Jhonas Enroth will start tonight. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldMONTREAL – Shortly after he took over the Buffalo Sabres, interim coach Ted Nolan said he wanted to play franchise goalie Ryan Miller as much as he could. Sure enough, backup Jhonas Enroth sat two weeks between starts.
But Enroth’s 23-save performance in the Sabres’ 1-0 overtime loss last Saturday in New Jersey impressed Nolan, who didn’t like the Swede’s first start Nov. 16.
Enroth will start tonight against the Canadiens, a team he’s 3-0 against with a 2.33 goals-against average and …
Mark Pysyk returned Sunday after a one-game absence. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The Sabres switched their lineup for Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, sitting three players interim coach Ted Nolan dressed last game.
Defenseman Mark Pysyk, a surprise scratch for Thursday’s 4-1 loss in Philadelphia, returned. Nolan sat the rookie, one of the Sabres’ few bright spots this season, so he could evaluate other players.
“We only have a limited amount of time to see everybody, and I mentioned to him it wasn’t because he was playing poorly,” Nolan …
Mark Pysyk sat Thursday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The Sabres are changing up their lineup for this afternoon’s tilt against the Detroit Red Wings, sitting three players interim coach Ted Nolan dressed last game.
Defenseman Mark Pysyk, a surprise scratch for Thursday’s 4-1 loss in Philadelphia, will return. Nolan sat the rookie, one of the Sabres’ few bright spots this season, so he could evaluate other players.
“We only have a limited amount of time to see everybody, and I mentioned to him it wasn’t because he was …
Mikhail Grigorenko hasn't played for interim coach Ted Nolan yet. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Mikhail Grigorenko figured he’d be starting a two-week AHL conditioning assignment Wednesday. The 19-year-old Sabres prospect had already dropped his equipment off at the rink and checked into a Rochester hotel when a team front office member contacted him at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The NHL had rejected the assignment.
Grigorenko drove back to Buffalo and practiced with the Sabres hours later.
What happened?
“You read the rules and see how they work,” interim coach Ted Nolan said Wednesday inside the First Niagara …
Mark Pysyk's calm style has earned praise from his coach and teammates. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – First, as Mark Pysyk was sitting in his stall talking to a reporter Tuesday, Zemgus Girgensons approached the defenseman, extended his hand and smacked his roommate across the cheek.
“What’s that about?” Pysyk said as Girgensons scurried off.
Girgensons, the likable Pysyk said, was “going to get it bad.”
“He might get a tape ball,” he said.
Moments later, a laughing Nikita Zadorov approached Pysyk and slapped him again.
Three Sabres rookies. Two slaps. Lots of laughs.
“I think it’s a tight group and …
Tyler Myers (57) and Mike Weber (6) played together Tuesday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – In their three years as Sabres teammates, Tyler Myers and Mike Weber have rarely kept the same defense partner long.
Myers has spent significant time beside almost every established defenseman in recent seasons, a result of personal and team struggles. Weber, meanwhile, has only established himself as a regular presence in the last year.
Still, the two had never been paired together for more than a few shifts before Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning inside the …
Jhonas Enroth made his first start Saturday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – So, who’s starting in goal for the winless Sabres against the Tampa Bay Lightning?
“You’ll see tonight,” Sabres coach Ron Rolston said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.
Jhonas Enroth left the ice first following the morning skate, a sign the backup will likely receive his second straight nod with Ryan Miller nursing a sore groin.
Still, Miller participated fully in the skate and Matt Hackett, the organization’s No. 3 goalie, has been sent back to Rochester after dressing Saturday.
“How …
Marcus Foligno has three goals in two preseason outings. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – When Marcus Foligno’s dismal, five-goal season ended in April, the 22-year-old could’ve laid the blame on others or taken responsibility, Sabres coach Ron Rolston said.
“Whether they think it’s me or them, ultimately they got to make that change, and I think he took that ownership on that,” Rolston said Saturday prior to the Sabres’ 3-2 exhibition shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs before a capacity crowd of 19,070 fans inside the First Niagara Center.
Ten days into a …
Joel Armia skates this morning. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – The hype has been building since slick Finnish winger Joel Armia was selected 16th overall in 2011. In the 20-year-old, the Sabres possess a prospect so talented many believe he could crack the NHL right away.
Yet few have seen Armia, who spent the last three seasons playing at home in SM-liiga, up close.
Who exactly is this guy?
Fans will find out tonight, when Armia makes his Buffalo debut in the Sabres’ preseason home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes inside …
Jamie McBain had only one goal and eight points last season. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times HeraldBUFFALO – Jamie McBain disputes his former general manager’s belief he reported to training camp out of shape last season.
The new Sabres defenseman acknowledged Tuesday that workouts “kind of slipped away from me a little bit” during the lockout. But McBain had played briefly in Finland and felt ready for an abbreviated season with the Carolina Hurricanes following the work stoppage.
“My on-ice conditioning was just fine,” said McBain, who could face the Hurricanes tonight in an exhibition game at the …
Kudos to our @usahockey Paralympic team, inc this quintet, which was named today http://t.co/wwd9yck3Fc
