Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres notes: Maple Leafs goalie Jhonas Enroth waited to find new job

BUFFALO – This city, Jhonas Enroth said, will always “have a soft spot in my heart.” The Swede grew up with the Sabres, often performing like the team’s goalie of the future during his 118-game run here.

But almost two years after his last appearance with the Sabres, “the feeling is starting to cool down a little bit,” Enroth said Thursday prior to the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs are ... Read the full article

Emotions of World Series wowed Leafs’ Mike Babcock

BUFFALO – Mike Babcock, admittedly, is “not a huge baseball fan.” Still, the Toronto Maple Leafs coach couldn’t help but watch Game 7 of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians late Thursday night and early this morning.

The actual game, a classic that Chicago won 8-7 in 10 innings, didn’t wow Babcock as much as the emotions and scenes in and around the ballpark.

“What a spectacular thing for a city,” ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Bogosian out ‘weeks’ with knee sprain; Casey Nelson set to sub

BUFFALO – As a college freshman three years ago, sitting as a healthy scratch for weeks burned rookie Sabres defenseman Casey Nelson.

“It shut me down in college,” said Nelson, who will play his first NHL game since the opener tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs inside KeyBank Center.

Eventually, Nelson, 24, developed a different attitude – “You kind of grow up a little,” he said – and earned regular duty.

That experience in ... Read the full article

Leafs’ Auston Matthews ready for Sabres, Buffalo debut

BUFFALO – Auston Matthews first experienced the heated rivalry between the Sabres and Maple Leafs here at the NHL Draft, when the Toronto contingency wildly cheered the first overall pick and the hometown fans mercilessly booed their enemy.

“It’s a lot of booing,” Matthews told reporters Wednesday in Toronto after the Leafs prepared for tonight’s game inside KeyBank Center, the rookie’s first appearance here since getting selected June 24.

Expect another loud, bipartisan atmosphere throughout ... Read the full article

Sabres recall Justin Bailey from Amerks

With rookie winger Hudson Fasching battling a groin injury, the Buffalo Sabres recalled Justin Bailey from the Rochester Americans this morning.

The Sabres play a road game against the Minnesota Wild tonight.

Bailey, 21, has three goals and four points in seven AHL games this season. The Williamsville native played eight games as a rookie with the Sabres last season, compiling zero points. He had 20 goals and 45 points in 70 games with the ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson shuts out Panthers

BUFFALO – Early in the Sabres’ 3-0 victory Saturday afternoon, as Dan Bylsma watched Anders Nilsson gobble up puck after puck, the coach had an ill-timed thought about his goalie’s strong performance against the Florida Panthers.

“I don’t like it when I have thoughts like this,” Bylsma said after the Sabres’ first home win ended their four-game losing streak. “He just looked so solid, so confident in net you thought it was going to be ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Sam Reinhart finally scores first goal

BUFFALO – As the seven-game mark approached, Sabres forward Sam Reinhart figured after all his missed opportunities, his first goal would be fluky.

“The way the year has been going, that’s the way the first one had to go in, because the chances have been there,” Reinhart said after scoring a power-play goal late in Saturday afternoon’s 3-0 win against the Florida Panthers inside KeyBank Center.

Sure enough, 8:48 into the third period, Reinhart tried ... Read the full article

Former Sabres regular Mark Pysyk happy with Panthers

BUFFALO – Being back here felt “weird,” Mark Pysyk, clad in Florida Panthers workout gear, said Saturday morning as he took a break from preparing for his first game as a visitor at KeyBank Center.

Pysyk, 24, grew up with the Sabres, developing from a first-round pick in 2010 into an NHL defenseman.

“The last six years I’ve been coming here for … everything,” Pysyk said prior to the Sabres’ 3-0 win against ... Read the full article

Sabres must build off positives in losses

BUFFALO – Ryan O’Reilly started rattling off some of the good things the struggling Sabres have recently accomplished within their losses.

“There’s little things in every game that we’re doing well,” the center said Friday after the Sabres prepared for this afternoon’s tilt against the Florida Panthers inside KeyBank Center. “But it’s just our consistency with it.”

The Sabres played their most consistent contest Oct. 20 in Vancouver, O’Reilly said. They enjoyed a monster three-goal ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner set to start Sunday; Jack Eichel out of boot

BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, sidelined two games by a “stomach bug,” said he will likely start Sunday afternoon’s road contest against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I’m ready,” Lehner said today after practicing inside KeyBank Center.

Lehner said he won’t play Saturday afternoon. Sabres coach Dan Bylsma, meanwhile, wouldn’t divulge his starter for the Florida Panthers.

“We’ll see on our goaltender,” Bylsma said.

Goalies Anders Nilsson, Lehner’s sub, and Linus Ullmark also practiced ... Read the full article