Buffalo News

‘“I think the biggest part of it is with the way we’ve laid this out for the group is that they’re essentially an extension of the roster where they’re part of the day to day,” said Ellis. “It’s not two separate entities where you have your taxi guys and you have your roster guys. The players are involved in the day to day, the meetings, the workouts and some of the practices.”‘

‘“It’s definitely concerning,” Krueger said. “In four games, the third hit to the head of the violent type. If you look at the way the elbow was extended, you know what you’re doing. And we’ll see where this takes us. He’s under assessment here tonight. … It was a big hit here tonight.”’

‘“Matt is absolute elite in what he does in his small-group training practices,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. “We saw it in the whole 10-month stretch, the kind of work he does. He’ll be with us all the time this season and will be taking the lead on the taxi-squad work and/or supporting us in technical skill development. … It’s excellent to have him part of the coaching staff and a very, very knowledgeable hockey person and extra mind for us. Another set of eyes for us also in the game.”’

‘Hutton was not on the bench in the third period, leaving the Sabres without a backup goalie. He stopped 19 of 20 shots and kept his teammates in the game when they struggled to sustain pressure offensively.’

‘“That’s the way we want to come out,” proclaimed Reinhart, whose 10th career multi-goal game occurred in his reunion with Jack Eichel on the top line.’

‘”The important thing is going to be to monitor the energy and use our depth appropriately,” Krueger said. “So, if at any point in time Dylan plays two of three games or three of four, and we get a little rotation going – I’ve mentioned this to you already in the preseason that that could happen. Three forwards share two spots for a stretch. It’s going to be very important to get that right, and then it’s not easy because we’ve never quite been in this territory before. But a scratch of a Dylan in the future or of any of our other evolving players shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.”’

‘Slump ends: The Sabres’ power-play meetings Monday morning yielded better results against Philadelphia, as Reinhart scored off a rebound created by Hall’s shot for a 2-0 lead at 3:35 into the second period. Buffalo was previously 1 for 8 on the man advantage this season.’

‘The Sabres were a Jekyll-and-Hyde outfit last season, going 20-11-4 at home but ruining their hopes with a 10-20-4 road record that ranked 28th out of the 31 teams in points away from home.’

‘”They’re a lot stronger than what I’m used to, so that’s a big adjustment there,” he said. “But I think the biggest thing I’ve picked up on is just how much guys take care of their bodies. Especially in a year like this, where there’s so many games in such a short period of time, I think the biggest thing is just ensure I take care of my body.”‘

‘Despite some lean offensive seasons, Rieder was among the Sabres’ top targets when free agency opened in October and General Manager Kevyn Adams signed the penalty-kill specialist to a one-year, $700,000 contract. Rieder was among the standouts in training camp, providing the straight-line speed this team has lacked in the bottom six.’