Boston Bruins - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres blow early lead, fall to Bruins in shootout

BUFFALO – Despite blowing a two-goal lead at home and losing a precious point to a division rival they’re chasing, the Sabres felt pretty good about the single point they earned for Thursday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins.

“We deserved to have better in this game and let it slip away,” said coach Dan Bylsma, whose Sabres have earned five points in the last three games and are 6-4-1 in their last 11 ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Johan Larsson playing best hockey of season

BUFFALO – Early in the Sabres’ 4-2 comeback win Wednesday in Montreal, for one of the few times this season, center Johan Larsson drove to the net with authority and narrowly missed scoring just his second goal.

With 8:14 left in the contest, the Swede skated to the crease again and was rewarded with his first score in 20 games, the winner against the Canadiens.

For Larsson, 23, it was his best performance in what ... Read the full article

Rasmus Ristolainen’s friends to attend Bruins game; Sabres goalie Chad Johnson to start

BUFFALO – In his three NHL seasons, Rasmus Ristolainen’s close friends from his native Finland had never seen him play in person. Naturally, the defenseman wanted to make their first experience worthwhile, so he figured they should watch him in Montreal’s Bell Centre, one of the league’s best venues.

On Wednesday, five friends saw Ristolainen play in the Sabres’ 4-2 comeback win against the Canadiens. TV cameras caught the group clad in blue No. 55 ... Read the full article

Third period dooms Sabres in loss to Bruins

BUFFALO – Those good feelings the Sabres created earlier this week by winning two straight road games vanished Friday in a mostly boring, uninspired 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins inside a quiet First Niagara Center.

In No. 1 goalie Robin Lehner’s return after missing more than three months with a high ankle sprain, the Sabres lost for the for the seventh time in nine games and dropped their 16^th home contest (8-14-2).

Graying ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno and Johan Larsson finally contributing

BUFFALO – For perhaps the first time all season, enigmatic forwards Marcus Foligno and Johan Larsson are playing well at the same time, meaning the Sabres have finally started receiving some notable contributions from their third line.

For the last four games, Foligno, Larsson and captain Brian Gionta have been one of the Sabres’ strongest trios, contributing some much-needed offense and grit while often facing the opposition’s best.

Larsson, the center, skated a season-high 17 ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner to start against Bruins; Mark Pysyk still out

BUFFALO – On Thursday, after the Sabres recalled Robin Lehner from his three-game AHL conditioning assignment, coach Dan Bylsma thought his goalie looked tired.

Following Lehner’s final rehab game Wednesday in Albany, the Americans had a long bus trip back to Rochester in inclement weather. The Swede only slept three hours before practicing with the Sabres.

It appeared the Bylsma might give Lehner, out since Oct. 8 with a high right ankle sprain, more time ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner ready to play

BUFFALO – During some tough days over the last three months, as Robin Lehner recovered and rehabbed from the injury he suffered opening night, the goalie leaned on his family and friends for support.

Lehner just endured an arduous 11 months, suffering a season-ending concussion last year with Ottawa and a high right ankle sprain Oct. 8, only 28 minutes into his debut as the Sabres’ new starter.

The Swede had never experienced a major ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Jack Eichel ready for return to Boston

BUFFALO – Sabres rookie Jack Eichel has played big games in his hometown rink, Boston’s TD Garden, before. As a college freshman last season, the center starred as his Boston University Terriers captured The Beanpot, a prestigious tournament between local schools.

Google “Eichel” and “Beanpot” and a slew of pictures of an ecstatic Eichel clutching the Beanpot trophy will pop up.

But tonight’s tilt against the Bruins, Eichel’s first appearance in Boston with the Sabres, ... Read the full article

Bruins’ Matt Bartkowski won’t be suspended for hitting Sabres’ Brian Gionta

Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski won’t be suspended or fined for hitting Sabres captain Brian Gionta high in Buffalo’s 4-3 overtime loss Sunday in Boston.

The NHL Department of Player Safety explained its decision this afternoon in three tweets, writing, “Bartkowski/Gionta is an example of incidental contact on an otherwise full body check. The head was NOT the main point of contact. Also, Gionta puts himself in a vulnerable position making contact with his head unavoidable. ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno out ‘a while’ with apparent hand injury; 10 players injured or sick

The Buffalo Sabres are down 10 players to injuries and illness after losing center Marcus Foligno and captain Brian Gionta in Sunday’s 4-3 overtime loss in Boston.

Foligno apparently hurt his hand fighting the Bruins’ Matt Bartkowski after the defenseman leveled Gionta high during the first period. An upper-body injury will sideline Foligno for “a while,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan told reporters in Boston.

“One of those freak accidents that happen when you play,” Nolan ... Read the full article