Eichel - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Rasmus Ristolainen clinches Sabres’ overtime win against Oilers

BUFFALO – For more than one-quarter of the season, Rasmus Ristolainen, the Sabres’ workhorse defenseman, compiled the team’s oddest stat line: zero goals, 15 assists and 62 shots.

Despite averaging almost 27 minutes of ice time a night, Ristolainen, like the team’s other defensemen, couldn’t score.

Chalk it up it to bad luck. Chalk it up to his penchant for breaking sticks, which has often made him timid with the puck.

“We’ve been urging ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Erik Burgdoerfer waited for NHL opportunity

BUFFALO – Less than three years ago, Sabres defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer was an unknown ECHL journeyman stuck two rungs below the NHL.

Four seasons into his career, Burgdoerfer, 27, had barely even sniffed the AHL.

His NHL dream was dying.

“When you play in the ECHL for four straight years, you’re turning 25, you definitely have some times when you’re doubting yourself,” Burgdoerfer said Tuesday prior to his second NHL game, a 4-3 overtime win ... Read the full article

Less hype surrounds second meeting of Sabres’ Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid

BUFFALO – The hype has died down a bit for the second meeting between Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid, the two dynamic centers drafted first and second in 2015.

When McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers visited Buffalo on March 1, it felt like the Sabres were hosting a playoff game. KeyBank Center had a buzz not felt around these parts in years.

Of course, plenty of hype still surrounds tonight’s meeting. A game featuring the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel OK after ankle tweak

BUFFALO – Relax, Sabres fans. Center Jack Eichel, who tweaked his left ankle in Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Washington, will play tonight against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

“Going through an injury like this, you know it’s going to come back,” Eichel told a crowd of reporters this morning inside KeyBank Center.

High ankle sprains are notoriously tough injuries to overcome. Eichel dazzled early in his return, scoring three goals and ... Read the full article

Sabres’ offense struggles again in loss to Bruins

BUFFALO – Back to reality. Following two high-scoring, entertaining wins last week, the Sabres reverted back into their regular form Saturday afternoon, losing 2-1 to the Boston Bruins in a drab affair inside KeyBank Center.

Incredibly, it was the Sabres’ ninth 2-1 game this season. They’ve only played 24 times. It marked the 12th time they’ve scored one goal or less.

After three early shots, the Sabres went the final 15:16 of the first period ... Read the full article

Sabres having fun, thinking playoffs again with Jack Eichel back

BUFFALO – It was Sunday morning, more than two days before center Jack Eichel finally returned from his 21-game absence, when coach Dan Bylsma first noticed a change in his Sabres, owners of the NHL’s worst offense.

Thanks to Eichel’s presence in practice, Bylsma said he saw “confidence and an excitement brewing about us being able to score goals and how we need to play.”

Never mind the Sabres had lost eight of their ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel’s heroics push Sabres past Rangers

BUFFALO – For the first time this season, energy filled the KeyBank Center all night. Jack Eichel, the Sabres’ dynamic young star, was making his long-awaited home debut Thursday, and the normally quiet building buzzed with excitement.

Eichel couldn’t generate much early against the New York Rangers. The second-year center had some skate issues, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

But by the second period, it looked like Eichel might bust loose.

“He showed some ... Read the full article

Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey not worried about reaction from Sabres fans

BUFFALO – New York Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey isn’t sure how Sabres fans will react to him tonight.

“I’m not really worried about that,” Vesey said this afternoon inside KeyBank Center. “At the end of the day, I made one decision. It might’ve (ticked) some people off. It was never my intention.”

That decision, of course, was to pass on the signing with the Sabres, who acquired his rights June 20, and become an ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner questionable to back up tonight

BUFFALO – Late in the morning skate, Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who’s nursing a sore hip and questionable to even dress for tonight’s game, left the ice first.

Did it mean he was ready to play? The first goalie off almost always starts.

No. The Sabres still aren’t sure if Lehner will back up goalie Anders Nilsson tonight against the New York Rangers.

“It feels 90 percent, it’s a little stiff still,” Lehner said ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly ends slump with helmetless goal

BUFFALO – In his eight-year NHL career, Ryan O’Reilly has scored 117 times, so the Sabres center has about every type of goal on his impressive resume.

But after O’Reilly recently lost his helmet in the thick of the action and nearly scored, he started thinking – or, perhaps more appropriately, daydreaming – about getting a goal and celebrating without, as hockey players say, his “bucket.”

“We talked about this like two weeks ago,” O’Reilly ... Read the full article