Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Benoit Pouliot moving around

BUFFALO – When the Sabres signed Benoit Pouliot to a one-year contract July 1, it was expected they would utilize the veteran as a utility winger all over the lineup.

Sure enough, nine games into the season, Pouliot has already skated on a slew of lines.

In Saturday’s 5-4 come-from-behind overtime win in Boston, Pouliot mostly played at left wing with center Ryan O’Reilly and Jason Pominville, a top scoring trio. Pouliot scored his ... Read the full article

Goalies Robin Lehner, Chad Johnson playing ‘great’ despite Sabres’ struggles

BUFFALO – Through nine games, the Sabres have allowed a whopping 35 goals, the NHL’s second-highest number.

In this defensive era, a figure even approaching three goals a game usually means a team is struggling. The Sabres, who roared back Saturday in Boston to stun the Bruins 5-4 in overtime, have allowed 3.89 an outing.

No wonder they’re 2-5-2 and winless at home in three tries entering tonight’s tilt against the Detroit Red Wings at ... Read the full article

Sabres sign Cliff Pu to entry-level contract

BUFFALO – The Sabres have signed Cliff Pu, one of their top forward prospects, to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced today.

Pu, 19, has 52 goals and 132 points in 178 career Ontario Hockey League games with the London Knights and Oshawa Generals.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo responds to benching

BUFFALO – A day after getting benched, Sabres winger Kyle Okposo was noticeably better in Saturday’s 5-4 come-from-behind overtime win in Boston.

Okposo looked engaged and more like the veteran who usually averages more than 20 goals and 50 points a season.

After the Sabres roared back from three goals against the Bruins, Okposo nearly won it in the final minutes, hitting the crossbar from the slot.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Redmond overcame stroke, severed artery to play in NHL

ROCHESTER – When Kim Howser spotted her son, Buffalo Sabres newcomer Zach Redmond, stretching on the family’s dining room table that day almost five years ago, she said “pure panic” overwhelmed her.

Just weeks earlier, as some Winnipeg Jets extras skated prior to their Feb. 21, 2013 road game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Redmond nearly died in a harrowing accident on the PNC Arena ice.... Read the full article

Short-handed goal dooms Sabres again in loss to Canucks

BUFFALO – By now, you figured the Sabres’ disturbing early-season penchant for allowing short-handed goals would’ve been corrected.

Four in the first three games? Yikes! That can’t continue, right?

Well, eight contests into what looks like another lost season, the reeling Sabres haven’t bucked the trend. A short-handed goal – incredibly, the Sabres have already allowed a whopping six – swung the momentum again in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks before 18,050 fans ... Read the full article

Season with Sabres ignited goalie Anders Nilsson’s NHL career

BUFFALO – Goalie Anders Nilsson figured after a breakout season in which he emerged as one of the NHL’s top backups, the Sabres would be interested in re-signing him.

In his first start-to-finish NHL campaign, Nilsson performed strongly, going 10-10-4 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a sparkling .923 save percentage.

Nilsson, 27, morphed into a terrific option for the Sabres, pushing starter Robin Lehner while showcasing consistency throughout his 26 appearances.... Read the full article

Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson grateful for season with Sabres

BUFFALO – Goalie Anders Nilsson figured after a breakout season in which he emerged as one of the NHL’s top backups, the Sabres would be interested in re-signing him.

In his first start-to-finish NHL campaign, Nilsson performed strongly, going 10-10-4 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a sparkling .923 save percentage.

Nilsson, 27, morphed into a terrific option for the Sabres, pushing starter Robin Lehner while showcasing consistency throughout his 26 appearances.... Read the full article

Injuries force Sabres to recall Taylor Fedun; Chad Johnson to start

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ rash of injuries forced them to recall Taylor Fedun this morning. Will the defenseman play tonight against the Vancouver Canucks?

“I was the odd man out in practice today, so I assume I will not be,” Fedun said this morning after skating inside KeyBank Center.

The 1-4-2 Sabres are so banged up, they summoned Fedun from the Rochester Americans just so they have an extra player tonight.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly starting to produce

BUFFALO – Ryan O’Reilly’s ability to adapt to an evolving game has helped the talented center morph from an unheralded second-round pick into an NHL All-Star and the Sabres’ most versatile player.

“Every year you got to reinvent your game,” O’Reilly said Thursday. “What worked last year at certain times isn’t going to work this year at certain times. It’s finding a new way and finding different things. It’s on myself.”... Read the full article