December Edition
TORONTO – Who expected Buffalo Sabres defenseman Colin Miller would be a healthy scratch once this season, let alone six times before December?
But a crowded blue line – the Sabres have seven healthy defensemen, including five right-handed shots – forced them to bench one in eight recent games.
Miller, 27, was usually the odd man out.
“I’m not getting many bounces lately,” Miller said prior to Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs ... Read the full article
TORONTO – In his last seven starts, Buffalo Sabres goalie Carter Hutton has struggled mightily, compiling a 0-5-2 record with a 4.02 goals against average and an .869 save percentage.
Hutton, 33, will start tonight against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, only his second nod in seven games. He earned his last win Oct. 22.
“He’s ready for it,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said this morning. “We feel good. His spirits are good, he’s ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Coach Ralph Krueger said he could feel the electricity hours before captain Jack Eichel starred in the Sabres’ wildly entertaining 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The season’s first meeting against their fiercest rival would be more than a normal regular-season contest.
“You could feel that it was a highlight day,” Krueger said following Friday afternoon’s win before the bipartisan sellout crowd of 19,070 inside noisy KeyBank Center. “It was an experience ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Like most elite prospects, Casey Mittelstadt was a dynamic scorer in junior and college. So struggling for weeks sometimes in the NHL has been a new experience for the Sabres winger.
“It’s not easy, I’m not going to lie,” Mittelstadt said after scoring in Friday afternoon’s 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs inside KeyBank Center, his first goal in 17 games. “But at the same time, I’ve scored pretty much my whole ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In the second period Wednesday, Sabres rookie Rasmus Asplund grabbed a loose puck in the right corner, spun off a defender in the circle and quickly cut to the net.
Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson hectored the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Asplund in the slot, but he fended him off before creating a prime scoring chance goalie David Rittich stymied.
Asplund’s seventh NHL game, a 3-2 overtime loss, was perhaps his best performance since the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In the last month, a wretched stretch in which the Sabres have lost 11 of 13 games and plummeted down the standings, winger Jimmy Vesey said he has seen some positives.
“There’s a lot of games I think we liked the way we played for most of it,” Vesey said after scoring a breakaway goal for the second straight game in Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames.
But what has that ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The two-game suspension the NHL laid on Erik Cernak for elbowing Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in the face and concussing him seems light.
Cernak, who wasn’t penalized for the hit, can return to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s lineup Saturday. Dahlin, meanwhile, is out indefinitely, the Sabres announced prior to Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames.
“We’re just going to accept the result as it is,” coach Ralph Krueger said inside KeyBank ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Sooner or later, it felt like Jean-Sebastien Dea would receive his first recall to the Sabres.
The Sabres, having lost seven forwards this month, sorely need help. Meanwhile, recalls and the Rochester Americans’ own run of injuries whittled away their depth up front.
By last week, the AHL affiliate only had two or three healthy forwards with NHL contracts.
On Monday, the Sabres summoned Dea, who said he will play tonight against ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The concussion defenseman Rasmus Dahlin suffered in Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning will sideline him indefinitely, the Sabres announced this morning.
The NHL suspended Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak two games Tuesday for elbowing Dahlin in face.
“We’re just going to accept the result as it is,” coach Ralph Krueger said after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames at KeyBank Center. “Again … you would always rather ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Forward Vladimir Sobotka underwent successful surgery on his right knee and is out indefinitely, the Sabres announced this morning.
After Sobotka, 32, was injured Nov. 8 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Stockholm, Sweden, the Sabres said he would miss four to six weeks.
However, according to the Sabres, team doctors decided surgery would be the appropriate action for the Czech’s recovery.
Sobotka was injured when star Nikita Kucherov hit him low and ... Read the full article
