WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Sabres goalie Anders Lindback stops New Jersey’s Stephen Gionta on Friday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In Europe, handling the puck is “not a big thing for the goalies,” Sabres newcomer Anders Lindback said.
The bigger rink allows them to sling it and almost act as a third defenseman. European ice surfaces don’t have those pesky trapezoids designed to keep goalies in their net, either.
Handling the puck on the smaller North American ice surface with restrictions is difficult for NHL goalies. Very few do it well.
The 6-foot-6 ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko has one goal and two points in 13 games this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres recalled center Mikhail Grigorenko from Rochester this afternoon and sent center Tim Schaller and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel down.
Grigorenko’s sixth recall this season is another opportunity for the 20-year-old to prove he belongs in the NHL. So far, the Russian, the No. 12 pick in 2012, has compiled only one goal and two points in 13 outings this season.
The Sabres host the New Jersey Devils tonight at the First Niagara ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis (63) skates by Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon earlier this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – On an anemic team about to break its own dubious record for fewest goals scored in modern NHL history, slick Sabres winger Tyler Ennis has 18 goals.
The 25-year-old scored 21 times last season, when the Sabres scored only 150 goals. They have 126 goals through 70 games this season, a pathetic 148-score pace.
Through all the turmoil, through all the losses, Ennis has remained a consistent offensive threat with neophytes feeding him ... Read the full article
Anders Lindback has a .934 save percentage with the Sabres. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Anders Lindback likes to take a big-picture approach, so the Sabres goalie will examine his entire season when it ends. The Swede’s six-game hot streak means little to him right now.
The 26-year-old, a spare part before the March 2 trade deadline, has quickly morphed into a stud in net, posting a 2.41 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage in seven appearances (six starts) with his new club.
Lindback dazzled in his ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta should return next week. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – If Patrick Kaleta keeps progressing, the Sabres winger will likely miss three more games and return from his knee injury next Thursday against Arizona.
“It’s just how it reacts to battle drills and divots and all that sort of stuff,” Kaleta said Thursday after his first full practice. “I have more mobility in my knee now, so it’s building up the strength and getting the movements down. Once you start doing things that ... Read the full article
Anders Lindback takes an injection every other day to treat his Adult Still’s Disease. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As an 18-year-old playing for a second-league team in his native Sweden, Sabres goalie Anders Lindback started to experience flu-like symptoms.
“Like a rash, and it just got worse,” Lindback recalled recently inside the First Niagara Center.
Doctors couldn’t figure out Lindback’s problem. Eventually, he was hospitalized for a week.
“It was such a rare thing,” he said.
Lindback was later diagnosed with Adult Still’s Disease, a rare type of arthritis that “features ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta has missed 15 games. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Some quick updates from practice today inside the First Niagara Center:
– Sabres winger Patrick Kaleta (knee, 15 games) went through a full practice for the first time since undergoing surgery last month. Kaleta will likely miss the next three games and return next week.
“It’s just how it reacts to battle drills and divots and all that sort of stuff,” Kaleta said. “I have more mobility in my knee now, so it’s ... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart smiles at Team Canada’s camp in December. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – These are the final weeks of top Sabres prospect Sam Reinhart’s spectacular junior career.
As expected, the slick 19-year-old has dominated the Western Hockey League in his five months back with the Kootenay Ice, compiling 18 goals and 59 points in only 44 games.
But hockey observers knew Reinhart, the No. 2 pick in June, would be a superstar playing among teenagers again. The Sabres sent the intelligent center back to junior ... Read the full article
Sabres goalie Anders Lindback gloves a shot Monday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – After getting throttled nine days earlier in Washington, the Sabres wanted another crack at the Capitals oh-so badly. The blowout loss left the rebuilding club bitter.
“It was a stinker last time we were in Washington,” winger Tyler Ennis said Monday following the Sabres’ entertaining and spirited 4-3 shootout loss. “They had their No. 1 unit out when it was 5-1, and they scored to make it 6-1 and celebrated pretty hard.”
The ... Read the full article
Matt Ellis (37) skates Monday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – To Sabres center Matt Ellis, the AHL’s experiment with three-on-three overtime this season has created “a really exciting brand” of hockey.
The extra space allows players to freewheel all over the ice and have fun. Systems become an afterthought.
“The speed and the skill really shines through, the amount of open ice,” Ellis, who played 38 games in Rochester this season, said Monday prior to the Sabres’ 4-3 shootout loss to the ... Read the full article
