WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Rasmus Dahlin (26) made his NHL debut Thursday. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Sabres coach Phil Housley kept talking, growing more agitated as the seconds ticked by following Thursday’s ugly 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.
How often does a team get booed off the ice on opening night? How often does it happen after 40 minutes?
The Sabres looked dreadful against a Bruins team that had been annihilated 7-0 the previous night. So much for all that optimism.... Read the full article
The Sabres acquired Tage Thompson on July 1. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Tage Thompson knows everything he just earned – one of 23 coveted roster spots and a place on a scoring line – can vanish in a hurry.
As a rookie a year ago, Thompson cracked St. Louis’ opening-night lineup just months after leaving college. The former first-round pick lasted four games before the Blues demoted him to the San Antonio Rampage.
“You never want to feel comfortable,” Thompson said prior to ... Read the full article
Phil Housley likes how his team welcomed its new players. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – The first glimpse of the new-look Sabres comes tonight, 180 days after they ended perhaps the worst season in franchise history.
Seven new faces will dress against the Boston Bruins, including first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin and winger Jeff Skinner, a two-time 30-goal scorer. The optimism surrounding the Sabres is well-deserved.
They’re a much different team than the dreadful one that finished in 31st place six months ago.
“They’re excited,” Sabres coach ... Read the full article
A lot of expectations accompany Rasmus Dahlin’s arrival in the NHL. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Long before the Sabres drafted Rasmus Dahlin first overall in June, he possessed more skill than most NHL players.
The Swede, 18, has been called the best defense prospect in decades. If rules allowed it, he probably could’ve thrived in the NHL even a year ago.
So Dahlin, who will make his long-awaited NHL debut tonight against the Boston Bruins in the season opener at KeyBank Center, will likely immediately contribute to the ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel doesn’t turn 22 until Oct. 28. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Jack Eichel was at home cooking dinner Tuesday night when his coach, Phil Housley, called and said the Sabres’ brass wanted to meet with him.
So Eichel left and drove to KeyBank Center. When he arrived, Housley, general manager Jason Botterill and owner Terry Pegula told the talented center he would be the 19th full-time captain in Sabres history.
“Really humbling moment,” Eichel said Wednesday inside KeyBank Center, where the Sabres open the ... Read the full article
Benoit Pouliot scores his first-period goal aganst Boston goalie Anton Khudobin on Sunday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Kyle Okposo is a self-proclaimed “hockey nerd,” so the Sabres winger plans to follow today’s trade activity closely until the 3 p.m. deadline.
“I’ll be probably looking at stuff most of the day,” Okposo said following Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 win against the Boston Bruins before 18,522 fans inside KeyBank Center. “It’s an exciting day for the league.”
While deadline day is always highly anticipated by fans, most players dread it. The hours leading ... Read the full article
Rick Nash skates in his Bruins debut Sunday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday, Rick Nash walked into KeyBank Center to meet his new teammates. Several minutes later, the veteran winger emerged from the dressing room clad in Boston Bruins apparel to chat with the media.
“I’ve only been here for five minutes and I can kind of sense that buzz, sense that excitement, the energy that a winning team has,” an excited Nash said prior to Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 loss to ... Read the full article
Evander Kane also sat out Saturday’s game. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As expected, Sabres winger Evander Kane, who will almost certainly be traded before Monday’s 3 pm deadline, will sit out this afternoon’s tilt against the Boston Bruins.
The Sabres, of course, don’t want to risk injury to their most valuable trade asset. Kane also was scratched for Saturday’s 5-1 loss in Washington.
Goalie Chad Johnson will start, so does that mean the Sabres have something brewing with starting netminder Robin Lehner, ... Read the full article
Briian Gionta (12) skates between Anaheim’s Hampus Lindholm (47) and Brandon Montour (71) last season. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Boston Bruins today signed former Sabres captain Brian Gionta to a one-year contact worth a prorated $700,000.
Gionta, 39, passed on NHL opportunities before the season so he could represent Team USA at the Pyeongchang Games, his second Olympics. The Greece native captained the Americans to a seventh-place finish.... Read the full article
Jack Eichel has played all 55 games this season. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel left Saturday’s 4-2 win in Boston in the first period after his right leg bent awkwardly as he fell into the end boards.
Eichel, who got tangled with Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, then skated off on his own as he grimaced in pain.
Following the Sabres’ second straight victory, coach Phil Housley had no update on Eichel, the team’s only NHL All-Star.... Read the full article
