Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff named finalist for Jack Adams Award

BOSTON – For the fifth time in his career, Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

“That just means our coaching staff did one hell of a job,” Ruff said of his nomination today in the Four Seasons One Dalton. “This isn’t a one-man job. The hours these guys have put in and where we got to, a complete team effort.”

This season, Ruff and his staff led the ... Read the full article

If Sabres’ Logan Stanley can’t face Bruins, Michael Kesselring gets chance

BOSTON – Buffalo Sabres defenseman Logan Stanley will be a game-time decision tonight against the Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said.

Ruff said Stanley, who has been sick, skated this morning. The rest of the Sabres stayed off the ice as they prepared for Game 6 of the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Sabres lead 3-2 and can win a playoff series tonight for the first time since 2007.... Read the full article

As Sabres try to eliminate Bruins again, confident Tage Thompson believes he will start scoring

BOSTON – In the regular season, Sabres center Tage Thompson endured five stretches of at least four games in which he did not score a goal.

Even the most dynamic scorers – Thompson just cracked the 40-goal mark for the third time in four seasons – are streaky. It’s normal. They’re not going to score every game.

Of course, on the grand stage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, everything is magnified. A short four-game drought ... Read the full article

Sabres recall prospects from Rochester; Logan Stanley questionable for Game 6

BUFFALO – The Sabres have recalled seven prospects from the Rochester Americans to serve as Black Aces – extra players during a playoff run – after their AHL affiliate’s season ended.

Goalie Devon Levi, forwards Konsta Helenius, Riley Fiddler-Schultz and Anton Wahlberg and defensemen Ryan Johnson, Vsevolod Komarov and Radim Mrtka have all joined the Sabres.

The players will practice in a separate group from the Sabres, who play Game 6 of their first-round playoff ... Read the full article

Nerves and playing too safe hurt Sabres as they tried to eliminate Bruins

BUFFALO – In the Sabres’ first attempt to eliminate the Boston Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said he sensed some nerves in his players.

Remember, 13 Sabres have made their debuts in the Stanley Cup Playoffs during their first-round series. Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series taught them finishing off an opponent is one heck of a challenge.

Fresh off a five-goal victory in Boston, the Sabres, who lead the series ... Read the full article

Sabres lose Noah Ostlund to injury for ‘period of time’

BUFFALO – Sabres rookie Noah Ostlund will be sidelined “a period of time” after suffering a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime playoff loss to the Boston Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said.

“The news wasn’t good, don’t exactly know how much (time),” Ruff said this morning in KeyBank Center.

With Ostlund out, center Josh Norris, who has missed the last three games, will likely move into the lineup for Game 6 of the first-round playoff ... Read the full article

Sabres lose game to Bruins in OT, Noah Ostlund to injury: ‘It doesn’t look good’

BUFFALO – Since the Sabres morphed into an NHL heavyweight almost five months ago, they’ve lost three consecutive games just once.

Their ability to quickly put away games – good and bad – has helped them showcase remarkable consistency.

For the Sabres to lose their first-round playoff series, they would have to drop three straight games.

The postseason, of course, is a different animal. Still, since early December, the Sabres, who on Tuesday lost 2-1 ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Peyton Krebs thriving in first playoff action; Josh Norris misses another game

BUFFALO – As he rounded out his game, developing into a versatile, high-octane presence, Sabres winger Peyton Krebs wanted to tailor his style to meet the rigors of playoff hockey.

“That’s what I try to base my game off, you know?” Krebs told the Times Herald on Tuesday prior to Game 5 of the Sabres’ first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. “Compete, grit, get in battles, make plays under high pressure.”

Those qualities have ... Read the full article

Josh Norris could miss another game as Sabres try to close out Bruins

BUFFALO – Coach Lindy Ruff said this morning that forwards Josh Norris, Tyson Kozak and Jason Zucker are all available to play tonight in Game 5 as the Sabres try to clinch their first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins.

But will they all play?

Norris did not take any line rushes during the morning skate and was one of the last Sabres off the ice, meaning he will likely miss his third straight game ... Read the full article

Alex Lyon’s unique personality strikes chord with Sabres: ‘A guy who we’ve all grown to love’

BUFFALO – Alex Lyon loves to talk. Off the ice, the loquacious Sabres goalie, an affable, down-to-earth personality, always seems to offer some thoughtful words.

On planes rides, winger Josh Doan often has discussions with Lyon, who attended Yale University, about hockey and other subjects.

“We negotiate pretty good,” Doan said in KeyBank Center, where if the Sabres beat the Boston Bruins tonight in Game 5, they will win their first series in the Stanley ... Read the full article