WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Tyler Ennis has missed 11 games. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Slowly, Tyler Ennis, out the last 11 games with an upper-body injury, is improving. The Sabres winger skated in an optional practice with five teammates today and will likely join the morning skate Thursday.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said Ennis could be moved from the week-to-week category to day-to-day.
If that happens, perhaps Ennis could play Saturday afternoon against Chicago, the last game before the Christmas break.
“We’ll see, see how I ... Read the full article
Ryan O’Reilly (90) skates Tuesday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – New Devils regime. Same boring style.
Some things never change.
Even with Lou Lamoriello, the architect of those highly successful but oh-so-dull New Jersey teams, now 480 miles away from Newark running the Toronto Maple Leafs, his legacy lives on.
The Devils haven’t changed much under new general manager Ray Shero and coach John Hynes. They still suck the life out of the game, patiently wait for opportunities and then sit on the ... Read the full article
Johan Larsson only has four points this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – When Johan Larsson scored his first goal this season Monday, the winner with 3:13 left in the Sabres’ 2-1 comeback victory in Detroit, coach Dan Bylsma couldn’t quite read the center’s body language.
“Whether he was happy, relieved, matter of fact,” Bylsma said Tuesday prior to the Sabres’ 2-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils. “I know he’s been pressing for a while now not having scored. To get that one and to ... Read the full article
Johan Larsson (22) battles Toronto’s Mark Arcobello on Oct. 21. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – When Johan Larsson scored his first goal this season Monday, the winner with 3:13 left in the Sabres’ 2-1 comeback win in Detroit, coach Dan Bylsma couldn’t quite read the center’s body language.
“Whether he was happy, relieved, matter of fact,” Bylsma said this morning after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. “I know he’s been pressing for a while now not having scored. To get that one ... Read the full article
Jamie McGinn has celebrated a lot of goals this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Right away, Jamie McGinn could hear the excitement in Ryan O’Reilly’s voice. It was June 26, and the two friends had just been traded from the Colorado Avalanche, only they didn’t know they would be joining the Sabres together.
So McGinn and O’Reilly called each other when they learned the full details of the blockbuster deal from television.
The two forwards had grown close over the years, and they knew moving to ... Read the full article
Jamie McGinn backhands the puck between his legs and past Los Angeles goalie Jhonas Enroth on Saturday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Usually, Ryan O’Reilly said, if he gets an open look in the slot, he likes to shoot low blocker side on the goalie. But given the Sabres center was falling in front of sliding defender Alec Martinez, he just had to take the best shot he could in overtime.
“I just tried to get it off in that area,” O’Reilly said Saturday after his 100th NHL goal – a nifty score at ... Read the full article
Los Angeles goalie Jhonas Enroth enjoyed his time in Buffalo. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Los Angeles Kings goalie Jhonas Enroth takes his fondest memories of his five year-run with the Sabres from the franchise’s darkest days.
Throughout all the losing and turmoil last season, he tended some of his best goal ever, briefly becoming the Sabres’ most valuable player.
Sure, Enroth detested losing. He usually looked beaten down after losses. Still, to the Swede, who briefly lived his dream of becoming the Sabres’ No. 1 goalie, some ... Read the full article
Linus Ullmark is 0-4-2 in his last six starts. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Right now, Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark’s struggles are “mostly mental things,” the Swede said this morning. In his last six starts, the rookie is 0-4-2 and has allowed 18 goals. In his last three starts, his save percentage is .859.
Remember, Ullmark, who will start tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, dazzled early on, winning four of his first six starts.
“We know that my game works,” Ullmark said inside the First ... Read the full article
Jean Dupuy already has 10 points with Rochester. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
ROCHESTER – The biggest early-season surprise on the farm hasn’t been Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste or Evan Rodrigues – three talented AHL rookie forwards many believe will play for the Buffalo Sabres someday.
While the prospects have contributed to the Americans at times, another first-year pro has outplayed them all. Remember this name: Jean Dupuy.
Who? Just 23 games into his career, Dupuy, an undrafted center from the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie ... Read the full article
Cody McCormick on Jan. 2 in his last home appearance. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Almost a year after Cody McCormick developed blood clots that spread to his lungs, the rugged Sabres forward has a new routine.
Most mornings, long before his teammates practice, he’s on the First Niagara Center ice helping rehab coordinator Dennis Miller work with two or three injured players. McCormick then hangs around the rink for bit, works out and heads home.
McCormick has no symptoms from the clots that briefly hospitalized him in ... Read the full article
