Crosby - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres can’t keep top pick during lottery, will draft second in June

BUFFALO – Chalk up one more loss for the Sabres this season.

The rebuilding club couldn’t retain the No. 1 overall pick during Tuesday’s NHL Draft Lottery in Toronto. Instead, the Florida Panthers moved up one spot to the top selection.

The Sabres will pick second in June. Thanks to their 30^th ranking this season, the Sabres had a 25 percent chance of keeping the top pick, more than any other team. The ... Read the full article

Reeling Sabres blown out by Penguins, can’t help goalie Ryan Miller

BUFFALO – Wednesday wasn’t an Olympic audition for goalie Ryan Miller, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said hours before his potent Penguins throttled the hapless Sabres 5-1. He’s judging Miller on his body of work, not one game.

Bylsma, Team USA’s coach for the upcoming Sochi Games, knows what most NHL observers know: Miller’s played splendidly most of the season under the most trying of circumstances.

The Sabres’ third straight loss illustrated that. Once ... Read the full article

Instinctive game allows Sabres’ Tyler Ennis to showcase more offense and grit

BUFFALO – Tyler Ennis said he recently stopped thinking on the ice. That isn’t a bad thing, though. The slick Sabres center has just been playing more instinctively under interim coach Ted Nolan, allowing his natural talents to take over these past few months.

It’s showing on the score sheet. With an assist on Drew Stafford’s first-period goal in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ennis has four goals and 12 points in the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Myers likely out against Penguins

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers will likely miss tonight’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins after leaving Monday’s game early.

Myers (lower body) didn’t participate in the Sabres’ optional skate this morning. The 24-year-old could play Thursday in Ottawa, interim coach Ted Nolan said.

“It doesn’t look very good for tonight,” Nolan said inside the First Niagara Center. “Hopefully, he’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, a healthy scratch last game, will return. Center ... Read the full article

Goalie Ryan Miller knows his days with Sabres could be numbered

BUFFALO – Forget about the Olympics for a moment. Forget that Sabres goalie Ryan Miller will be playing in front of Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma tonight, a final chance to impress his bench boss at the upcoming Sochi Games.

Tonight could be Miller’s last appearance with the Sabres inside the First Niagara Center.

Rosters freeze 3 p.m. Friday for the NHL’s two-week Olympic break. The trade deadline hits one month from today.

Miller, an ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zenon Konopka calls watching brain surgery ‘pretty intense’

BUFFALO – OK, so why was Zenon Konopka watching brain surgery this morning? The Sabres center tweeted a photo of himself wearing scrubs and a surgical mask and wrote, “Most interesting morning in a long time … Brain Surgery #unreal #frontrowseat #wow.”

Konopka’s charity of choice, Keith Primeau’s “Stop Concussions,” told him about the neurological department next to Buffalo General and Dr. Elad Levy, a world-renowned brain surgeon who’s also a hockey fan.

“He said ... Read the full article

Goalie Ryan Miller plays well against Penguins, Sabres still lose

PITTSBURGH – Despite one win in 15 starts this trying season, it appeared Buffalo Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth would get Monday’s nod inside the Consol Energy Center.

The backup possesses strong career numbers against the mighty Penguins, who give franchise netminder Ryan Miller fits like no other team.

Besides, the Washington Capitals, a team Miller has dominated lately, are visiting the First Niagara Center tonight.

But Ted Nolan doesn’t care about Miller’s awful numbers against ... Read the full article

Mikhail Grigorenko refuses to report to junior, future with Sabres unclear

BUFFALO – Interim coach Ted Nolan said Mikhail Grigorenko “was a little bit upset” when the Sabres told the 19-year-old prospect he was going back to the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts.

“But this is non-negotiable,” Nolan said Saturday inside the Riverside Ice Rink. “It’s one of those things that has to be done.”

The Sabres didn’t understand just how much the demotion irked the Russian center.

Grigorenko won’t be reporting to the junior club, his agent, ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller named to Team USA’s Olympic squad

Not surprisingly, Team USA today named Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to its Olympic roster for the upcoming Sochi Games.

It’s very likely the 33-year-old, who became a national hero while backstopping the Americans to a silver medal in 2010, will start.

Miller has performed splendidly for the struggling Sabres this trying season, posting a 2.69 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 28 games despite facing 1,023 shots, the NHL’s second-highest total.

Detroit’s Jimmy ... Read the full article

Interim coach Ted Nolan wants to make Sabres work, evaluate new players

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan said he’s a straightforward type of guy. So after taking over as interim coach Wednesday, the 55-year-old requested one thing from the Sabres, whose work ethic has been lacking during their awful 4-15-1 start.

“The only thing I asked is you compete,” Nolan, the Sabres’ coach from 1995-97, said following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “Some guys play 25 minutes. Some guys play three minutes. To work for three minutes, ... Read the full article