St. Louis Blues - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Former Sabres captain Steve Ott playing like old self

BUFFALO – A season ago, months removed from hernia surgery, former Sabres captain Steve Ott played his usual high-octane style, but the gritty St. Louis Blues veteran chased the game.

The energy Ott showcased “was more hunting energy,” St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said Monday prior the Blues’ 2-1 win against the Sabres inside the First Niagara Center.

“He went out of his way for hits,” Hitchcock said. “He went out of his way to ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno rarely shooting

BUFFALO – On Nov. 10 in Tampa Bay, in his 14^th appearance this season, Sabres winger Marcus Foligno scored his only goal, a pedestrian wrist shot from the left wall Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy mishandled.

For Foligno, the shot was almost as rare as the goal.

“When he took that shot, he came back to the bench, he knew that was his eighth shot,” Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said this morning inside the First ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis needs to simplify

BUFFALO – It’s a fine line. As a shifty, speedy player who often creates highlight-reel goals few NHLers can pull off, Sabres winger Tyler Ennis’ instincts often tell him to go for the glitzy play.

But mired in one of the worst slumps of his 363-game career, Ennis, who hasn’t scored in nine games, knows he needs to go for the safer play.

“It’s tough because I know I can make the plays,” Ennis said ... Read the full article

Improved Sabres have long ways to go

BUFFALO – Realistically, one quarter into the season, seventh in the stacked Atlantic Division is a place many envisioned the Sabres would be at climbing out of their rebuild.

The 8-10-2 Sabres, as their current four-game losing streak (0-2-2) illustrates, are still a raw work in progress. They’ve already endured a string of ups and downs – a disappointing 2-6 start, a significant 6-2 run to reach .500 and injuries to defenseman Zach Bogosian and ... Read the full article

Sabres forwards struggling to generate offense

BUFFALO – Sabres coach Dan Bylsma believes Tyler Ennis’ recent erratic play is a result of pressing. The shifty winger, meanwhile, thinks he’s “just trying to play hard.”

Whatever the case, Ennis, who has zero goals in the last seven games, keeps trying to do too much.

“I think he’s trying to make a lot happen with every time he touches the puck,” Bylsma said Wednesday. “He has that mentality and (is) probably trying to ... Read the full article

Sabres don’t want moral victory from loss to Blues

BUFFALO – Thursday’s 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues was the Sabres’ 34^th defeat this season and their 15^th setback in the last 16 games. But against an NHL powerhouse, the league’s worst team held its own, carrying the play for stretches and generating some prime scoring chances.

If the Sabres converted a couple of opportunities – they had two clear-cut breakaways – then they might have upset the NHL’s hottest team. Instead, ... Read the full article

Ex-Sabres captain Steve Ott grateful for support in Buffalo

BUFFALO – They’re still all over town. Go to a Sabres game, walk around the mall or do some grocery shopping, and you’ll inevitably see someone wearing a No. 9 Steve Ott Sabres jersey.

“Must’ve been on sale when I got traded or something,” Ott joked Thursday prior to the St. Louis Blues’ 3-0 win, his first game in Buffalo since the Sabres dealt him Feb. 28. “I don’t know. Maybe they were just giving ... Read the full article

Former Sabres captain Steve Ott ready for Buffalo return with Blues

BUFFALO – Look out, Patrick Kaleta. Former Sabres captain Steve Ott said he wants a little revenge for the time you guys fought almost five years ago.

“He doesn’t really know, but I still owe him one for raising the roof when we got in a fight here,” Ott joked today after his St. Louis Blues prepared for tonight’s game. “I’ll be playing him a little harder than the others. But Patty’s one of my ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno nearing return; Nikita Zadorov out against Blues

BUFFALO – Before Marcus Foligno broke his hand fighting Boston’s Matt Bartkowski on Dec. 21, the Sabres center was enjoying perhaps the best run of his young career.

Foligno had just been moved to the middle by Sabres coach Ted Nolan. He had a three-game goal streak during the team’s torrid run earlier in December.

Still, Foligno, who could return this weekend, doesn’t want a do-over. Bartkowski hit Sabres captain Brian Gionta high after ... Read the full article

Sabres know trades will be coming soon

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan’s response raised some eyebrows. Coaches, after all, rarely acknowledge they have players who are ready to leave town.

But Tuesday in Montreal, hours before the Sabres’ 3-2 win ended their 14-game losing streak, Nolan, whose rebuilding club will likely be selling off assets soon, went a step further.

“We got some guys who could be very beneficial to some playoff teams,” Nolan replied when asked if coaching could be tougher because ... Read the full article