Cozens - Buffalo Hockey Beat

After trade, injuries, Josh Norris scoring for Sabres, grateful for time in Ottawa

OTTAWA – The Josh Norris who scored four goals and 10 points in his first eight games for the Buffalo Sabres after returning from an injury looks a heck of a lot like the slick young star who scored 35 times for the Senators four years ago.

In 2021-22, Norris was emerging as a stud center and one of the Senators’ building blocks. Then injuries hit.

Shoulder problems wreaked havoc, never allowing him to play ... Read the full article

Once given up for dead, win streak has vaulted Sabres into thick of playoff race

OTTAWA – Two weeks ago, having just lost to the feeble Calgary Flames for the second time in three weeks, the Buffalo Sabres appeared to be barreling toward another postseason DNQ.

Their third consecutive defeat as they began a six-game road trip kept them mired in last place in the Eastern Conference, eight points out of the second wild card spot.

At that point, the Sabres had just two road wins all season, including zero ... Read the full article

More change likely coming after Jarmo Kekalainen replaces Kevyn Adams as Sabres GM

What happens next? General manager Kevyn Adams, having been fired on Monday by owner Terry Pegula and replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen, is gone after a five-and-a-half-year run in which he failed to build the Buffalo Sabres into a playoff team.

Adams, a Clarence native Pegula and his wife, Kim, a co-owner, hired as GM despite having never worked in an NHL hockey department, came oh-so-close to delivering that elusive playoff berth in 2022-23, when the ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Ryan McLeod, other forwards struggling early; Alexandar Georgiev practices with Rochester

BUFFALO – Jiri Kulich, the Sabres’ second-youngest forward, got singled out a bit by practicing as an extra before Wednesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators.

But make no mistake, nearly every Sabres forward struggled during their dreary 0-3-0 start they carried into their contest against the Ottawa Senators.

“This isn’t about Kulich,” coach Lindy Ruff, whose Sabres began the night with just two goals all season, said Wednesday morning in KeyBank Center.... Read the full article

Following trade and injury, Sabres’ Josh Norris settling into prominent role

BUFFALO – Sabres center Josh Norris experienced an unusual summer. For the first time in three years, he was healthy enough to enjoy a normal offseason of training.

“You kind of forget what it’s like to have a fully healthy summer and have to worry about anything physically,” Norris said following an early session of training camp in KeyBank Center. “So, yeah, I’m ready to go.”

Injuries have dogged Norris, 26, for years, limiting him ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Josh Norris says oblique injury sidelined him final 18 games

BUFFALO – On March 12 in Detroit, center Josh Norris scored his first goal for the Sabres in their 7-3 loss to the Red Wings.

No one knew it then, but that game, his third with the Sabres after arriving in a trade with the Ottawa Senators, would be his last of the season.

Norris, 25, revealed Saturday a torn oblique muscle he suffered with the Senators on Feb. 1 sidelined him for the final ... Read the full article

Sabres win again, sweep season series from Senators; Tyson Kozak injured

OTTAWA – The Buffalo Sabres’ recent victories – Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Senators was their second straight and fifth in their last six games – come with a caveat. They fell out of playoff contention long ago, meaning the contests, at least standings-wise, are meaningless.

The pressure has been off the Sabres for weeks. Playing looser surely helps them.

Still, these wins illustrate coach Lindy Ruff’s message is sinking in. While it took months, ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Quinn on torrid streak, still disappointed in season: ‘Pretty brutal’

OTTAWA – In the midst of a career-best stretch, fresh off consecutive three-point outings, Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn’s disappointment is still evident.

Quinn, 23, entered Tuesday’s game against the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on a tear, having scored four goals and eight points in his last four outings.

But in what was expected to be a breakout season, he has struggled at both ends of the ice – he began Tuesday’s game ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jacob Bernard-Docker earning regular duty after trade; Noah Ostlund honored for hot stretch

OTTAWA – In the time he spent earlier this season recovering from a high ankle sprain and also regularly watching games as a healthy scratch, Buffalo Sabres newcomer Jacob Bernard-Docker tried to reflect and understand why he had lost his spot in the lineup.

Bernard-Docker, a right-shot defenseman the Sabres acquired March 7 in the trade that sent center Dylan Cozens to the Senators, said he realized he needed to be harder to play against.... Read the full article

Coach Lindy Ruff wins 600th game with Sabres, feels hope for future

BUFFALO – Lindy Ruff is admittedly a bit stubborn. The veteran coach believes he can fix anything, even his current team, which still sits in last place following Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, his 600th victory with the Sabres.

After becoming the second coach in NHL history to reach the milestone with one team, Ruff compared taking over the Sabres this season in the midst of their NHL-record 13-year playoff drought to driving ... Read the full article