Comrie - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Malcolm Subban’s terrific season with Amerks could keep him in Sabres’ plans

ROCHESTER – Americans goalie Malcolm Subban chose to talk more about the team than himself.

Subban performed splendidly in Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 win over the Syracuse Crunch, making 31 saves in the Amerks’ first shutout in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 19 years. At 29, he has enjoyed a terrific comeback season, playing a career-high 43 games, including all four playoff contests, for the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate.

Following a subpar outing in Friday’s 8-5 ... Read the full article

After unique season, Sabres goalie Eric Comrie’s future in Buffalo unclear

BUFFALO – Nothing could ruin Eric Comrie’s season. Not the goalie’s first significant injury. Not losing the starting job or falling to fourth on the Sabres’ depth chart.

He played just eight of the final 65 games after going down in mid-November. In one of his appearances, he allowed 10 goals. Following rookie goalie Devon Levi’s arrival, he did not play in the final nine contests.

Comrie, 27, faces an uncertain future. Levi, ... Read the full article

Sabres wanted Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to develop in Buffalo instead of going to Rochester for playoffs

BUFFALO – In his four-year pro career, Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has never played a postseason game.

The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs two straight years. Last year, Luukkonen suffered an injury late in the regular season and missed the Rochester Americans’ 10-game playoff run.

This year, the Sabres did not make Luukkonen, who started the season in Rochester, available to the Amerks, who open the playoffs Friday.

... Read the full article

Despite using Devon Levi late, Sabres high on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

BUFFALO – In his first days in the NHL, Sabres goalie Devon Levi looked so impressive that coach Don Granato kept riding the neophyte.

Levi, 21, turned heads in his debut March 31, so after starting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the next night, Granato utilized the newcomer for five consecutive do-or-die games before the Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention.

The Sabres’ reliance on Levi for a stretch of critical late-season contests raised some eyebrows. The ... Read the full article

With Devon Levi in Buffalo, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen still sees future with Sabres

BUFFALO – As the Sabres fought furiously for their first playoff berth in 12 years, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen figured he’d be called upon for a critical late-season game.

Luukkonen, after all, led the team in wins as a rookie this season. He played 33 contests, emerging as the starter following his recall in mid-November. He performed so well the Sabres kept three goalies on the roster for nearly three months.

The Finn won huge games ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Tage Thompson wanted to hit 50-goal mark

BUFFALO – At the beginning of the season, fresh off a breakout 38-goal campaign, Sabres star Tage Thompson wanted duplicate last year’s career-best output.

“If I could get around the same as I got last year, it would be successful and (I’d) be pretty happy with that,” Thompson said prior to Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center, the Sabres’ home finale.

Well, Thompson, 25, hit the 30-goal mark Jan. 3, ... Read the full article

Popular Sabres goalie Craig Anderson could be nearing retirement

BUFFALO – Pierre Groulx remembers Craig Anderson looked a bit unorthodox in his crease. Instead going down in the butterfly like many modern goalies, he might stand up to stop a shot. The two-pad stack was part of his repertoire.

“He was more of the old school style,” said Groulx, who first served as Anderson’s goalie coach with the Florida Panthers from 2006 to 2008. “… He was one of those guys that read the ... Read the full article

Sabres ready for most meaningful April game in 11 years; Devon Levi could start

BUFFALO – You must go back 11 years and about 820 games to find the last time the Sabres played a late-season contest as meaningful as tonight’s against the Florida Panthers.

Having gone 4-0-1 in their last five outings, the surging Sabres, given up for dead barely two weeks ago, have roared back into the thick of the playoff chase.

“We have gotten back to our identity,” Sabres coach Don Granato said following Monday’s practice ... Read the full article

Years before NHL debut, Sabres goalie Devon Levi earned big win in Buffalo

BUFFALO – Long before goalie Devon Levi joined the Sabres, he earned what he called one of the biggest wins of his life here.

“Even though I was a little kid,” said an excited Levi, who will be making his highly anticipated NHL debut tonight against the New York Rangers.

Levi was 13 to be exact, in the infancy of his career. He had tried out and been cut from an East Coast Selects team ... Read the full article

Canadiens spoil Lukas Rousek’s debut; Sabres’ Tage Thompson out with injury

BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Eric Comrie sounded somber trying to explain Monday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Their two-game winning streak had ignited hope that perhaps they could make a late-season climb toward the second wild card spot that seemed so unlikely a week ago.

A victory over the Canadiens at KeyBank Center would’ve moved the Sabres to within one point of the struggling Florida Panthers and four points of the Pittsburgh Penguins, ... Read the full article