Buffalo News

'Hard to gripe about Wednesday's defeat. The Sabres had 39 shots on goal and 87 attempts. They didn't score because Filip Gustavsson was outstanding in the Wild net, and just a few too many of Buffalo's good chances were right in his breadbasket and not artfully aimed at a corner of the cage.' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Sabres’ mandate for Black Friday matinee is to repeat their recipe for success

'Dahlin played 26:35 in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild and has played at least 24 minutes in each of Buffalo's last nine games. He's second on the team in scoring with 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) and that total is fifth among NHL defensemen.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Rasmus Dahlin departs practice early, status unclear for Friday

'“It’s just one of those games where just try to get back in and make an impact,” said Thompson, who returned to the lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury. “Obviously, tonight I wasn’t able to. I’ve got to find the back of the net, find a way to score.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres unable to score in Tage Thompson’s return: 5 takeaways from a 1-0 loss

'It took longer than the Sabres expected, but Leinonen is starting to look like a goalie who has the potential to become an NHL player. The 20-year-old is 7-4 with two shutouts for Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan. His goals-against average (2.13) and save percentage (.914) rank fourth and seventh in the league, respectively.' … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: Topias Leinonen’s improvement boosts organization’s depth in goal

'“The best part about him is practice is the game for him,” Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton said after practice Tuesday in KeyBank Center. “When he laces them up, he’s playing the same way. … Even in summertime, it’s July and he’s almost high-sticking a guy. That’s just him. He’s always on. There’s not a little level. It’s not one, two, three, four, five. And when he’s on, … [Read more...] about How Peyton Krebs has earned Lindy Ruff’s trust since Sabres training camp began

'“Honestly, I think the decision (to miss the San Jose game) – I told them I was ready if they needed me,” Thompson explained. “That’s the decision they made. I would have liked to play, but I think it was smart, for sure, to take an extra few days, especially where our team was at. ... It was more about making sure I was ready to go and not returning too soon.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: Tage Thompson ready to return to lineup against Wild

'No idea what’s up with this: Buffalo is 7-1-0 against the Western Conference and only 4-8-1 against the East. The Sabres are taking advantage of a run of West teams on the schedule that continues with five of the next six games being home contests against West clubs (Minnesota, Vancouver, Colorado, Winnipeg and Utah).' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Points to ponder after Sabres’ golden sweep out West

'“I’m exhausted,” Tuch admitted, relaxing his shoulders while flashing a grin. “It’s exhausting, honestly. It really takes a lot for all 20 of us to come in. It’s 22 hours with travel, we get into the hotel at 2:30 last night, you’re sleeping as much as possible, you’re eating as much as you can, you’re taking a nap if you can. It’s a quick turnaround, honestly. … They took it … [Read more...] about Sabres complete California sweep with another comeback win: 5 takeaways from San Jose

'Barring some major pump in production over the final 60 games, Quinn has answered the question about whether he’s going to need a long-term, big-money deal going into next season. He’s not getting one and JJ Peterka probably is.' … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Sabres winger Jack Quinn insists he’s healthy. Now he just needs to score

'The Sabres (10-9-1) have won six of their last eight games and took over the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card playoff spot. They also moved above .500 after failing to do so twice last week, but they needed a comeback to prevent the Ducks (8-8-3) from playing the role of spoiler.' … [Read more...] about Jiri Kulich’s goal completes comeback, moves Sabres above .500: Takeaways from OT win

'Entering their game Friday against the Anaheim Ducks in Honda Center, the Sabres were tied for the NHL lead in goals by defensemen (13) and ranked fifth in points (50). Dahlin and his fellow blueliners accounted for 21.3% of Buffalo’s goals through 19 games, the fourth-highest mark in the league.' … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: Defense scoring a sign Buffalo’s offense is evolving

'“I think it means a lot to our team,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after his players totaled 10 shots on goal between the second and third periods. “That’s part of the growth. You’ve got to get comfortable in a game like that where it’s tight. … I thought our compete on the puck was where it needed to be to win a hockey game and there compete was high too. It was a hard game … [Read more...] about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s heroics help Sabres shut out Kings: Takeaways from a 1-0 win

'“I was actually telling him the other day how much his game has improved from Colorado,” Aube-Kubel, now Byram’s teammate on the Sabres, told The Buffalo News following practice Tuesday at Toyota Sports Performance Center. “You could see the potential there and the energy that he had there, but coming here and a few years later, it’s crazy how his role has evolved and how he … [Read more...] about Bowen Byram’s recent games show why the Sabres made the blockbuster trade

'“It’s one of those things if you really had to (play), you can, but you don’t want to make it worse, and that’s the biggest thing about it,” Luukkonen said after practice Monday in KeyBank Center. “You don’t want to miss a longer period of games. You kind of want to make sure to get it well and be back to 100 percent and not risk it.”' … [Read more...] about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen pumped to return to No. 1 slot in Sabres’ net

'Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will update the media on Tuch and Tage Thompson following the morning skate Wednesday. Their availability for the game with the Kings (10-6-3) will be determined by how they recover from practice.' … [Read more...] about Sabres practice report: Alex Tuch returns as Lindy Ruff shuffles lines