Florida Panthers - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Former Sabres star Thomas Vanek still moving around NHL

BUFFALO – If you’re counting, former Sabres star Thomas Vanek just joined his fifth team – yes, the number’s really that high – since leaving town early in 2013-14.

The Panthers acquired Vanek, 33, as a rental from the Detroit Red Wings prior to the trade deadline, making Florida the latest stop in what has become a crazy four seasons.

After nine seasons here, the Austrian has morphed into the NHL’s most well-traveled star, also ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Brian Gionta ready for 1,000th game

BUFFALO – As another trying season winds down, the Sabres finally have something special to celebrate. Captain Brian Gionta will play his 1,000th NHL game tonight, and his teammates couldn’t be more excited.

“That’s a huge, huge honor in this league, a huge milestone and accomplishment,” Sabres winger Marcus Foligno said. “A thousand games in the NHL is rare.”

Tonight is all about Gionta, the 38-year-old Greece native who has enjoyed a long and unlikely ... Read the full article

1,000-game milestone special for Sabres captain Brian Gionta

BUFFALO – Over his 15 NHL seasons, Sabres captain Brian Gionta has seen plenty of players hit the prestigious 1,000-game mark, one of hockey’s toughest milestones.

But one time still stands out vividly.

As a member of the Montreal Canadiens, Gionta’s teammate, defenseman Hal Gill, played his 1,000th game early in 2011-12. Apparently, Gionta, then a 32-year-old in his 10th season, thought his friend was ancient.

“At the time, I thought, ‘Holy crap, that guy’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno on fixing hair mid-fight: ‘I’m sure he had a laugh’

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Marcus Foligno has a simple explanation why he fixed his hair at a bizarre time – during a heavyweight scrap against Shawn Thornton, the NHL’s dean of fighters – in Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.

“Just try to get readjusted and get ready for round two of the first fight,” a smiling Foligno said this morning inside KeyBank Center.

The bout was a fight lover’s dream, the 6-foot-3, ... 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

Dmitry Kulikov excited by opportunities Sabres offer

BUFFALO – When the Sabres examined defenseman Dmitry Kulikov as a potential trade target, the team’s decision-makers studied video of the Florida Panthers’ first-round playoff series.

While the Panthers lost to the lower-seeded New York Islanders in six games, Kulikov’s performance wowed them. In critical tilts, the Russian thrived playing a No. 1 shutdown role against the Isles’ top talent.

Those outings helped convince the Sabres they needed to pursue the Russian, who believes he ... Read the full article

Dmitry Kulikov on joining Sabres: ‘Change is sometimes for the best’

BUFFALO – When the Florida Panthers acquired Keith Yandle’s rights last week, Dmitry Kulikov was initially excited the team had an offensive defenseman in its arsenal.

But three days later, the Panthers signed Yandle to a seven-year, $44.45 million contract. With the NHL Draft just a day away, Kulikov, 25, said he was starting to have doubts he would stay in Florida.

“I was comfortable in Florida,” Kulikov, who was traded to the Sabres on ... Read the full article