Offseason Edition
BUFFALO – Amid all the chaos that materialized around him, Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark calmly moved around his crease, making save after save in Tuesday’s thrilling 5-4 shootout victory.
Right now, having allowed 39 goals over the last nine contests, the Sabres are a mess defensively. So Ullmark can be forgiven for allowing four goals.
Ullmark still stopped 41 shots and all three shootout attempts against the Minnesota Wild, securing just the Sabres’ third win ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – This trip was more relaxing. A year ago, Marcus Foligno said he experienced “a lot of nerves” visiting here as an opponent.
“Now it’s just another road game,” said the Buffalo-born Foligno, who’s in his second season with the Minnesota Wild after spending six years with the Sabres.
He added: “It’s always special to come back to Buffalo. You get a little bit excited.”
Foligno, 27, has settled in nicely with the Wild, ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In the last month or so, Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark has regularly earned starts over Carter Hutton.
Instead of simply playing the second game of a back-to-back set, Sabres coach Phil Housley has utilized Ullmark eight times in the last 11 contests.
Two of those appearances, including the final 20 minutes of Friday’s ugly 7-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, came in relief of the struggling Hutton.
Ullmark, 25, will start again ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Following a recent four-game look with the Sabres, winger C.J. Smith returned to the AHL and promptly went on a tear, scoring a hat trick in his first outing.
Smith, 24, performed splendidly, recording five goals and 12 points in eight games after the Sabres sent him to the Rochester Americans.
“He got the right message,” coach Phil Housley said Monday after the Sabres recalled Smith again.
Smith, who has compiled 18 goals ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Jordan Nolan grew up in a winning culture. The Sabres winger won two Stanley Cups in his first three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings.
To Nolan, the Kings’ accountability helped buoy their success. If you made a mistake or needed a push, someone would tell you.
“If I made a mistake in my fifth year, a higher guy was telling me, ‘You need to work harder, you need to get that puck ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In Minnesota, the standard is much different, nothing like popular former Sabres wingers Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno experienced here.
“You’re coming to a team that’s goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and Buffalo’s still in a rebuild,” Ennis said Wednesday prior to scoring his first goal in 10 games early in his return to KeyBank Center.
The reeling Sabres rank last in the Eastern Conference, losers of seven straight games after ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In Minnesota, the standard is much different, nothing like popular former Sabres wingers Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno experienced here.
“You’re coming to a team that’s goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and Buffalo’s still in a rebuild,” Ennis said this afternoon.
Yes, the reeling Sabres rank last in the Eastern Conference, losers of six straight games entering tonight’s tilt. Despite a 9-8-3 record, the Wild are last in the ultra-competitive Central ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – It can be argued no one was more excited about Phil Housley taking over the Sabres than defenseman Zach Bogosian.
Throughout training camp, Bogosian looked refreshed by the coach’s presence. Housley, a Hall of Fame defenseman, would finally help Bogosian unleash his potential, right?
Then Bogosian said he “just felt a tweak” in the third period of the preseason finale Sept. 29. The Massena native hasn’t played since suffering the lower-body injury.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – While perhaps a step slower at 34 years old, Sabres winger Jason Pominville still showcases many of the talents that have helped him score 267 goals and once made him an NHL All-Star.
Wednesday against his old team, the Minnesota Wild, Pominville will likely be reunited with center Jack Eichel and Evander Kane. At an age when most players are retired or graying, Pominville is still playing on a top scoring line.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – NHL general managers, the Sabres’ Jason Botterill said, are “very greedy.”
“You always want to have more defense out there,” Botterill said Friday after after acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella and bringing back former captain Jason Pominville from the Minnesota Wild for wingers Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno.... Read the full article
