Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Justin Bailey could earn promotion to scoring line

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Justin Bailey, the AHL’s hottest scorer, mostly practiced on the fourth line today beside center Derek Grant and Nick Deslauriers.

Grant and Deslauriers have zero goals and three assists between them in 45 games this season. Bailey, meanwhile, has scored five goals and seven points in his last five games with the Rochester Americans.

While Bailey, who was recalled this morning, might start on the fourth line Saturday afternoon in ... Read the full article

Stunned Sabres blow early lead, lose critical game to Bruins

BUFFALO – Ten minutes after Thursday’s demoralizing 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins, the anger and shock that accompanies blowing a two-goal lead hadn’t worn off. As some stunned Sabres spoke quietly, cursing from a restricted area behind the dressing room occasionally erupted.

It was that kind of loss for the Sabres, a team already fighting for its playoff life.

The Sabres, slow starters all season, pounced on the Bruins, playing perhaps their best hockey ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Tyler Ennis joins teammates on ice

BUFFALO – Without his explosiveness and the ability to juke opponents, speedy Sabres winger Tyler Ennis believes he’s “pretty useless out there.”

“I have to be able to use my agility, my speed, my quickness to create space,” Ennis said Thursday morning after skating with his teammates inside KeyBank Center.

Ennis, 27, couldn’t do any of that earlier this season. The longest-tenured Sabre said he felt something “gradually getting worse” in his groin. An examination ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno fighting often

BUFFALO – In the last four games, Sabres winger Marcus Foligno has fought three times, as many scraps as the young veteran had in his previous 58 outings.

Why has Foligno, 25, been fighting so much recently?

“There’s games where I feel like we haven’t played our best, so you need a spark … you might show a little bit of frustration out there,” Foligno said Wednesday inside KeyBank Center.

Frustration and payback. In ... Read the full article

Tyler Ennis skates with Sabres, has no timetable for return

BUFFALO – Without his explosiveness and the ability to juke opponents, speedy Sabres winger Tyler Ennis believes he’s “pretty useless out there.”

“I have to be able to use my agility, my speed, my quickness to create space,” Ennis said this morning after skating with his teammates inside KeyBank Center.

Ennis, 27, couldn’t do any of that earlier this season. The longest-tenured Sabre said he felt something “gradually getting worse” in his groin. An examination ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Dmitry Kulikov out against Bruins; Cody Franson set to return

BUFFALO – Back in June, when the Sabres acquired Dmitry Kulikov from the Florida Panthers, they envisioned the Russian as a minute-munching partner for No. 1 defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

Six months later, Kulikov, thanks to a lower-back injury he has battled all season, has had little or no impact in only 20 appearances.

The injury will sideline Kulikov, 26, again for tonight’s tilt against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank Center.

“It’s something that Dmitry’s dealt ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel refreshed for second half after short break

BUFFALO – Long after Sabres center Jack Eichel leaves the rink, his struggles still weigh heavy in his mind.

“I take it home,” Eichel said Wednesday after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s tilt against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank Center.

So naturally, Eichel’s frustration was visible as his career-long five-game pointless streak hit as the Sabres lost four straight contests before their Christmas break.

“You could see it in his body language,” Sabres coach Dan ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner OK after stick to neck; Tyler Ennis progressing

BUFFALO – Some quick updates from KeyBank Center, where the Sabres practiced this afternoon following Tuesday’s 4-3 win in Detroit:

– Goalie Robin Lehner, who took a stick to the throat against the Red Wings, and defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Jake McCabe all missed practice with maintenance days, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

Lehner, who has an abrasion on his neck from teammate Zach Bogosian’s stick, saw a doctor this morning “as more of a ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly out indefinitely after appendectomy

The reeling, last-place Buffalo Sabres will be without Ryan O’Reilly indefinitely after the center underwent an emergency appendectomy over the three-day Christmas break, the team announced this morning.

Update: Sabres coach Dan Bylsma told reporters in Detroit O’Reilly could miss two to three weeks.

The absence of O’Reilly, the Sabres’ top all-around forward and lone NHL All-Star last season, could doom a team dangerously close to falling out of the playoff hunt. The Sabres have ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander faces high expectations with Sweden

ROCHESTER – A year ago, Buffalo Sabres prospect Alexander Nylander wowed as a 17-year-old at the World Junior Championship, showcasing his dynamic skills while leading Team Sweden with four goals and nine points in seven games.

So naturally, the expectations this year for Nylander, a youngster many believe was the most talented player in the 2016 NHL Draft, are extremely high.

Not only is Nylander a year older, the eighth overall pick has spent the ... Read the full article