April Edition
BUFFALO – The NHL has suspended Sabres center Johan Larsson two games for cross-checking center Vincent Trocheck in the face late in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Larsson will miss two home contests: Saturday’s against the St. Louis Blues and Tuesday’s against the Anaheim Ducks.
NHL Player Safety conducted a hearing with Larsson today and announced the decision late this afternoon.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The emotion buoyed them, put the Florida Panthers back on their heels. Winger Evander Kane said the Sabres started possessing an “F-you attitude.”
Scrums and fights erupted late Thursday during a heated Atlantic Division tilt inside KeyBank Center. The Sabres even went after a head.
Of course, this all transpired after the Sabres allowed three straight goals and ended the first period trailing 3-1.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Nathan Beaulieu has never experienced a season as difficult as this one. In less than four months, injuries and illnesses have already sidelined the Sabres defenseman four times.
“Mentally and physically, it’s both challenging, but you got to find positives,” Beaulieu said prior to Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers inside KeyBank Center. “I’d rather deal with it now than later on in my career.”
BUFFALO – As Sabres goalie Chad Johnson endured 10 consecutive winless starts over a brutal three-month stretch, Andrew Allen kept relaying the same message.
“Don’t change anything,” Johnson said the goalie coach told him. “It’s just you’ve been getting some bad bounces, been a part of some tough games.”
Johnson, who will start tonight’s home tilt against the Florida Panthers, played well enough to win some games during his skid. Still, he hardly dazzled.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In what are likely his final days with the Sabres, winger Evander Kane said he’s trying to embrace his uncertain future.
Whether it goes down today, next week or hours before the Feb. 26 trade deadline, the last-place team will almost certainly deal Kane, an established scorer set to cash in as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“It’s not something I really try to block out,” Kane, who was reunited with top ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – At the 5:31 mark of the third period in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, Taylor Hall knocked Sabres winger Kyle Okposo into the boards from behind.
While Okposo bounced right back up, the hit, which only earned Hall a two-minute boarding minor, was scary.
“That’s the play you’re trying to eliminate, right?” Okposo said Wednesday after the NHL fined Hall $5,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. “There’s ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Friday’s ugly 4-1 loss to the hapless Florida Panthers should erase any belief the Sabres are a better team than their meager record indicates.
The loss, the Sabres’ 11th in 16 tries (5-9-2), dropped them below the Panthers into last place in the 16-team Eastern Conference, a spot they have occupied regularly for years.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Phil Housley laughed and sounded nostalgic recalling his memories of winger Dave Andreychuk and their eight seasons together as Sabres teammates.
The Sabres coach knows the 1980s aren’t regarded as the franchise’s golden era. Housley and Andreychuk advanced past the first round of the playoffs only once, as rookies in 1982-83. The decade is mostly known for its disappointment.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The community’s emotional response to Craig Lehner’s death has moved Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who will honor the Buffalo K-9 Officer tonight by wearing his name and radio number on a special Military Appreciation Night jersey.
The camouflage warm-up jersey has 43 and “C. Lehner” on the back. Craig Lehner, who died in a dive training exercise last month in the Niagara River, also served in the Army National Guard. The two have ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Right now, Sabres winger Evander Kane is happy, healthy and one of the NHL’s most dynamic players.
He has already compiled nine goals and 15 points in the opening 15 games. Going back to last year, he has scored 37 times in his last 73 appearances, the league’s fourth-highest total in that span. His 30 even-strength goals rank second in that time.
This season, Kane, center Jack Eichel and Jason Pominville have ... Read the full article
