Buffalo News

'GM Jason Botterill, under fire for the Ryan O'Reilly trade the previous summer and lack of movement until getting Brandon Montour at the trade deadline, went outside the box in May by hiring Ralph Krueger and giving the 59-year-old another NHL chance six years after he was fired in Edmonton. So far, so good. The Sabres started 8-1-1, slumped in November but came back in … [Read more...] about Bills are back in the playoffs, Sabres are back in the hunt: Buffalo sports in 2019

'Buffalo, of course, carries the league's longest playoff drought at eight years and counting, but the numbers are worse. With three games left, the Sabres are 311-371-103 for the 2010s and their .462 points percentage is 30th out of 31 NHL teams, ahead of only Edmonton's .452.' … [Read more...] about Sabres and Bruins linked through the decade as matchups loom at the end of the 2010s

'"It’s great. First of all, it’s rewarding to our amateur staff because those guys work very hard, they pound a lot of miles, a lot of lonesome nights and to see our players – it’s great for Dylan Cozens," Sabres assistant general manager Randy Sexton said. "That’s exciting, but hey, we’ve got Matej Pekar that’s a fourth-round pick, and we’ve got Erik Portillo, who’s a … [Read more...] about Dylan Cozens among four Sabres prospects at world junior championships

'"It’s a good development story," Krueger said. "We had him up here, there were some things we thought he needed improvement on and to work on. We communicate that to Chris Taylor, he goes to Rochester, spends some time down there and works specifically on the game he needs to play here in the NHL. It was working down there, too, and he becomes a major player for them. He … [Read more...] about Collaboration between Sabres, Amerks produces ‘good development story’

'"This was a big game for us going into the break -- division game," Rodrigues, who had a team-high six shots on goal, said. "It was big, and it’s obviously one that we wanted and we had our chances to take. This one is a tough pill to swallow a little bit, but we have two or three big division games right after the break before New Years. We have to take this break and come … [Read more...] about Latest loss ‘a tough pill to swallow’ for Sabres entering holiday break

'Zemgus Girgensons scored the tying goal for the Sabres, and Linus Ullmark made 27 saves in goal. Pageau broke a scoreless tie late in the first period, and Brady Tkachuk was credited with an empty-net goal. Ottawa (16-18-4) has earned points in eight of its last 11 games.' … [Read more...] about The Wraparound: Senators 3, Sabres 1

'"What Risto’s done is he’s bought in big time to what the entire staff is selling," said Sabres assistant coach Steve Smith, who works with the team's defensemen. "He has come in with an incredible attitude this year. No one ever questioned his work ethic and it’s even at a new level where I think mentally he’s working harder."' … [Read more...] about Rasmus Ristolainen using lessons from the past to improve with Sabres

'“I think our forwards are really working two ways," Ristolainen said. "It’s really easy to trust them, they’re coming back. I saw maybe one forward was changing there, so I felt a little chance to go down to the net and the puck got to me and I put it in.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres defensemen continue to ignite offense in come-from-behind win

'Job one for Botterill might be to do what the Devils did to Cory Schneider earlier this month and put Hutton on waivers to get him some work in Rochester. Or he could simply call up Amerks standout Andrew Hammond and go with three goalies. Hammond would play and give Ullmark some respite and Hutton would keep working in practice and off-ice with goalie coach Mike Bales.' … [Read more...] about After Sabres’ holiday break, GM should start takin’ care of business

'The Sabres (17-13-7) snapped a three-game losing streak and won their fifth consecutive game at home to keep pace in the Atlantic Division. Victor Olofsson scored an empty-net goal with 1:33 remaining for his 24th point in 22 games.' … [Read more...] about The Wraparound: Buffalo Sabres 3, Los Angeles Kings 2

'"I still have a long way to go to get to where I usually am, and where I know I can be. But I feel like it’s been a little bit better," Johansson said. " ... You always want to be at your best and help the team win. You want to get better every day, too. I come in every day and work hard to do that. I haven't felt like myself pretty much all year."' … [Read more...] about With Sabres centers on the mend, Marcus Johansson still trying to ‘feel like myself’

'However, Eichel's status for Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings won't be determined until hours before puck drop in Buffalo. Neither Eichel nor coach Ralph Krueger would reveal more details about the ailment, other than the Sabres' top center is "day to day" and had been playing through whatever forced him to miss his first game of the season.' … [Read more...] about Jack Eichel joins Sabres for practice, uncertain whether he’ll play against Kings

'It was a normal day that had a chance to be historic for the Buffalo Sabres. And then, to quote coach Ralph Krueger, everything suddenly "slid off the rails." That's for sure.' … [Read more...] about Stunned by Eichel’s streak-ending injury, Sabres offer no resistance to Flyers

'"For me sometimes, I know you'll have ups and downs through a season and I understand that," Skinner told The Buffalo News after his team's pregame skate ahead of its game against the Philadelphia Flyers. "But it's not something I'm trying to look at as a seven-game stretch. I try to go game to game see what I can do to get better.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Jeff Skinner shoulders blame for scoring slump

'It was ugliness unmatched in Ralph Krueger's first 36 games as coach.' … [Read more...] about The Wraparound: Philadelphia Flyers 6, Buffalo Sabres 1