WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
TORONTO – This embarrassing Buffalo Sabres’ loss feels like a killer, one that could ultimately extinguish the playoffs hopes that seemed so promising less than two days ago.
Against the reeling, 14th-place Maple Leafs – a team that had dropped 11 consecutive games inside the Air Canada Centre and began Saturday on an awful 5-17-3 run – the Sabres fell 4-3 in their arch rival’s first home win since Feb. 6.
Ouch. If ... Read the full article
Clarke MacArthur thinks Toronto fans have a right to voice their displeasure. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
TORONTO – By the third period of the hapless Maple Leafs’ 11th consecutive home loss Thursday, the remaining fans inside the Air Canada Centre – normally some of the NHL’s quietest and most corporate patrons – finally had enough.
Watching the Philadelphia Flyers throttle their Leafs 7-1 put the self-proclaimed “Center of the Hockey Universe” in a baseball mood.
“Let’s go Blue Jays” fans chanted three times, getting pretty loud by the end.
Yikes!... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Beaten down, broken and seemingly finished at several points this season, the Sabres’ tight 3-1 triumph over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday – their 18th win in 28 tries – bumped the scorching club into the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
On Feb. 17, the Sabres fell into the cellar, nine points out of the last postseason spot.
If the Sabres, who lead ninth-place Washington by two points (84-82), hold on, the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Travis Turnbull said he never stopped believing he’d crack the NHL someday. Still, the odds looked stacked against the undrafted center. The Sabres possess a slew of talented youngsters and high-priced veterans in Rochester.
The 25-year-old Turnbull’s name has rarely popped up as a prospect since he was inked out of the University of Michigan in 2009.
The Sabres had already summoned six forwards from the AHL this season when Turnbull’s phone rang ... Read the full article
Marcus Foligno already has five goals and seven points just six games into his career. ©2012, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – NHL success can be fleeting, especially for 20-year-olds thrown headfirst into a ferocious postseason race. Today’s hero can quickly become overwhelmed the next day.
With five goals and seven points just six games into his career, winger Marcus Foligno’s already enjoying one of the greatest rookie stretches in the Sabres’ 41-year history.
Only Phil Housley (nine points, 1982-83) and Ray Sheppard (seven, 1987-88) have tallied seven or more points in their first six ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – With star defenseman Tyler Myers banished three games for hitting Montreal’s Scott Gomez into the boards from behind, the Sabres went 1-0-2, earning four of a possible six points.
Now, with his full fleet of defensemen back for tonight’s tilt against the Montreal Canadiens at the First Niagara Center, what does Sabres coach Lindy Ruff do?
“I really think we’re going to keep all seven going,” Ruff said Tuesday.
What does that mean? ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Lindy Ruff said he “was surprised, disappointed” that the NHL banned Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers three games for ramming Montreal’s Scott Gomez into the boards from behind.
Both the coach and Myers knew the boarding penalty Monday, which concussed Gomez, would probably earn a suspension. But three games for a player with a clean record?
“I felt that as a first-time offender it was a little harsh,” Ruff said Wednesday prior to the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Uh-oh. Starting tonight, the ninth-place Sabres will be missing star defenseman Tyler Myers for three straight games during their furious fight for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
Early Tuesday night, the NHL suspended Myers for ramming Scott Gomez’s head into the boards from behind Monday in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens.
“At no point during Myers’ approach to the check does he see anything other than Gomez’s back,” ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Just two months ago, allowing the tying goal with 3.5 seconds left in regulation likely would’ve cooked the Sabres, defenseman Tyler Myers said.
“I would say it would be very tough for our group,” said Myers, whose goal 2:01 into overtime Monday clinched a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens, the surging Sabres’ ninth triumph in 12 tries.
Back in January, the Sabres had morphed into a disjointed, ugly mess. They wilted under ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In the first period Wednesday, after the lethargic Sabres coasted back during a power play and nearly fell behind 2-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes, Lindy Ruff finally had enough.
When the guilty players reached the bench, the coach reamed them out.
“The first period, it wasn’t a great period on our part,” Ruff said following the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime triumph inside the First Niagara Center. “Some of it was execution. Some of it ... Read the full article
