Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Zemgus Girgensons doesn’t want All-Star votes

With NHL All-Star balloting now open, Buffalo Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons has a message for the fans in his native Latvia: Don’t vote for me again.

In a tweet Girgensons posted in Latvian today, he wrote, according to Google Translate, “All due respect to the fans, but please (do) not … vote for me (for) this (year’s All-Star Game)! Such things must be earned!”

Girgensons, 21, has only two goals and four points in 21 ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Carlo Colaiacovo OK after check to throat

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, who was hospitalized Saturday for what coach Dan Bylsma called a “dented trachea,” accompanied his teammates Sunday to Detroit.

Colaiacovo left the Sabres’ 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators 11:43 into the second period after Viktor Arvidsson crossed-checked him in the throat as the two battled for position. Colaiacovo stayed on the ice in noticeable pain before skating off. Arvidsson received a major penalty and was ejected.

“I don’t ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel and Brian Gionta help Sabres down Hurricanes

BUFFALO – Shortly before Jack Eichel’s nifty winning goal in the Sabres’ 4-1 win Friday, the rookie took an ill-advised skate from his own blue line back toward the net and into danger.

Eichel, 19, coughed up the puck to the Carolina Hurricanes, leading to Zach Bogosian’s interference penalty.

But the Sabres, who ended their six-game losing streak, can live with the occasional mistake from Eichel because, just 23 games into his career, the center ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Carlo Colaiacovo grateful for opportunity

BUFFALO – Having endured a string of injuries in his 20s that almost derailed his career, Sabres defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo understands what it’s like to nearly lose something you love so dearly.

That’s one reason why the affable veteran, who’s on his fourth team in four seasons and nearly went to Russia last year before an opportunity materialized in Philadelphia, is cherishing his time with the Sabres.

“To have been in the league for so ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane questionable for Hurricanes

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian and winger Evander Kane will be game-time decisions tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes inside the First Niagara Center, coach Dan Bylsma said this morning.

Bogosian is only five games into his season after missing two months with a lower-body injury. Kane, meanwhile, was questionable for Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Nashville with a lower-body injury before scoring a goal.

Update: Kane is wearing a walking boot on his left foot.... Read the full article

Sabres playing well in losses, need to score more goals

BUFFALO – They’re different this year. Unlike the last two seasons, the Sabres rarely get pummeled in their losses. They stay in contests and often outplay their opponents. That’s why the six-game losing streak they carry into tonight’s home tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes feels a bit odd.

Sure, the Sabres have only led for eight minutes, 22 seconds during the skid. That happens when you’ve scored just seven times.

But they’ve been in every ... Read the full article

Sabres start fast against Predators, lose sixth straight

BUFFALO – On Wednesday, against a reeling team that hadn’t scored a goal in more than three games, the Sabres pounced on the Nashville Predators early.

The Sabres held an 11-4 shot advantage after one period and widened it to 25-11 after two inside the First Niagara Center.

Still, it didn’t matter.

The Sabres trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes and 3-1 after 40 in their 3-2 loss to the Predators. After winning three consecutive ... Read the full article

Hall of Famer Phil Housley grateful for early days with Sabres

BUFFALO – It was September 1982, and before the Sabres headed to Montreal for their first exhibition game, the team bus stopped at a hotel to pick up some players.

Phil Housley, an 18-year-old just months removed from high school, thought the bus was going to another hotel. So the green rookie, who was with his girlfriend, Karin, decided to bring his future wife on the bus, a big no-no.

“Everybody was on the ... Read the full article

Former Sabres disappointment Cody Hodgson won’t discuss past

BUFFALO – When the Nashville Predators’ dressing room opened this afternoon, some reporters walked over to former Sabres enigma Cody Hodgson, exchanged pleasantries and started talking to the 25-year-old.

After spouting a few clichés about his new team and city, Hodgson, who had a buyout exercised on the final four seasons of his six-year, $25.5 million contract in June following an awful 2014-15 campaign, became prickly.

Clearly, the end of his four-year run ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark to start; Zemgus Girgensons to return

BUFFALO – In the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to St. Louis on Monday, coach Dan Bylsma felt goalie Linus Ullmark was playing so well his team would only need one goal to win.

The Sabres eventually broke down late, allowing the Blues to eke out a victory. But Ullmark’s 24-save performance convinced Bylsma, who had been alternating the Swede and Chad Johnson, to start the rookie again tonight against the Nashville Predators, his third nod in ... Read the full article