Rochester Americans - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres trade Evander Kane to Sharks

BUFFALO – The Sabres this afternoon traded winger Evander Kane to the San Jose Sharks, according to multiple reports.

The Sharks sent the Sabres a conditional first-round pick, a conditional fourth-rounder and center prospect Danny O’Regan, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Stay tuned for more details. Sabres general manager Jason Botterill swung the deal about 45 minutes before the 3 p.m. trade deadline. O’Regan, 24, is a Boston University product with 22 games of ... Read the full article

Amerks demanding more from Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander

BUFFALO – Chris Taylor prefaced his comments with a reminder Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander is still a teenager, one of the AHL’s youngest players, and coming off a lower-body injury that cost him all of training camp and six weeks of the season.

“We always forget how young he is and he went through a major injury this year, too,” the Rochester Americans coach said prior to Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch inside ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Justin Bailey struggling to score after ankle injury

BUFFALO – Chris Taylor knows winger Justin Bailey better than anyone in the Sabres organization.

Before the Americans coach left Rochester for a year, he was an assistant with the AHL club, helping the Williamsville native earn his first NHL recall as a rookie two seasons ago.

Taylor mentored Bailey, 22, watching him develop from a raw prospect into a youngster the Sabres have played 47 times over the last three seasons.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Casey Nelson earning regular duty on blue line

BUFFALO – Earlier this season, if you had asked Casey Nelson if he could play 20 minutes a night in the NHL, often against the opposition’s top line, the Sabres defenseman would’ve given you a straightforward answer.

“I’d say there’s no chance, there’s no way,” Nelson said Wednesday inside KeyBank Center.

But in tonight’s tilt in Detroit, Nelson, 25, will likely play big minutes on the second defense pair, meaning he’ll face some of the ... Read the full article

Barry Trotz believes Phil Housley has plan for Sabres

BUFFALO – Barry Trotz was working late Sunday, so the Washington Capitals coach sent a trainer to see if Phil Housley, a former assistant, was still in his office inside KeyBank Center.

Housley was there, so Trotz and his old friend caught up for a little while.

Trotz, a mentor to Housley, is the NHL’s dean of coaches, having continuously led a team since 1998-99, when he took over the expansion Nashville Predators.... Read the full article

Sabres winless in afternoon games

BUFFALO – The Sabres have performed terribly in afternoon games this season, going 0-5-1. In their last two, including Saturday’s ugly 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, opponents have outscored them 11-3.

The reeling Sabres, who are a point away from falling in dead last in the NHL, have another afternoon tilt Monday against the Washington Capitals, who got annihilated 7-1 on Saturday in Chicago.

Yikes!... Read the full article

Sabres struggle in first game without Jack Eichel, lose to Avalanche

BUFFALO – The Sabres can soften Jack Eichel’s loss, of course, if some of their other top players – think Ryan O’Reilly and Rasmus Ristolainen – step up and seize additional opportunities in his absence.

If they don’t, what could happen without Eichel, their most dynamic presence and leading scorer? They won only 16 of their first 55 games with Eichel, who’s sidelined indefinitely after suffering a high right ankle sprain Saturday.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel out indefinitely with high ankle sprain

BUFFALO – Sabres center Jack Eichel is out indefinitely after suffering a high right ankle sprain early in Saturday’s 4-2 win in Boston, the team announced this afternoon.

Only eight weeks are left in another miserable Sabres campaign, so Eichel’s season could be over.

The injury, of course, is familiar to Eichel. When the Sabres’ only NHL All-Star suffered a high left ankle sprain on the eve of the 2016-17 season opener, he missed the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Evan Rodrigues back beside college linemate Jack Eichel

BUFFALO – Three years ago, Jack Eichel and Evan Rodrigues formed perhaps college hockey’s best duo, piling up points during Boston University’s run to the national championship game.

Eichel won the Hobey Baker Award as a freshman. Meanwhile, Rodrigues enjoyed a monster senior season, compiling 61 points in 41 games.

“We kind of knew where each other were all over the ice,” Rodrigues said Thursday prior to scoring his first goal in 22 games. “We ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Casey Nelson becoming regular

BUFFALO – Call Casey Nelson the forgotten Sabres defenseman. As injuries ravaged the blue line earlier this season, he stayed in Rochester, playing big minutes as the Americans got off to their best start in years.

The Sabres recalled Nelson in mid-November. But he only sat out as a healthy scratch before going back to the AHL later in the month.... Read the full article