Offseason Edition
TORONTO – Fresh off a 99-point regular season, the Rochester Americans looked poised to start a long playoff run deep into the spring.
The Buffalo Sabres’ top affiliate possessed a strong mix of prospects and veterans, terrific scoring balance and perhaps the AHL’s best depth.
It was hard to find a weakness on the Amerks, a team constructed to win the Calder Cup.
For an organization that hasn’t won anything on any level in a ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Since Brandon Montour spent three and a half seasons in California playing for the Anaheim Ducks and their AHL affiliate in San Diego, the Sabres newcomer wasn’t exactly prepared for the harsh northeastern winter.
So on Wednesday, his first day in Buffalo, the defenseman spent part of his day off at a local mall purchasing some items to help him endure the elements.
After Montour returned to his snow-covered rental car, he tweeted ... Read the full article
Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner will be playing for the Atlantic Division in the upcoming NHL All-Star Game.
Skinner, the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer with 29, earned a spot today as part of the “Last Men In” online voting the NHL conducted for the last week.
More than 11.5 million votes were cast, including more than 2 million Thursday, the final day of voting, according to the league.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – When former Sabres goalie Chad Johnson entered free agency and began studying teams he could potentially join, he zeroed in on the St. Louis Blues.
Johnson, 32, examined the Blues on paper, talked to people familiar with them and did enough homework to feel comfortable signing a one-year, $1.75 million contract July 1.
“I thought it was going to be a good fit,” Johnson, who endured a rough season with the Sabres in ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – On April 1, defenseman Matt Hunwick made his 521st NHL appearance, skating just over 12 minutes in Pittsburgh’s 3-1 loss in Washington.
More than eight months later, Hunwick, 33, hasn’t played another game. That should, however, change tonight for the Sabres newcomer, who has missed the first 31 contests this season recovering from a neck injury.
The Sabres plan to have Hunwick start an AHL rehab assignment with the Rochester Americans, Sabres coach ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In his first nine pro seasons, Sabres goalie Carter Hutton hit the 50-game mark just once, in 2012-13 with the Rockford Ice Hogs, his final AHL campaign.
So while Hutton, 32, has enjoyed a solid NHL career tending goal for four teams, he has never really been the guy in the big leagues until this season.
Sure, he played a career-high 40 games as a rookie in 2013-14, but that was mostly subbing ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Celebrations like the one the Sabres threw for Jason Pominville’s 1,000-game milestone often mean a long, distinguished career is entering its final stage.
These days, with 30 being considered old by NHL standards, very few players possess longevity like Pominville’s. Even fewer keep producing offense like they’re still in their mid-20s.
But right now, Pominville, a winger who has compiled 285 goals and 710 points over his NHL seasons, looks like he’s still ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Of all the places it could’ve been played, it turns out Jason Pominville will hit the prestigious 1,000-game mark tonight in Ottawa, the site of the winger’s signature moment, the dynamic short-handed overtime goal against the powerhouse Senators that pushed the underdog Sabres into the 2006 Eastern Conference final.
“(I) had some great, great moments there, probably my best moment as a player there,” Pominville said earlier this week inside KeyBank Center. “The ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – If the Sabres eventually morph into a playoff team, remember the significance of the five-game road trip they just completed, especially the back-to-back wins they closed with in Los Angeles and Anaheim.
The Sabres went 3-2-0 on the 10-day trip, starting with a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes before suffering consecutive losses.
While they fell behind 2-0 in Thursday’s 5-1 setback to the San Jose Sharks, they got back in the game, ... Read the full article
For years, Martin Biron only knew about Ray Emery’s ultra-competitive side.
Their 2007 fight, the centerpiece of a memorable brawl between Biron’s Buffalo Sabres and Emery’s Ottawa Senators, ranks among the wildest goalie scraps ever and provided the seminal moment of the teams’ fierce post-lockout rivalry.... Read the full article
