Jamie McBain sat four games recently. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldMONTREAL – Jamie McBain wanted to know why he was sitting so much. So the defenseman dissected the four games he had played under Ted Nolan, the Buffalo Sabres’ new interim coach.
“I couldn’t come to an answer myself,” McBain said Saturday prior to the Sabres’ 3-2 loss to the Canadiens inside the Bell Centre.
So the 25-year-old, a healthy scratch four straight games recently, approached Nolan.
“I wanted to kind of hear his opinion on it,” McBain said. “(He) was kind of …
Jhonas Enroth will start tonight. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldMONTREAL – Shortly after he took over the Buffalo Sabres, interim coach Ted Nolan said he wanted to play franchise goalie Ryan Miller as much as he could. Sure enough, backup Jhonas Enroth sat two weeks between starts.
But Enroth’s 23-save performance in the Sabres’ 1-0 overtime loss last Saturday in New Jersey impressed Nolan, who didn’t like the Swede’s first start Nov. 16.
Enroth will start tonight against the Canadiens, a team he’s 3-0 against with a 2.33 goals-against average and …
Mikhail Grigorenko played well at the world junior championship the last two years. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko knows watching NHL games as a spare forward is hurting his development.
“I can’t be sitting in the press box. I need to play,” Grigorenko said Thursday morning inside the First Niagara Center. “Everybody understands this.”
Luckily, the Sabres’ new regime understands how vital ice time is to Grigorenko’s maturation, so the team’s letting the 19-year-old center play for Russian at the upcoming world junior championship in Sweden.
“I think it’s going to be great for me …
Mikhail Grigorenko could be playing somewhere else soon. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The Sabres are “discussing all possibilities” to find 19-year-old prospect Mikhail Grigorenko playing time, interim coach Ted Nolan said Tuesday.
That means the Sabres could loan the center, a healthy scratch the last two games, to Russia for the world junior championship later this month if he’s invited. He could also get sent back to the junior Quebec Remparts.
“We’re not 100 percent sure what we’re going to do,” Nolan said following practice inside the First Niagara Center.
Nolan said Grigorenko, …
Brian Flynn plays the game cleanly. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The streak ended 4:57 into the third period of the Sabres’ 1-0 overtime loss Saturday.
In his 53rd NHL game, forward Brian Flynn was whistled for hooking New Jersey’s Steve Bernier, his first NHL penalty.
How did Flynn, who takes a regular shift, avoid getting penalized until his second NHL season?
“I don’t know, probably because I’m not that physical,” Flynn said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “That’s how most of the penalties are in the league … finishing …
Mark Pysyk returned Sunday after a one-game absence. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The Sabres switched their lineup for Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, sitting three players interim coach Ted Nolan dressed last game.
Defenseman Mark Pysyk, a surprise scratch for Thursday’s 4-1 loss in Philadelphia, returned. Nolan sat the rookie, one of the Sabres’ few bright spots this season, so he could evaluate other players.
“We only have a limited amount of time to see everybody, and I mentioned to him it wasn’t because he was playing poorly,” Nolan …
Mark Pysyk sat Thursday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The Sabres are changing up their lineup for this afternoon’s tilt against the Detroit Red Wings, sitting three players interim coach Ted Nolan dressed last game.
Defenseman Mark Pysyk, a surprise scratch for Thursday’s 4-1 loss in Philadelphia, will return. Nolan sat the rookie, one of the Sabres’ few bright spots this season, so he could evaluate other players.
“We only have a limited amount of time to see everybody, and I mentioned to him it wasn’t because he was …
The Riverside Ice Rink was so cold Saturday that Ryan Miller could see his breath. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – As a 29-year-old veteran of 107 NHL games, defenseman Alexander Sulzer gives the struggling Sabres some much-needed stability, interim coach Ted Nolan said.
“We’re running around the defensive zone a little bit too much,” Nolan said Saturday after the Sabres prepared for this afternoon’s game against the Detroit Red Wings inside the First Niagara Center.
That’s why Nolan and Pat LaFontaine, the president of hockey operations, watched Sulzer play Friday in Rochester. The Sabres recalled him following the game.
“We got …
Alexander Sulzer practices today. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – As a 29-year-old veteran of 107 NHL games, defenseman Alexander Sulzer gives the struggling Sabres some much-needed stability, interim coach Ted Nolan said.
“We’re running around the defensive zone a little bit too much,” Nolan said this afternoon following practice inside the Riverside Ice Rink.
That’s why Nolan and Pat LaFontaine, the president of hockey operations, watched Sulzer play Friday in Rochester. The Sabres recalled him following the game.
“We got a lot of young talent,” Nolan said. “We got to …
Mikhail Grigorenko hasn't played for interim coach Ted Nolan yet. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Mikhail Grigorenko figured he’d be starting a two-week AHL conditioning assignment Wednesday. The 19-year-old Sabres prospect had already dropped his equipment off at the rink and checked into a Rochester hotel when a team front office member contacted him at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The NHL had rejected the assignment.
Grigorenko drove back to Buffalo and practiced with the Sabres hours later.
What happened?
“You read the rules and see how they work,” interim coach Ted Nolan said Wednesday inside the First Niagara …
