Lehner - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres prospect Brendan Guhle still impressing; Dan Catenacci to debut

TORONTO – Instead of being in Canada’s largest city for an NHL exhibition game tonight, Buffalo Sabres prospect Brendan Guhle figured he’d likely be playing his first junior game this season about 3,000 kilometers away – hey, check the dateline – in Saskatchewan for the Prince Albert Raiders.

But the defenseman, the 51^st pick in June, will play his third straight preseason game tonight against the Maple Leafs inside the Air Canada Centre.

“Good ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel likely out against Leafs; Rasmus Ristolainen progressing

BUFFALO – Rookie center Jack Eichel likely won’t play in the Sabres’ third preseason game Friday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, coach Dan Bylsma said this morning.

Eichel, who had a goal and assist in his debut Monday, should play in Saturday’s road tilt against the Ottawa Senators. The Sabres will essentially use split squads for the next two games, Bylsma said.

Bylsma wants his regular goalies, Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson, to play ... Read the full article

Evander Kane scores twice in Sabres’ preseason loss to Senators

BUFFALO – A week ago, Sabres newcomer Evander Kane, a winger who has hit the 30-goal mark once in his six-year career, boldly said he wants score 40 or 50 times this season.

Was it brash? You bet. But Kane backed up his words Wednesday, starting his Sabres career splendidly by scoring twice in their 5-2 exhibition loss to the Ottawa Senators before an announced crowd of 17,298 fans inside the First Niagara Center.

“It ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Brendan Guhle making strong impression

BUFFALO – The odds, of course, are still very low Brendan Guhle will stick around. In the coming days, the Sabres will likely send the defense prospect, the 51^st pick in June, back to his junior club following an impressive training camp.

But Sabres coach Dan Bylsma left the door open just a crack for the 18-year-old.

“At least through one exhibition game and practice so far, he’s shown the ability that he could ... Read the full article

Goalie Robin Lehner to start against Senators; Jack Eichel out

BUFFALO – The voice is so loud, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma keeps looking back on the ice and wondering who the heck is yelling.

“His voice is like his size, it’s big,” Bylsma said about 6-foot-5 goalie Robin Lehner, who will start Wednesday’s preseason home opener inside the First Niagara Center against his old team, the Ottawa Senators.

Lehner, as anyone who has watched a training camp practice quickly learned, loves to communicate on the ... Read the full article

Veteran David Legwand happy to be with Sabres

BUFFALO – The other day, veteran Sabres center David Legwand, a 35-year-old starting his 16^th NHL season, asked rookie Jack Eichel when he was born.

“He said, ‘I was born in ’96,’” Legwand recalled Saturday. “I said, ‘I was drafted in ’98.’ That makes me really old.”

How old is Legwand? He played against Sabres coach Dan Bylsma, who turned 45 on Saturday and retired in 2004.

“He’s old enough that did happen,” Bylsma ... Read the full article

Sabres brimming with optimism

BUFFALO – In Denver, a city with almost 400,000 more people and four major league teams, Ryan O’Reilly blended in. Fans rarely recognized the new Sabres center on the street.

“I guess the market wasn’t the same as it is here, the excitement around,” O’Reilly said Thursday inside the First Niagara Center after the Sabres reported to training camp for physicals.

In hockey-mad Buffalo, O’Reilly, a June 26 acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche, keeps getting ... Read the full article

Even with roster mostly set, Sabres training camp has intriguing storylines

BUFFALO – For a team that just endured a brutal 54-point season and might have nine new faces in the lineup opening night, the Sabres should enjoy a remarkably quiet training camp, their first under new coach Dan Bylsma.

There are, of course, still some intriguing storylines to follow. Second overall pick Jack Eichel’s first days in the NHL promise to be exciting. Sam Reinhart, the franchise’s other top prospect, will be fighting for a ... Read the full article

Sabres newcomer Jamie McGinn wants to prove his worth

BUFFALO – Amid all the commotion surrounding one of the busiest and perhaps most pivotal days in the Sabres’ 45-year history, winger Jamie McGinn’s name got lost.

That happened because McGinn arrived in a blockbuster trade from the Colorado Avalanche with star center Ryan O’Reilly moments after the Sabres drafted phenom Jack Eichel and hours after they acquired starting goalie Robin Lehner in another big deal.

So McGinn, 27, a seven-year veteran, quickly became an ... Read the full article

Goalie Robin Lehner ready to become Sabres’ starter

BUFFALO – Having developed in the Ottawa organization when Tim Murray was the Senators’ assistant general manager, new Sabres goalie Robin Lehner knows the Buffalo GM well.

“He’s got a very nice smiling face,” Lehner joked about the notoriously serious Murray during a conference call Tuesday. “You guys can see that a whole lot. He’s a very serious guy to handle.”

Kidding aside, the two share a mutual respect. When the Sabres needed a starting ... Read the full article