Okposo - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ youngsters stand out in overtime loss to Red Wings

BUFFALO – Rookie Victor Olofsson heard Jack Eichel calling for the puck, so he quickly spun around along the right boards and adroitly fed the Sabres captain as a zoomed down the slot.

A second later, an uncovered Eichel beat Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, tying the game 15:42 into the third period Thursday.

“I was just trying to get it in there in the middle,” Olofsson said following his NHL debut, a 5-4 ... Read the full article

Sabres end losing streak, get building roaring again

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Kyle Okposo heard the crowd roaring and wanted in on the action.

For a 27-second stretch late in the third period of Sunday afternoon’s entertaining 4-3 shootout win, the Sabres started thumping every opponent in sight.

The normally docile fans inside KeyBank Center grew louder and louder with each hit.

So Okposo wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to hit St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.... Read the full article

Ending goal drought would be moral victory for reeling Sabres

BUFFALO – Having completed his two-game suspension, leading scorer Jack Eichel will return for tonight’s road contest against the Carolina Hurricanes. So maybe, just maybe, the hapless Sabres can end their embarrassing goal drought.

Forget about the Sabres’ six-game losing streak. At this point, simply scoring a goal – they’ve been shut out three straight games – would be a huge moral victory.

Incredibly, the Sabres haven’t scored in 197:40, a shocking stretch of futility ... Read the full article

Reeling Sabres get shut out again, lose sixth straight game

BUFFALO – Late in the second period of Thursday’s ugly 5-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a disgruntled fan had enough of the Sabres’ awful performance and gave Jason Botterill his unvarnished thoughts.

“Botterill, this is garbage!” the fan yelled to the general manager, who was sitting in a nearby box, as the Sabres trudged to their third consecutive shutout loss, one of the lowest points in franchise history.

Right now, few would argue that ... Read the full article

Sabres generate more offense, still fall to Stars

BUFFALO – Right now, it feels like the Sabres might not win another game this season.

Sure, they made progress in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss, pumping 35 shots on goal and attempting 61 overall. Five-on-five, they probably outplayed the Dallas Stars.

Of course, any effort would’ve looked better than their last one, Saturday afternoon’s miserable 3-0 loss in Colorado. In a downright terrible offensive display, the Sabres produced only nine shots in the opening 50 minutes ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander ready to seize chance in NHL

BUFFALO – On Feb. 27, Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander played his 13th straight game without scoring a goal. At that point, nearly five months into his third AHL campaign, the chances of the slick winger earning a recall looked slim.

Nylander, 21, enjoyed a strong training camp this season, nearly forcing the Sabres to keep him. The Swede parlayed that into a terrific start with the Rochester Americans, scoring six goals and 17 points ... Read the full article

Players say Phil Housley has changed Sabres for better

BUFFALO – Barely two years ago, Phil Housley was the NHL’s hottest assistant before the Sabres hired him as the 18th head coach in franchise history following the Nashville Predators’ run to the Stanley Cup final.

The move was almost universally lauded. Housley, a Hall of Fame defenseman and one of the greatest Sabres ever, was returning to a team and city close to his heart.

Housley’s defense corps in Nashville showcased the fast, aggressive ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen frustrated by struggles

BUFFALO – The statistic has dogged Rasmus Ristolainen throughout his six-year NHL career. It has never improved, even after the Finn morphed into the Sabres’ top workhorse and a 40-point defenseman.

Since Oct. 3, 2013, the start of Ristolainen’s rookie season, he has compiled the league’s worst plus-minus rating, an awful minus-135 over 412 games.

How ugly is that number? Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has accumulated the second-worst rating over that stretch, a minus-93 ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Nathan Beaulieu on trade deadline: ‘No one really likes this day’

TORONTO – Last month, during a stretch in which he sat out 21 of 25 games as a healthy scratch, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu requested a trade.

But suddenly, Beaulieu, 26, has started earning regular action again, playing three straight games entering tonight’s contest against the Maple Leafs.

So perhaps the Sabres will keep Beaulieu past today’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

Update: The Sabres have traded Beaulieu to the Winnipeg Jets for a ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo ready to play after suffering concussion

TORONTO – The smile on Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo’s face said everything.

After missing four games due to a concussion – “More precautionary than anything,” he said – Okposo will play again tonight against the Maple Leafs.

“Definitely more neck than anything,” an excited Okposo said this afternoon inside Scotiabank Arena. “Got that work done and I feel good.”... Read the full article