to-back opening games.
INJURIES
2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 55
Current Injuries:
Anthony Cirelli (Shoulder surgery; Out) 20 Games
Cole Koepke (Upper-body injury; Day-to-day) 3 Games
Nick Perbix (Lower-body injury; Day-to-day) 3 Games
TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 25 – Recalled F Alex Barre-Boulet from AHL Syracuse
Nov. 12 – Claimed F Rudolfs Balcers off waivers from FLA
KLUTCHEROV
Bolts forward Nikita Kucherov recorded three assists Nov. 25 vs. STL for his 27th career three-assist game…Since Kucherov entered the NHL in 2013-14, only Connor McDavid (33) has recorded more three-assist games…Kucherov owns the TBL franchise record for three-assist games and his 59 career three-point games rank third behind Steven Stamkos (91) and Martin St. Louis (73) for the most three-point outings in franchise history…Kucherov (10-21—31) required just 20 games to hit the 30-point mark for the second time in his career (also: 2017-18, 18 games)…Kucherov has recorded three or more points in four games this season, including two of his last three contests…Kucherov’s 19 points (7-12—19) in November are tied for the third-most among NHL skaters…Kucherov leads all TBL skaters in points, assists, power-play points (14), game-winning goals (3) and is tied with Stamkos (10- 13—23) for the team lead in goals…Kucherov ranks fifth among NHL skaters in points and tied for third in assists…Kucherov has recorded points in seven of nine road games this season (4-8—12) and 16 of 20 games overall…Kucherov is the only TBL skater and one of seven NHL players to record a 10- game point streak this Season…Kucherov also recorded an NHL-best (tied) six-game goal streak Oct. 25 – Nov. 5 (7- 5—12)…Kucherov’s 14 power-play points are the fourth-most among NHL skaters…Kucherov’s 1.11 career point-per-game average is the highest among all skaters in TBL franchise history…Since the start of the 2016-17 season, only Connor McDavid (1.48 P/GP) has recorded a higher point-per-game average than Kucherov’s 1.34.
NHL P/GP LEADERS SINCE 2016-17 (MIN. 100 GP)
- Connor McDavid – 1.48 P/GP (239-446-685, 463 GP)
- Nikita Kucherov – 1.34 P/GP (188-310—498, 371 GP)
- Leon Draisaitl – 1.25 P/GP (243-343—586, 470 GP)
- Brad Marchand – 1.21 P/GP (204-319—523, 433 GP)
GAME POINT
Lightning forward Brayden Point recorded his first three-point game of the season with two goals and one assist Nov. 25 vs. STL…Point has five points over his last three games (2-3—5)…Point has recorded three multi-point games in nine road contests this season…Point (8-13—21) ranks third in points, fourth in goals and tied for third in assists among all TBL skaters…Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Point’s 35 game-winning goals are tied for the fourth-most among all NHL skaters…Point’s 37 career game-winning goals are the fifth-most in TBL franchise history…Point (175-214—389, 437 GP) has posted a 0.89 career point-per-game average, the fifth-highest average for a third-round pick in NHL history.
NHL ALL-TIME P/GP LEADERS, THIRD-ROUND DRAFT SELECTIONS (MIN. 100 GP)
- Mark Messier – 1.07 P/GP (694-1,193—1,887, 1,756 GP)
- Charlie Simmer – 1.00 P/GP (342-369—711, 712 GP)
T3. Jake Guentzel – 0.92 P/GP (171-189—360, 393 GP)
T3. Brad Marchand – 0.92 P/GP (357-455—812, 887 GP) - Brayden Point – 0.89 P/GP (175-214—389, 437 GP)
BETTER CALL PAUL
Tampa Bay forward Nick Paul scored his ninth goal of the season and added an assist for his fifth multi-point game of the year Nov. 25 vs. STL…Paul has scored five goals in his last six games and seven goals in his last 10…Paul has picked up points in nine of his last 13 games (8-5—13)…Paul (7-3—10) is tied with Nikita Kucherov (7-12—19) for the TBL lead in goals in November, while his plus-11 rating leads the team…Paul (9-6—15) ranks third in goals and is tied with Brandon Hagel (6-9—15) for the sixth-most points among all TBL skaters…Paul leads all TBL skaters with a plus-13 rating…Paul’s 15 points are the most he’s had through the first 20 games of a season in his NHL career…Paul leads all TBL forwards in shorthanded time on ice (55:26) and faceoff win percentage (51.2%).
TBL FACEOFF WIN PERCENTAGE LEADERS (MIN. 100 FACEOFFS)
- Nick Paul – 51.2% (127-of-248)
- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – 50.5% (93-of-184)
- Steven Stamkos – 50.4% (125-of-248)
- Brayden Point – 46.4% (115-of-248)
- Vladislav Namestnikov – 38.5% (42-of-109)
STAMMER TIME
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos picked up two assists Nov. 25 vs. STL and extended his point streak to a season-long six games (3-7—10)… stamkos has picked up points in eight of his last 11 contests (3-11—14)…Stamkos (10- 13—23) is tied with Nikita Kucherov (10-21—31) for the team lead in goals, ranks second behind Kucherov in points and is tied with Brayden Point (8-13—21) for the third-most assists among TBL skaters…Stamkos leads all TBL skaters with six power-play goals…Stamkos’s 491 career goals are tied with Jean Ratelle for the 48th-most in NHL history…Stamkos became the second player in TBL history to record 500 assists with the franchise Nov. 15 vs. DAL (also: Martin St. Louis, 588 assists)…Stamkos (491-504—995) has recorded more career goals and points than any player in TBL history.
TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS
- Steven Stamkos – 995 pts. (491-504—995, 942 GP)
- Martin St. Louis – 953 pts. (365-588—953, 972 GP)
- Vincent Lecavalier – 874 pts. (383-491—874, 1,037 GP)
- Nikita Kucherov – 647 pts. (256-391—647, 582 GP)
- Victor Hedman – 613 pts. (135-478—613, 916 GP)
KILLER INSTINCT
Bolts forward Alex Killorn scored a goal and added an assist Nov. 25 vs. STL to extend his point streak to three games (2-2—4)…Killorn has recorded points in nine of his last 12 games (6-8—14)…Killorn has picked up points in five of his last six contests (3-6—9)…Killorn (7-10—17) ranks fifth in goals, assists and points among all TBL skaters…Killorn’s plus-nine rating is the second-best plus/minus rating among all TBL skaters (best: Paul, plus13)…Killorn (5-7—12) is tied with Mikhail Sergachev (3-9—12) for the fourth-most points among all TBL skaters in November.
HOW ABOUT HAGEL?
Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel scored a goal and added an assist Nov. 25 vs. STL for his fourth multi-point game of the season… Hagel has collected a point in 10 of his last 15 games (6-9—15)…Hagel’s six goals rank sixth and his 15 points are tied with Nick Paul (9-6—15) for the sixth-most among all TBL skaters…Hagel leads all TBL skaters this season with 24 takeaways…Hagel’s 17 takeaways in the month of November are the second-most among all NHL skaters.
NHL TAKEAWAY LEADERS, NOVEMBER
- Jaccob Slavin – 22 TkA (13 GP)
- Brandon Hagel – 17 TkA (11 GP)
T3. Evgeni Malkin – 16 TkA (13 GP)
T3. Mark Stone – 16 TkA (13 GP)
STORM SERG
Bolts defenseman Mikhail Sergachev recorded his 15th assist of the season Nov. 25 vs. STL…Sergachev (4-15—19) is tied for the eighth-most points, seventh-most assists and ranks fourth overall in power-play points (9) among all NHL defensemen…Sergachev, who was drafted ninth overall by MTL in the 2016 NHL Draft, leads all defensemen selected in 2016 in games played (382) and points (40-153—193)…Sergachev is the only player in NHL history to have played more than 75 playoff games (91) and won two Stanley Cups by the age of 24…Sergachev (0.51 P/GP) ranks fourth all-time among Russian defensemen in points per game (min. 100 GP), trailing only Sergei Zubov (0.72), Sergei Gonchar (0.62) and Andrei Markov (0.58).
ANDREI THE GIANT
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves on 27 shots against for his eighth win of the season Nov. 25 vs. STL…Vasilevskiy’s 418 saves are the 14th-most among all NHL goaltenders this season…With his win Nov. 25 vs. STL, Vasilevskiy won his 135th career home game in his 200th game at AMALIE Arena. Only Jacques Plante (138) recorded more wins in the first 200 home games of his career…Vasilevskiy holds the TBL franchise records for wins (237), starts (370), saves (10,565), shutouts (28) and assists (16).
BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Friday, Nov. 25
New Jersey 3 at Buffalo 1
Goal: Olofsson
Goalie: Anderson (41 saves/44 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 1/1; Shots: New Jersey 44 – Buffalo 34
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 48)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Eric Comrie (Lower body, Nov. 19; IR) – 4 games
Rasmus Asplund (Upper body, Nov. 23) –2 games
Jacob Bryson (Lower body, Nov. 25; IR) – 1 game
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/22: Activated D Mattias Samuelsson from IR; Assigned F Riley Sheahan to Rochester (AHL)
11/25: Activated F Kyle Okposo from IR; Placed D Jacob Bryson on IR
11/27: Placed F Riley Sheahan on unconditional waivers
UPCOMING GAMES
Wednesday, Nov. 30: Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 1: Colorado at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 4: San Jose at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 7: Buffalo at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
TONIGHT’S GAME
LIGHTNING at SABRES
• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and the Lightning this season.
• Last meeting: Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-3 in Tampa on Nov. 5, 2022.
• Next meeting: Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Buffalo.
• The Sabres are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games against the Lightning; 3-6-1 at home.
• This is the 111th game all-time between Buffalo and Tampa Bay; Buffalo has a 56-45-9 series record.
• The Sabres are 27-22-5 at home against the Lightning all-time.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Victor Olofsson has recorded a goal in each of his last two games.
• A goal in tonight’s game would give Olofsson a goal in three consecutive games for the third time in his career, and for the first time since he recorded a goal in three straight games from April 4 to 8, 2022.
• An assist in tonight’s game would give Casey Mittelstadt an assist in three consecutive games for the second time this season.
• Mittelstadt tallied five points (1+4) and notched at least one assist in three straight games from Oct. 18 to 22.
• Tage Thompson owns 23 points (12+11) in his last 14 games.
• Jeff Skinner has recorded nine points (6+3) in his last six games.
• Dylan Cozens (1+3) and Jack Quinn (2+2) have each tallied four points in their last four games.
• A point in tonight’s game would give Cozens five points in five games for the first time since he recorded five points (1+4) from March 28 to April 5, 2022.
• If Quinn tallies a point tonight, it will mark the first time in his career that he has recorded five points in a five-game stretch.
DOWN BY THE BAY
• Tage Thompson has notched three points (0+3) in his last three games against Tampa Bay.
• A point in tonight’s game would give Thompson a three-game home point streak against the Lightning.
• In 27 games against the Lightning in his career, Craig Anderson has recorded a save percentage of .915 and a goals-against average of 2.63.
• Owen Power recorded two assists in his only game of his career against the Lightning.
TERRIFIC TRIO
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch owns a corsi for percentage of 63.47 and an expected goals for percentage of 55.41.
• When on the ice together, Skinner, Thompson and Tuch have recorded 22 goals and allowed just 11.
• The trio has recorded a combined 32 goals on the season, 42.11 percent of all goals scored by Buffalo skaters in 2022-23.
• Skinner (6 multi-point games), Thompson (6 multi-point games) and Tuch (5 multi-point games) have all recorded multiple points in at least five games in 2022-23.
THREE’S COMPANY
• According to Natural Stat Trick, despite just 38.24 percent of the their faceoff opportunities coming in the offensive zone, the line combination consisting of Dylan Cozens, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn has produced 22 high-danger chances for the Sabres in 55:22 of ice time together.
• All but one of their high-danger chances for have come at even strength.
• The line’s expected goals for percentage is 64.75 and their corsi for percentage is 59.17.
• Cozens (21), Peterka (20) and Quinn (21) are all 21 years of age or younger.
THE GOLDEN TAGE
• According to NHL Stats, Tage Thompson is just the ninth Sabres skater in franchise history to record four or more points in a single game on multiple occasions through the team’s first 19 games of a season (Donald Audette, Jack Eichel, Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine, Rick Martin, Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert, Thomas Vanek).
• Through Buffalo’s first 21 games, Thompson is on pace for 102 points and would become just the sixth Sabres skater to record 100 or more points in a single season (Pat LaFontaine, 148 points in 1992-93; Alexander Mogilny, 127 points in 1992-93; Gilbert Perreault, 113 points in 1975-76 and 106 points in 1979-80; Pierre Turgeon, 106 points in 1989-90 and Rene Robert, 100 points in 1974-75).
• Entering play on Sunday and dating back to Oct. 29, Thompson ranked second in the NHL in goals (12) and points (23) and was tied for fourth in points per game (1.64).
• Thompson leads all Sabres skaters in goals (13), points (26), points per game (1.24), shots (97) and power-play goals (5).
• Thompson is also tied for the team lead in even-strength points (16) and shorthanded goals (1).
• Thompson ranks second among all Sabres forwards in time on ice per game (18:23), trailing just Alex Tuch (18:28).
• Thompson is tied with Rasmus Dahlin for the team lead in time on ice per shift (0:50)
• According to Natural Stat Trick, Thompson leads all Sabres skaters with 43 individual high-danger scoring chances.
• Entering play on Sunday, Thompson ranked fifth in the league with 97 shots on goal and was one of nine NHL players who had recorded 90 or more shots in 2022-23.
• Thompson owned the second-highest shooting percentage among the nine (13.4).
A LITTLE RAS-LE DAZZLE
• Rasmus Dahlin is on pace for 93 points this season, which would shatter Phil Housley’s single-season franchise points record by a Sabres defenseman (81).
• Dahlin is also on pace to become the first NHL defenseman to score 32 or more goals in a single season since Kevin Hatcher (34) in 1992-93. He would also be the second Sabres defensemen, and the first since Phil Housley (31) in 1983-84, to record 30 or more goals in a single season.
• Entering play on Sunday, among NHL defensemen this season, Dahlin ranked second in goals (8), third in points (23), fourth in points per game (1.15), tied for first in power-play goals (4), second in power-play points (12), third in time on ice per game (26:09) and tied for fourth in shots (72).
• Through his first 20 games, Dahlin has only failed to record a point on four occasions (Oct. 27 vs. Montreal, Nov. 12 vs. Boston, Nov. 23 vs. St. Louis and Nov. 25 vs. New Jersey).
• Dahlin (522:58) is the only Sabres skater who has logged more than 500 or more minutes of ice time through the team’s first 21 games.
• Entering play on Sunday, only 15 total skaters in the NHL had skated 500 minutes or more this season.
• Dahlin and Cale Makar were the only two skaters with 20 or less games played and 500 or more total minutes of ice time entering play on Sunday.
POWER UP
• Entering play on Sunday, Owen Power ranked third among rookie defensemen in points (9) and was tied for second in even-strength points (6).
• Entering play on Sunday, Power led all rookie skaters in time on ice per game (23:37), with the next closest rookie at 21:03 (Jake Sanderson).
• Through Buffalo’s first 21 games, Power has recorded multiple points on three separate occasions (Oct. 20, 0+2; Nov. 2, 0+2; Nov. 5, 0+2), tied for the most among rookie skaters in 2022-23 entering play on Sunday.
• Entering play on Sunday, Power was tied for third among all NHL defensemen in primary assists (8) this season.
SABRES AMONG LEAGUE-LEADERS (Sabres’ league rankings before 11/27 games)
• Buffalo Sabres: 76 GF (6th), 3.62 GF/GP (4th), 25.9 PP% (6th)
• Rasmus Asplund: 1 SHG (T-6th)
• Rasmus Dahlin: 26:09 TOI/GP (3rd), 12 PPP (T-9th)
• Casey Mittelstadt: 1 SHG (T-6th)
• Victor Olofsson: 1 OTG (T-3rd)
• Tage Thompson: 13 G (T-5th), 1 SHG (T-6th), 97 S (5th)
• Alex Tuch: 4 GWG (T-1st)
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Shots: Thompson (97), Dahlin (72), Skinner (63)
Hits: Dahlin (36), Lyubushkin (33), Cozens/Samuelsson (20)
Blocked Shots: Dahlin (38), Bryson (31), Power (27)
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: 0-1-0 (0), 1/3, 0/1, 1/1
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-0; 131-146 all-time)
Oct. 29 vs. CHI: W, 4-3 (GWG-Olofsson)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (0-0; 84-77 all-time)
N/A
