WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Jason Pominville tries to put the puck past Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick on Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
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
Robin Lehner makes a save on Los Angeles’ Nate Thompson Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The NHL trade deadline hits in eight days, and based on the feeble effort given in Saturday afternoon’s ugly 4-2 loss, some Sabres are waiting for the phone to ring.
Clearly, some players want to get the heck out of town.
Against a Los Angeles Kings team that had lost three straight games, the Sabres showcased nothing early on, falling behind 1-0 while getting outshot 19-8 in the first period.
... Read the full article
Alex Iaffalo signed as a free agent with Los Angeles. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The bus carrying family and friends from The Towne House, the tavern Alex Iafallo’s parents, Barb and Tom, own and operate in Hamburg, to KeyBank Center on Saturday was missing two notable passengers.
Eden natives Barb and Tom Iafallo.
Instead of watching Alex face the Sabres in his first NHL game in Buffalo, the Iafallos were in Columbus, Ohio, because their daughter, Julianna, a forward on the Ohio State women’s hockey team, was ... Read the full article
Anaheim’s Rickard Rakell scores on Robin Lehner on Feb. 6. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Fresh off a strong 33-save effort, Sabres goalie Robin Lehner will start this afternoon’s tilt against the Los Angeles Kings.
Lehner, who struggled in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Colorado, rebounded nicely in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Ottawa.
“It’s good to see him bounce back,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said inside KeyBank Center. “In that game, if it wasn’t for Robin, we wouldn’t have been in the game. He made some key saves, ... Read the full article
Kyle Okposo (21) skates away from Calgary’s Troy Brouwer last season. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Late in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss, Sabres defenseman Casey Nelson stymied a rush and quickly dished the puck up to winger Kyle Okposo.
Okposo then zoomed through the neutral zone and into the high slot when he noticed center Evan Rodrigues streaking down the right wing.
“I saw that their D was kind of shading over toward (Evander Kane), so I just tried to take the middle,” Okposo explained Friday. “I was ... Read the full article
Jordan Nolan (17) bears down on Montreal’s Philip Danault (24) on Oct. 5. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Jordan Nolan won two Stanley Cups in Los Angeles, so while the Sabres winger already played against the Kings in October, facing his old team for the second time will still be special.
“I have a lot of friends on that team, that’s where I started my career and we were successful from the start, so you always have that kind of bond no matter where you go,” Nolan, who was claimed on ... Read the full article
Chad Johnson has won two straight starts. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – After winning two games in a four-day span, doubling his season total, Sabres goalie Chad Johnson will likely take a back seat again to Robin Lehner tonight in Ottawa.
Lehner loves facing the Senators, his old team, and is 5-0-2 against them since joining the Sabres in 2015. A terrific outing could convince a playoff contender searching for a netminder – hello, Philadelphia! – to pursue the Swede.... Read the full article
Nick Baptiste scored early in Tuesday ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In the NHL, Sabres winger Nick Baptiste often skates short minutes on the fourth line, a role much different than the one he enjoys in the AHL.
But Baptiste, 22, has embraced his job as a fourth-line checker during his recalls to the Sabres this season, scoring two goals in nine games.... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart (23) celebrates his second-period goal with Evan Rodrigues (71) and Ryan O’Reilly (90) on Tuesday. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In the oddest of Sabres seasons, try figuring this one out: since top center Jack Eichel hurt his ankle Saturday, the NHL’s second-worst team has beaten the league’s two best.
In Tuesday’s 5-3 win against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning, terrific individual efforts, fine special teams play and a balanced attack buoyed the Sabres.... Read the full article
Cory Conacher played 19 games with the Sabres four years ago. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Two and a half years ago, former Sabres center Cory Conacher wanted a fresh start. So just months removed from regular NHL duty, the Canisius College product bolted overseas to Switzerland.
“The reason I went over was just to find a second wind,” Conacher said Tuesday prior to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-3 loss to the Sabres inside KeyBank Center.
Some risk, of course, accompanied leaving North America at 25 years old. Conacher, ... Read the full article
