Cozens - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres battle to end of crazy weekend; Casey Mittelstadt leaves loss to Avs

Considering the chaos the Buffalo Sabres endured over a wild 36 hours, the end result, a weekend split capped by Sunday’s 4-1 road loss to the Colorado Avalanche, wasn’t too bad.

The Sabres, despite playing without center Tage Thompson and losing center Casey Mittelstadt early in Sunday’s contest, hung tough against the heavyweight Avalanche.

At one point late Sunday, when winger Victor Olofsson briefly left the game after taking a high stick, the Sabres had ... Read the full article

Halfway through season, Sabres feel progress, excited about future

BUFFALO – When Don Granato took over the Sabres on interim basis 10 months ago, he said he treated the job like it would be his in the future.

So in his first days, Granato thrust some young players who had been getting scratched or skating short minutes down the lineup – centers Casey Mittelstadt and Tage Thompson, for example – into prominent roles.

Granato, of course, knew the Sabres would be trading or losing ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Quinn suffers lower-body injury; Craig Anderson practices

BUFFALO – If Jack Quinn hadn’t suffered a lower-body injury in Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars, he likely would’ve kept playing for the Sabres in the coming weeks.

The Sabres, of course, won’t simply award their prospects a spot. But given their rash of injuries and that Quinn, 20, had performed so well – he scored his first NHL goal and assisted on another Thursday – he almost certainly would’ve earned a long ... Read the full article

Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Quinn and others give glimpse of Sabres’ future in loss

BUFFALO – Sabres rookie Jack Quinn scored his first NHL goal Thursday, a lethal wrist shot he wired under the crossbar from the right circle, four minutes after defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s highlight-reel goal opened the scoring.

Dahlin, who slickly moved in from the point to score, created Quinn’s goal by deftly feeding him a between-the-legs backhand pass.

Early in the second period, center Dylan Cozens put the Sabres up two goals, zooming through the slot ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Michael Houser dazzles in win over Senators: ‘He was amazing’

Forget that Michael Houser began this season in the ECHL, two levels below the NHL. Forget that eight days ago, the Buffalo Sabres goalie did not have a big league contract.

As Sabres coach Don Granato watched Houser, 29, up close for six weeks last year, he developed an appreciation for how well the veteran minor leaguer prepared himself, even as the team’s taxi squad goalie. When an opportunity to play his first four NHL ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Peyton Krebs ‘feeling good’ but still in NHL’s COVID-19 protocol

For four days, coach Don Granato said the Buffalo Sabres have been hoping center Peyton Krebs can test out of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Granato said Krebs, who entered protocol Jan. 4, is “feeling good.”

“It’s one of those unpredictable things,” Granato said on a Zoom call this afternoon from Nashville, where the Sabres play the Predators tonight. “So he’s doing what he can. Obviously, he has to stay isolated … and keep himself in ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Quinn looks strong in NHL debut: ‘A real good first game’

BUFFALO – To get an understanding of how much Jack Quinn’s teammates like him, two of them, Mattias Samuelsson and Ryan Scarfo, traveled from Rochester to KeyBank Center on Tuesday to watch their friend’s NHL debut with the Sabres.

Samuelsson and Scarfo put on No. 22 Quinn white Americans jerseys backwards so the name and number faced the ice and grabbed front row seats for the pregame warm-up.

As Quinn took the customary solo lap ... Read the full article

Maturity accelerated Sabres prospect Jack Quinn’s development

BUFFALO – Barely three months ago, when the Sabres informed prospect Jack Quinn he was being sent to the minors, he looked at general manager Kevyn Adams and coach Don Granato and told them he understood their decision.

Quinn’s words that day have stuck with Granato. Yes, Quinn, 20, was disappointed to be leaving. Still, he knew he had an opportunity in Rochester, where he had played 15 games for the Americans the previous season.... Read the full article

Talented Anders Bjork returns to Sabres looking for more consistency

BUFFALO – Over his first 44 games with the Sabres, winger Anders Bjork has struggled to maintain consistency, mostly showcasing flashes of his talent.

Bjork, 25, scored opening night before beginning a 10-game goalless stretch. After scoring in back-to-back contests, he endured a 12-game goal drought in which he was scratched twice.

Sabres coach Don Granato said Bjork must learn to regularly imprint his identity as a player – “His is speed and quickness,” he ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Dylan Cozens takes out COVID frustrations with virtual boxing

BUFFALO – After testing positive for COVID-19 for the second time in about 11 months, Sabres center Dylan Cozens said he had some items, including a virtual reality headset, dropped off to his home.

“It goes over your eyes and takes you to a whole another place,” Cozens said following Monday’s practice inside KeyBank Center. “You move your head and stuff. So I was standing in my room like boxing with it.”

Then Cozens, 20, ... Read the full article