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Archives for February 6, 2018

How growing up with foster siblings impacted Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly

‘”It was difficult at times,” O’Reilly said. “Kids had been kicked out of their own homes or kicked out of schools and there were a lot of difficult kids and my parents always worked with them. For us, it was just like a job. It wasn’t until I got a bit older that I realized it was more than that. It was so much more than just a job. It was opening your home and learning to live with these kids that are struggling and no one else can get along with. Hockey was one of those things that brought us closer together. It’s amazing how the older I get, the more I appreciate it and understand how important it was.”‘

Sabres Notebook: Franchise stuck on 999 home wins

‘Granted, the team has just 14 wins overall this year, which by default means not much winning at home or on the road. But the home games have been particularly frustrating, particularly this last stretch. After winning three straight out west, the Sabres returned to Buffalo for a five-game homestand and lost the first three.’

Sabres’ Jason Pominville struggling to produce offense

‘“His minutes have dipped down a little bit, so his opportunity isn’t as much as he’s used to when he was playing up there,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “We’re looking for balance from all our lines. I think one of the things he’s trying to do better is get to the net. I think he’s got to continue to do that.’

Sabres must possess shot mentality

‘“We’re not shooting the puck enough,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said this afternoon, repeating something he has said all season. “There’s a lot of opportunities we’re trying to make a play and we have to put more pucks to the net and we have to put more players there.’

Leadership, accountability still issues with slumping Sabres

‘Housley acknowledged Monday that he might have underestimated how daunting a task he faced in addressing leadership concerns and changing the culture of a team now in jeopardy of extending its franchise-worst playoff drought to seven seasons.’

The Sabres are back to practice trying to figure out their own arena

‘The players on this team are frustrated. They have said many times that they all say the right things, but nothing changes, so why is that? Why can’t the players on this team follow through with what they say? Eichel said, “The accountability, that’s important and for us, you need to get to that point that if you’re going to get up and say something, you need to back up your actions and you need to back up your words with actions and not feel bad calling somebody out, it’s all part of maturing, it all part of growing up and becoming a pro and learning that it needs to go on every day and if something’s not there, then you need to step up and say something and do something to change it.”’

Leadership & accountability still concerns in Sabres’ locker room

‘”Yeah, the accountability is important,” Jack Eichel told reporters. “We need to get to the point where if you’re going to step up and say something you need to backup your actions and back up your words with actions and obviously not feel bad calling somebody out or stepping up and saying something and not feeling uncomfortable. It’s all part of it and I think it’s all part of maturing. I think we have a lot of young guys, myself included, but I think it’s a part of growing up and becoming a pro and learning that it needs to go on every day and if something is not there then obviously you need to step up and say something and do something to change it.”‘

With Sabres searching for goals, Housley calls for shot mentality

‘”The one thing I am seeing is we’re not shooting the puck enough,” the Sabres coach said. “There’s a lot of opportunities that we’re trying to make a play and we have to put more pucks to the net and we have to get more players there. We talked about that a lot.”‘