Lindback - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres captain Brian Gionta on loss to Coyotes: ‘Our fans were cheering for us’

BUFFALO – Unlike his teammate Mike Weber, who ripped the hometown fans, Sabres captain Brian Gionta wouldn’t go there.

Gionta played almost 25 minutes in the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime loss Thursday, a game in which the hometown fans rooted for the Arizona Coyotes. Surely, the veteran heard the loud cheering inside the First Niagara Center.

“No, our fans were cheering for us,” Gionta insisted this afternoon. “We have great fans. We have a great ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Mikhail Grigorenko grateful for Ted Nolan’s honesty

BUFFALO – Sabres center Mikhail Grigorenko appreciates coach Ted Nolan’s honesty and tough love. The 20-year-old Russian sees it as a sign of support.

“I know everyone wants me to succeed in this organization,” Grigorenko said Thursday prior to the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes inside the First Niagara Center. “Everyone has their ways. Teddy, he thinks being hard on me is only going to help me.”

Nolan ripped Grigorenko following his ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Matt Hackett to start against Coyotes

BUFFALO – Naturally, starting Matt Hackett, a goalie with a weak .893 save percentage, over Anders Lindback, who has a gaudy .926 save percentage, for tonight’s McEichel showdown against the Arizona Coyotes might raise a few eyebrows.

But Sabres coach Ted Nolan has plenty of reasons to start Hackett, who made 40 saves in Saturday’s 3-0 loss in Nashville. The 25-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t play five more games.... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Matt Hackett ready for start, must deal with soreness

BUFFALO – Almost a year later, Matt Hackett hasn’t fully recovered from his torn right ACL. The goalie still experiences soreness after games, so the Sabres want him to rest.

The 25-year-old performed strongly in Saturday’s 3-0 loss in Nashville, making 40 saves. But Sabres coach Ted Nolan started Anders Lindback on Monday in Dallas.

Hackett will likely start tonight’s contest against the Arizona Coyotes, his fourth nod this season.

“He fought through a long ... Read the full article

Steve Bernier earns new claim to fame in Devils’ win over Sabres

BUFFALO – During a 17-game run with the Sabres late in 2007-08, Steve Bernier mustered only three goals, two of which he scored in his first game. The winger mostly disappeared after that, and he was quietly traded to Vancouver months later.

Mention Bernier’s name around some Sabres fans, and inevitably someone will bring up his rollicking debut.

Now, after Bernier’s two-goal performance Friday in the New Jersey Devils’ 3-1 win against the Sabres, the ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Anders Lindback possesses elite puck-handling ability

BUFFALO – In Europe, handling the puck is “not a big thing for the goalies,” Sabres newcomer Anders Lindback said.

The bigger rink allows them to sling it and almost act as a third defenseman. European ice surfaces don’t have those pesky trapezoids designed to keep goalies in their net, either.

Handling the puck on the smaller North American ice surface with restrictions is difficult for NHL goalies. Very few do it well.

The 6-foot-6 ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan on Sabres’ Tyler Ennis: ‘The sky’s the limit’

BUFFALO – On an anemic team about to break its own dubious record for fewest goals scored in modern NHL history, slick Sabres winger Tyler Ennis has 18 goals.

The 25-year-old scored 21 times last season, when the Sabres scored only 150 goals. They have 126 goals through 70 games this season, a pathetic 148-score pace.

Through all the turmoil, through all the losses, Ennis has remained a consistent offensive threat with neophytes feeding him ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Anders Lindback knows hot streak means little

BUFFALO – Anders Lindback likes to take a big-picture approach, so the Sabres goalie will examine his entire season when it ends. The Swede’s six-game hot streak means little to him right now.

The 26-year-old, a spare part before the March 2 trade deadline, has quickly morphed into a stud in net, posting a 2.41 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage in seven appearances (six starts) with his new club.

Lindback dazzled in his ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Anders Lindback lives with rare type of arthritis

BUFFALO – As an 18-year-old playing for a second-league team in his native Sweden, Sabres goalie Anders Lindback started to experience flu-like symptoms.

“Like a rash, and it just got worse,” Lindback recalled recently inside the First Niagara Center.

Doctors couldn’t figure out Lindback’s problem. Eventually, he was hospitalized for a week.

“It was such a rare thing,” he said.

Lindback was later diagnosed with Adult Still’s Disease, a rare type of arthritis that “features ... Read the full article

Sabres play Capitals tough, fall in shootout

BUFFALO – After getting throttled nine days earlier in Washington, the Sabres wanted another crack at the Capitals oh-so badly. The blowout loss left the rebuilding club bitter.

“It was a stinker last time we were in Washington,” winger Tyler Ennis said Monday following the Sabres’ entertaining and spirited 4-3 shootout loss. “They had their No. 1 unit out when it was 5-1, and they scored to make it 6-1 and celebrated pretty hard.”

The ... Read the full article