Kyle Okposo (21) hurt his ribs Thursday. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo week-to-week; Nick Deslauriers moves into lineup

BUFFALO – With leading scorer Kyle Okposo week-to-week after hurting his ribs, instead of recalling a forward, the Sabres will dress Nick Deslauriers for tonight’s tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Deslauriers, a healthy scratch the last four games, has zero points this season. Okposo has 19 goals and 43 points.

The Sabres can’t exactly fill Okposo’s void.

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said Okposo has the same injury winger Evander Kane suffered opening night, meaning ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel has been piling up points lately. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres’ Jack Eichel enjoying career-best stretch

BUFFALO – Sabres center Jack Eichel understands his history of scoring and penchant for shooting the puck has helped label him a goal scorer.

After all, the talented American has scored 39 times in his short career. In only 43 games this season, he has pumped a whopping 173 shots on goal, the NHL’s highest total since his season debut.

Still, Eichel, 20, said when he gets the puck on his stick, his first ... Read the full article

Ryan O’Reilly believes the Sabres play better when they think less. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres surging halfway through season

BUFFALO – Suddenly, the Sabres have some hope. Three wins in four games will create that. So will the type of victories they’ve earned.

In addition to Saturday afternoon’s thrilling come-from-behind win against Winnipeg, a tilt emotional enough it felt like it could change their season, the Sabres have played two of their best games of 2016-17 this month.

In beating Philadelphia 4-1 on Tuesday, a game that mirrored their 4-1 road win against the ... Read the full article

Zemgus Girgensons (28) and Tampa Bay’s Ryan Callahan battle in front of Robin Lehner on Thursday. ©2016, Janet Schultz, Olean Times Herald

Snakebitten Sabres fall to Lightning

BUFFALO – Early in the second period of Thursday’s dreary 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, goalie Ben Bishop gifted the Sabres’ anemic offense a chance it sorely needed to tie the game.

Stationed behind his net, Bishop blindly threw the puck up the middle of the ice to a waiting Kyle Okposo. The Sabres’ leading scorer then quickly let a low wrist shot loose toward the open net.

“That one was on the ... Read the full article

Taylor Fedun is a productive AHL defenseman. ©2016, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans

Sabres notes: Taylor Fedun debuts against Lightning

BUFFALO – Had Taylor Fedun been healthy enough to participate in training camp, then perhaps the Sabres would’ve recalled the high-scoring defenseman earlier this season.

But Fedun, who made his Sabres debut Thursday, fractured his foot in April playing with the Utica Comets, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate. The Princeton product didn’t begin skating again until the day before training camp started, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

So while Fedun, 28, participated in meetings with ... Read the full article

Steven Stamkos is a lethal scorer. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Lightning confident it can overcome Steven Stamkos’ injury

BUFFALO – On the surface, it might look like a season-killing injury for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Two-time 50-goal scorer Steven Stamkos could reportedly miss four months after tearing his lateral meniscus in an innocent-looking play Tuesday in Detroit.

The Lightning captain plans to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery in Colorado, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who also reported a four-month recovery is a best-case scenario.

Stamkos, 26, and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin are the only superstars ... Read the full article

Casey Nelson struggled in limited action. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres recall Taylor Fedun to replace Casey Nelson

BUFFALO – Had Taylor Fedun been healthy enough to participate in training camp, then perhaps the Sabres would’ve recalled the defenseman earlier this season.

But Fedun, who will make his Sabres debut tonight, fractured his foot in April. He didn’t skate again until the day before training camp started, coach Dan Bylsma said.

After finally joining Sabres practices Oct. 1, Fedun said he was still behind a week or two following his assignment Rochester Americans ... Read the full article

Dan Bylsma will coach his 500th NHL game tonight. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Reeling Sabres playing close games

BUFFALO – When did we see this type of stretch from the Sabres – lots of dull, tight games they inevitably lose – before?

About three weeks ago, shortly after the season started, when they dropped four straight contests. After a brief turnaround, the Sabres are experiencing a similarly dreadful run entering tonight’s tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the start of a four-game home stand at KeyBank Center.

Having lost five straight games (0-3-2), ... Read the full article

Tyler Ennis has three goals and seven points this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis knows he can improve

BUFFALO – When Dan Bylsma and Tyler Ennis discuss the speedy Sabres winger’s play, the coach rarely has to give the young veteran his opinion.

That’s because Ennis, who can often be critical of his own game, usually beats Bylsma to the punch.

“He tells me the same thing he’s told you,” Bylsma said Monday following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “I know (he’s) probably been a little hard on himself a handful of ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Chad Johnson makes a save on Tampa Bay’s Ondrej Palat on Thursday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Sabres fall apart early, lose to Lightning

BUFFALO – Following a wretched first period Thursday in which the Sabres fell behind 3-0, coach Dan Bylsma, desperate for a spark, yanked goalie Linus Ullmark, a rookie whose fine performances had the upstart club gunning for its first three-game winning streak in 11 months.

“I don’t know how he’s going to handle it,” Bylsma said following the Sabres’ 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, “but I made it pretty clear it wasn’t ... Read the full article