Campbell - Buffalo Hockey Beat

After long slump, confident Jack Quinn scoring again, helping Sabres win

BUFFALO – The confidence Sabres winger Jack Quinn has recently recaptured is evident as he moves around the ice with authority and shoots and distributes the puck.

Early in Friday’s 6-2 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Quinn carried the puck into the offensive zone before dropping it to a trailing Dylan Cozens. As Cozens grabbed it, Quinn kept moving forward, pushing his defender back and creating extra room for his linemate to unleash the ... Read the full article

Rasmus Dahlin’s dynamic game helps Sabres end winless skid

The Buffalo Sabres’ season changed the instant their captain, Rasmus Dahlin, began battling back spasms.

After Dahlin, 24, departed in the third period Dec. 3, the Sabres quickly unraveled, blowing a three-goal lead to the Colorado Avalanche and suffering the fourth loss in what would stretch into a shocking 13-game winless skid.

Counting the Colorado game, the Sabres went 0-7-2 without Dahlin, their most dynamic defensemen.... Read the full article

Seasons with Flames changed Sabres newcomer Dennis Gilbert’s career

BUFFALO – Almost two years ago, a seven-game stint with the Calgary Flames changed defenseman Dennis Gilbert’s career.

Gilbert played sparingly during that short recall, sometimes skating less than 10 minutes an outing. By the end of that November, he was back in the AHL, where he had spent the entire previous season.

But the lessons the Williamsville native learned from former Flames coach Darryl Sutter and his staff during those three weeks stuck with ... Read the full article

Alex Tuch thrilled to join Sabres: ‘Buffalo, it’s gonna be like none other’

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Alex Tuch couldn’t stop smiling as he recalled those dynamic post-lockout teams of 2006 and 2007. He kept rattling off players, seemingly trying to name the entire roster.

As a child growing up in Baldwinsville, Tuch, who was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in Thursday’s blockbuster Jack Eichel trade, loved the Sabres.

“I grew up next to Tim Connolly, who played here for years,” Tuch said prior to Saturday’s ... Read the full article

Five ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2006 series against Hurricanes to air next week

Five more “Sabres Classics” – this time games from Buffalo’s wild Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

After defeating the Ottawa Senators, the Sabres fell one game short of reaching the Stanley Cup final, losing an ultra-tight seven-game series to the Hurricanes.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely March 12.... Read the full article

Four ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2006 series against Flyers to air next week on MSG

Four more “Sabres Classics” – this time Buffalo’s first-round playoff victories over the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

Following a shaky ending to the regular season, the upstart Sabres quickly sent a strong message to the NHL they would be Stanley Cup contenders by disposing of the Flyers in six games.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Ryan Miller’s win in Buffalo special to goalie, Ducks

BUFFALO – On Thursday, the Sabres will celebrate “2000s Night,” bringing back Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell and some other key figures from their wildly successful 2005-06 and 2006-07 teams that reached the Eastern Conference final.

Ryan Miller, the star goalie those seasons, can’t make it. As the only active NHL player left from those popular clubs, he will be in Anaheim for the Ducks’ game against the Calgary Flames.

“I’m actually going to ... Read the full article

Marcus Johansson, Jake McCabe named Sabres’ alternate captains

BUFFALO – New Sabres coach Ralph Krueger announced today he has named center Marcus Johansson and defenseman Jake McCabe alternate captains for the 2019-20 season.

“We feel that that’s a strong group for the ice,” Krueger said following today’s practice inside KeyBank Center.

Johansson and McCabe replace defenseman Zach Bogosian and winger Kyle Okposo.... Read the full article

Sabres sniper Jeff Skinner elected to NHL All-Star Game

Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner will be playing for the Atlantic Division in the upcoming NHL All-Star Game.

Skinner, the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer with 29, earned a spot today as part of the “Last Men In” online voting the NHL conducted for the last week.

More than 11.5 million votes were cast, including more than 2 million Thursday, the final day of voting, according to the league.... Read the full article

Sabres, Maple Leafs could become fierce rivals again

BUFFALO – Ask any Sabres player or fan to name the team’s biggest rival, and they would likely peg the Toronto Maple Leafs, tonight’s opponent at KeyBank Center.

Without any recent playoff series – the Sabres haven’t made the postseason since 2011 – or high-stakes regular-season meetings to ramp up intensity and generate hatred, the Sabres don’t exactly have a lot of opponents they detest these days.

The Leafs, their closest opponent at just 100 ... Read the full article