Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres tough guy John Scott tired of reputation calls: ‘I’m always guilty’

BUFFALO – The joke is John Scott keeps receiving two minutes for, well, being Sabres tough guy John Scott.

The 6-foot-8 winger, who’s impossible to miss on the ice, is tired of the reputation penalties.

“Yeah, I guess that’s why you have a reputation,” Scott said last week inside the First Niagara Center. “But, yeah, it’s been a bad year for penalties like that. It seems like whenever there’s a scrum, I’m the one ... Read the full article

Tonight’s Sabres game against Hurricanes postponed

Tonight’s Buffalo Sabres game against the Carolina Hurricanes has been postponed.

With a blizzard hammering the Buffalo area and driving bans all over, the NHL really had no other choice.

A make-up date hasn’t been announced.

“Tonight’s game between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes at First Niagara Center, NHL Game No. 647, has been postponed due to the hazardous weather conditions in the Buffalo area. A make-up date will be announced as soon as ... Read the full article

Best Sabres photos of 2013: Sean Malone’s draft smile

Over the next few days, ace photographer Dan Hickling will be sharing and talking about some of his favorite shots from 2013.

Take it away, Dan …

The Sabres have occasionally selected local players during the NHL Entry Draft, as they did twice — taking both Justin Bailey and Sean Malone — in the 2013 confab held June 30 in Newark, N.J. Here, Malone, a West Seneca native taken in the sixth round (159th overall), ... Read the full article

Mikhail Grigorenko’s return to Sabres could be brief one

BUFFALO – At some point this week, prospect Mikhail Grigorenko, fresh off a five-goal, eight-point performance in seven world junior championship games, will be returning to the Sabres, interim coach Ted Nolan said.

But will the 19-year-old center be staying in the NHL?

“He’s coming here for Pat (LaFontaine) and I to discuss,” Nolan said Monday inside the First Niagara Center. “We’ll make that decision when he gets here.”

Nolan, however, acknowledged he would prefer ... Read the full article

NHL suspends Sabres’ Tyler Myers three games for head hit

BUFFALO – On Monday, hours before the NHL suspended Tyler Myers three games for an illegal check to Dainius Zubrus’ head, the Sabres defenseman said his hulking stature wouldn’t make him change his aggressive style.

“I don’t want to change my game just because of how tall I am,” the 6-foot-8 Myers said after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes inside the First Niagara Center. “It’s just something that comes ... Read the full article

NHL suspends Sabres’ Tyler Myers three games for head hit on Dainius Zubrus

BUFFALO – The NHL has suspended Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers three games for an illegal check to Dainius Zubrus’ head in Saturday’s 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils.

At 7:02 into the third period, the 6-foot-8 Myers hit Zubrus, who’s three inches shorter, high along the wall, earning a minor penalty for an illegal hit to the head.

In a video posted on NHL.com explaining the suspension, NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said Myers ... Read the full article

Mikhail Grigorenko set to rejoin Sabres, but for how long?

BUFFALO – Fresh off a five-goal, eight-point performance in seven games with Russia at the world junior championship, center Mikhail Grigorenko will be rejoining the Sabres soon.

But will the 19-year-old stick in the NHL or go somewhere else?

“He’s coming here for Pat (LaFontaine) and I to discuss,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said following practice today inside the First Niagara Center. “We’ll make that decision when he gets here.”

Nolan, however, acknowledged ... Read the full article

Watch: Sabres prospect Rasmus Ristolainen’s nifty overtime goal clinch world junior gold

At 6-foot-4 and 219 pounds, 19-year-old Buffalo Sabres prospect Rasmus Ristolainen isn’t your normal junior-age player.

Prior to the Sabres selecting him eighth overall in June, Ristolainen played two seasons in SM-liiga, a men’s league in his native Finland. Then the defenseman cracked the Sabres’ opening-night lineup this season, playing 19 NHL games before getting sent to Rochester in November.

In the preseason, before Ristolainen’s birthday, Sabres defenseman Mike Weber called him “an 18-year-old man.”... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Myers to have phone hearing for hit to Dainius Zubrus’ head

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers will have a phone hearing Monday with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan for his illegal hit to Dainius Zubrus’ head, according to multiple reports.

At 7:02 into the third period in Saturday’s 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, the 6-foot-8 Myers hit Zubrus, who’s three inches shorter, high along the wall, earning a minor for an illegal check to the head.

Following the game, Myers said he had ... Read the full article

Matt D’Agostini’s first goal with Sabres helps eke out win against Devils

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan wanted 10 percent more from Matt D’Agostini. Prior to the Sabres’ 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the interim coach said the struggling winger, who hadn’t scored in 15 games with his new club, was getting opportunities.

“You got to go into those dirty areas,” Nolan said Saturday morning. “I think he had a number of outside shots. But outside shots ain’t getting in. So we got ... Read the full article