Buffalo News

'"I will be gauging who is fresh, who's feeling it, and I wouldn't be afraid that if a guy's going, you could get a career-high minutes," Granato said after practice Wednesday. "You don't have to save it for anything because there's plenty of time to recover and that is a coaching situation that you know and you're going to coach to that circumstance. So if somebody is feeling … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: With lots of recovery time, Don Granato can push top players Thursday

'“Everyone is an unbelievable player at this level,” Murray said. “I scored a lot of goals in the USHL level just because maybe I was an older player, and I had the experience. But there are players (in the NHL) that are paid to do that a lot more than me. Just adapting to the style of play that was going to give me success. There’s not a whole lot of bigger guys. I believe I … [Read more...] about Brett Murray using his size, skill to show he could be part of Sabres’ young core

'It was the second consecutive day when Granato put together a plan, only to have it foiled. Okposo was pulled off the KeyBank Center ice during practice Monday and, along with Fitzgerald, entered protocol soon after the team finished for the day.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Anders Bjork enter NHL Covid protocol

'Luukkonen is only 2-3-2 in seven games but has posted a .927 save percentage. Among the 65 NHL goalies who have played at least seven games this year, that save percentage ranks eighth in the league. And Luukkonen is fourth at .931 when the Sabres are on the penalty kill.' … [Read more...] about Confident Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is finding a home in Sabres’ crease

'"We pulled him off when we found out," Granato said. "Everything's a concern right now. It's crazy times again. It's happened in games in major league sports. So I think everybody is trying to do their best to get information as fast as they can. I think everybody is on overload, especially in that department, with respect to testing. But yes, it's all a concern. There’s no … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Kyle Okposo and Casey Fitzgerald added to Covid protocol list

'"You had to battle, everything was hard. And our guys found a way to battle," Granato said after the Sabres were outshot, 41-24. "It wasn’t pretty and 'UPL' was outstanding. We had a lot of frustration and points of frustration and a lot of things we can look at that from that side. But we also had a lot of really good things, which is exciting."' … [Read more...] about Observations: Sabres’ OT loss spoils shiny Krebs-to-Tuch connection

'"The symptoms I had the morning and day after I took the last vaccine were much more severe than I experienced through this," Granato said. "Basically I didn't feel much. I was a little lethargic maybe for a day and then ready to go. And so I'm pretty excited to be back and extremely excited and grateful. I feel very, very sure that the vaccination did its work for me."' … [Read more...] about Don Granato returns from Covid protcol to take his spot behind Sabres’ bench

'The prevailing feeling in the organization is that much better times are ahead. Still, it was easy to feel the irony Friday about the site of 2021's final practice. The Sabres worked out at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena, home of the BU women's team. It's a five-minute walk from Agganis Arena, where Jack Eichel became a one-year legend in 2015 and helped lead the BU … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Even as prospects prop hopes, Sabres bid good riddance to 2021

'No other players will be coming off the list for Saturday's game and Ellis will continue to run the bench while Granato remains out. Also sidelined are forwards Dylan Cozens, Mark Jankowski and Zemgus Girgensons, and defenseman Jacob Bryson.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Skinner, Hinostroza could return; Dahlin rues Olympic decision

'They complicated what should have been a simple strategy to wear down an opponent that hadn’t played in 10 days and had four in the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol.' … [Read more...] about Observations: Sabres appear overmatched in loss to open road trip

'"I don't think our expectations going into that game were anything other than winning," said Sabres center Tage Thompson. "We had the guys in the room to do it. ... That's kind of a good game to get our feet wet again. Get the rust off and now there's no excuses."' … [Read more...] about Sabres exit the break sluggish, still show promise without coach, 6 players

'Still, we know development is not going to be a straight line. Krebs was minus-2 in the game and didn't have a shot on goal, while Peterka had just one and overhandled the puck at times. Neither is NHL-ready yet, and that's OK. Give them that first taste in Buffalo now while the lineup is thin.' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Don’t let Sabres’ loss overshadow the night’s big picture

'The news about Bryson forced general manager Kevyn Adams and his staff to summon reinforcements from Rochester, as the Sabres recalled defenseman Casey Fitzgerald to the active roster and assigned Ethan Prow to the taxi squad.' … [Read more...] about Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson enters NHL’s Covid-19 protocol

'“They’re both great hockey players in their own right, they both bring different things to the table, and they’re big pieces to what we’re trying to do moving forward,” Ellis said of Krebs and Peterka. “To get them in and get a live look, we’ve certainly been watching a lot on video. ... So, it’s pretty cool to have them in mix and look forward to building off today into … [Read more...] about Sabres set for night of debuts with Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch

'“Ells, he’s goes into that category of people that just love the game," said Sabres alternate captain Kyle Okposo. "I’ve been around for a while and he’s right at the top of people who just care about the game and just want to be here. So, always gonna be an enthusiastic – bring an enthusiastic energy and he ran a great practice (Monday). I thought we had great energy as a … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: Matt Ellis will step in as coach if Don Granato remains in protocol