Winter Edition
BUFFALO – This is probably only a temporary benching. Sabres coach Phil Housley plans to give winger Tage Thompson another opportunity soon.
But for the first time since Nov. 8 and the eighth time this season, Thompson, 21, sat out as a healthy scratch Thursday.
Center Johan Larsson replaced him for the Sabres’6-5 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Thompson, a big piece of the Ryan O’Reilly trade with the St. Louis Blues, had played ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – This is probably only a temporary benching. Sabres coach Phil Housley plans to give winger Tage Thompson another opportunity soon.
But for the first time since Nov. 8 and the eighth time this season, Thompson, 21, will sit out a game as a healthy scratch tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Center Johan Larsson will replace him.
Thompson, a big piece of the Ryan O’Reilly trade with the St. Louis Blues, has played the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Not long before Sabres winger Tage Thompson began his freshman year at UConn, he was 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds.
Then Thompson experienced a growth spurt over the summer of 2015. By the time he got to campus, he was a lanky 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds.
“So three inches and 20 pounds over the course of a summer,” Thompson said Friday inside KeyBank Center. “Then that following year, (I) grew another inch, put on ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Captain Jack Eichel has been the named the Sabres’ lone NHL All-Star Game representative for the second straight season.
Eichel, 22, has compiled 15 goals and team-high 49 points in 40 games this year.
Considering every team must be represented and teams are chosen by division, there are always some significant snubs. Incredibly, Sabres winger Jeff Skinner, whose 26 goals are tied for second in the NHL, was left off the Atlantic ... Read the full article
Not much has changed for ex-Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly in St. Louis. The Blues utilize him constantly, relying on him to play big minutes. Just like in Buffalo, the versatile center quickly seized his opportunities, morphing into perhaps his new team’s best player.
And just like in Buffalo, O’Reilly has endured a lot of losing.
The Blues, one of the NHL’s heavyweights for years, just missed the playoffs last season, earning 94 points. When they ... 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 – As Sabres forward Patrik Berglund began struggling this season, the reality of his hefty contract began to set in.
Not only does Berglund have a $4.7 million salary and a $3.85 million cap hit this year, he has three more seasons remaining.
The Swede, 30, performed so poorly he morphed from the Sabres’ second-line center into a healthy scratch by the seven-game mark. When he played, he often skated short minutes on the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Having grown up with a father who played pro hockey, Sabres winger Tage Thompson has a unique understanding of the dues-paying process that accompanies developing into an NHL player.
Before Thompson’s father, Brent, began his coaching career, he played 121 NHL games as a defenseman in the 1990s, mostly with the Los Angeles Kings.
Brent, like his son, shuttled between the big leagues and the minors as a youngster and probably sat out ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Vladimir Sobotka’s arrival here was mostly overlooked. Of course, that isn’t surprising given the Sabres acquired the Czech forward in a blockbuster trade just hours after free agency opened.
The Sabres signed a few new players, including starting goalie Carter Hutton, early on July 1. Then they dished former NHL All-Star Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues for three players and a first-round pick that night.
Winger Tage Thompson, perhaps ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel have been Sabres teammates for 263 games over the last three-plus seasons.
In that time, Reinhart, 23, has compiled 67 goals and 151 points. On two occasions, the winger enjoyed a three-goal outing. In five other games, he recorded three points.
But Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 come-from-behind shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks might’ve been Reinhart’s best performance ever, according to Eichel.
“I thought Reino played awesome,” Eichel said. ... Read the full article
