Brennan - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ new defense corps helping keep slim playoff hopes alive

BUFFALO – There are some perks to hotel life, Adam Pardy said. Each day, a maid makes his bed and cleans his room. That’s not a bad thing, right?

For three months, the defenseman has been living out of a suitcase while shuttling between the Sabres and the Rochester Americans, an experience Pardy chalks up to being “one of those years.”

“It (stinks), but it is what it is,” Pardy said about hotel living Saturday ... Read the full article

Sabres’ recent trade-deadline activity has yielded mixed results

PITTSBURGH – With the NHL trade deadline hitting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, here’s the Buffalo Sabres’ Eastern Conference standing and their activity since 2006:

2006, third place, 83 points

General manager Darcy Regier made no additions, only trading No. 3 goalie Mika Noronen to Vancouver for a second-round pick (current backup goalie Jhonas Enroth). Some argued the inactivity bit the surprising Sabres, who lost four defensemen to injury during their run to the Eastern Conference ... Read the full article

Sabres deal Regehr to Kings for draft picks, look to future

PITTSBURGH – Robyn Regehr’s absence from Buffalo Sabres practice Monday morning inside the First Niagara Center raised eyebrows.

With Wednesday’s deadline approaching, had the veteran defenseman waived his no-trade clause and been dealt?

The 32-year-old was just enjoying a maintenance day off the ice.

Shortly after practice ended around noon, Regehr walked into the dressing room and said he couldn’t “say yes or no right now” about ditching his no-trade clause again, which he ... Read the full article

Former Sabres prospect T.J. Brennan feeling comfortable with Panthers

BUFFALO – Ron Rolston’s Feb. 20 promotion to the Sabres as interim coach meant more comfort for T.J. Brennan, who was playing sparingly under Lindy Ruff. The 23-year-old had just spent almost two seasons thriving under Rolston in Rochester, developing into one of the AHL’s slickest defenseman.

“(Rolston) knew my style and knew my type of play,” Brennan said by phone Wednesday. “I think that was a good change for me. But, I guess, at ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Mark Pysyk quickly earning keep on blue line

MONTREAL – Earlier this season, rookie Mark Pysyk, the same defense prospect now playing almost 16 minutes a game for the Buffalo Sabres, sat as a healthy scratch in the AHL three times.

“I just needed a little wake-up call,” Pysyk said Saturday inside the Bell Centre prior to the Sabres’ 2-1 win, his fourth NHL game.

When interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston benched Pysyk with the Rochester Americans in December, the odds of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Leino impresses in return from hip injury

BUFFALO – Ron Rolston wasted no time, throwing Ville Leino right into the fire Saturday afternoon, the winger’s first game since April 7.

The Sabres’ interim coach put Leino, sidelined by a hip injury the first 27 games this season, out for the opening faceoff inside the First Niagara Center.

“It was good for me,” Leino said about starting the game after the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. “It made me ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rolston believes Brennan’s offense will materialize with Panthers

BUFFALO – Under coach Ron Rolston in Rochester, T.J. Brennan thrived, developing into an AHL star and arguably the league’s most dynamic offensive defenseman.

But that scoring prowess hasn’t translated to the NHL. Brennan played sparingly in the big leagues this season, sitting 17 of the Sabres’ 27 games as a healthy scratch.

Even when Rolston took over on an interim basis Feb. 20, the 23-year-old kept sitting, playing only four games under his old ... Read the full article

Sabres trade T.J. Brennan to Panthers for draft pick

BUFFALO – The Sabres traded defenseman T.J. Brennan to the Florida Panthers tonight for a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The 23-year-old had appeared sparingly this season, playing only 10 of the Sabres’ 27 games, scoring one goal.

Brennan, the 31^st overall pick in 2007, enjoyed a monster AHL season with Rochester before the NHL campaign began, compiling 14 goals and 35 points in 36 games.

The New Jersey native’s AHL ... Read the full article

Former Sabres goalie Martin Biron thriving as Rangers’ backup

BUFFALO – When the 113-day NHL lockout ended and Martin Biron left his East Aurora home for his backup goaltending gig in New York, the 35-year-old’s wife and four children stayed behind.

With a shortened season, a new house and the school year in full swing, the loquacious former Sabre didn’t want to uproot his family.

For now, Biron’s living alone in New York, an arrangement that has worked out “OK.”

“There’s times I’m sitting ... Read the full article

Miller’s sinus infection will give Sabres’ Enroth start tonight; Leopold back in

BUFFALO – A sinus infection will relegate franchise goalie Ryan Miller to backup duty tonight behind Jhonas Enroth against the New York Rangers.

Miller occasionally skips morning skates, so when he wasn’t on the ice today inside the First Niagara Center, it hardly seemed like a big deal.

But interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston said following the skate Enroth would start for the second time in three games. The 24-year-old only received three nods in ... Read the full article