October Edition
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Jimmy Vesey has quickly learned to like what his new city offers, including the easy drive to work.
Vesey, who spent three seasons with the New York Rangers, already knows he can get anywhere in about 15 or 20 minutes.
“There’s a big convenience factor, I think, in terms of commuting and everything like that,” Vesey said prior to Monday afternoon’s 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars. “I’m settling in nice.”... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Sooner or later, the unheralded Sabres line of Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo was due to erupt for some goals.
For more than four games, the trio consistently generated offense, buzzing around the opponent’s zone.
A combination regarded as the fourth just a week ago has quickly morphed into the Sabres’ most reliable line.
But other than one Okposo goal, the players hadn’t done any scoring.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Winger Kyle Okposo still remembers the first time he and some other Sabres watched rookie Victor Olofsson shoot the puck.
It was training camp in 2018, and Olofsson had just arrived for his first North American season after leading the Swedish Hockey League in goals.
What Okposo and the others saw wowed them.
“We were just like, ‘Who is this kid who can shoot the puck like this?’” Okposo said Thursday inside KeyBank ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Throughout his career, Ralph Krueger has refused to number lines. The Sabres coach said it’s one of his core philosophies.
Krueger believes everyone, no matter how small the role, contributes to a team’s success. Ranking forward trios or defense pairs would take away from that.
“I just (have) the respect for the depth that teams need to be successful and the role players that I need,” Krueger said after the 2-0 Sabres prepared ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – One by one Rick Jeanneret introduced them, 15 in all, including some of the greatest names in Sabres history.
Gilbert Perreault, the most iconic name, received a rousing standing ovation from the capacity crowd of 19,070. The fans roared for Danny Gare and Jason Pominville, two of the most popular players in franchise history.
Before the Sabres started Saturday’s 7-2 annihilation of the New Jersey Devils, they kicked off the home portion ... Read the full article
PITTSBURGH – In almost equal preseason action, Buffalo Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark outplayed Carter Hutton, posting a goals-against average 64 points lower and a save percentage 49 points higher than his partner.
But Hutton, 33, handled the load last season, playing a career-high 50 games.
Sabres coach Ralph Krueger, who said everything was up for competition during training camp, probably wants to show Hutton respect on opening night against the Penguins.
The veteran will ... Read the full article
PITTSBURGH – Kyle Okposo figures they spent 10 minutes talking about hockey. For most of the evening, the three Buffalo Sabres veterans dining with their new coach, Ralph Krueger, discussed their backgrounds and families.
The sport that consumes so much of their lives didn’t come up much.
“We barely talked about hockey,” Okposo said of the get-together.
When the Sabres hired Krueger on May 15, he hadn’t coached in the NHL in six years. ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – New Sabres coach Ralph Krueger announced today he has named center Marcus Johansson and defenseman Jake McCabe alternate captains for the 2019-20 season.
“We feel that that’s a strong group for the ice,” Krueger said following today’s practice inside KeyBank Center.
Johansson and McCabe replace defenseman Zach Bogosian and winger Kyle Okposo.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – For seven months last season, Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt lived the hectic NHL life. The rookie practiced almost daily, played 77 games and logged thousands of air miles traveling across North America.
Mittelstadt, 20, had never experienced anything like it.
Then in the second week of April, everything stopped. When the season ended, Mittelstadt quickly became bored.
“You go from 100 mph to literally zero,” Mittelstadt said prior to Wednesday’s 4-3 preseason overtime ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – An upper-body injury will sideline Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe the rest of the preseason, the team announced this morning.
“It was in practice yesterday, just light upper body,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said inside KeyBank Center. “We’re expecting him to be good to go for the first league game.”
McCabe, 25, has battled shoulder problems in the past.
In addition to McCabe, four other Sabres defensemen – Zach Bogosian (hip), Matt Hunwick (neck), ... Read the full article
