Detroit Red Wings - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres could be active again before trade deadline

BUFFALO – Don’t let four impressive wins in the last six games fool you. The Sabres still rank last in the Atlantic Division and 29^th in the 30-team NHL.

Yes, they’ve improved greatly this season. Still, they’re 11 points out of the Eastern Conference’s last wild card spot entering tonight’s home tilt against the Detroit Red Wings inside the First Niagara Center.

The Sabres are going to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight ... Read the full article

Sabres lose to Red Wings despite two Jack Eichel goals

BUFFALO – When the Sabres hatched their grand rebuild plan and sacrificed two seasons for future glory, they envisioned performances like youngsters Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart gave in Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

With the Sabres down 2-0, Eichel scored two slick goals – a nifty power-play score and a breakaway – in a span of 3:01 in the second period, igniting the capacity crowd of 19,070 fans inside the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Sam Reinhart emerges from slump

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Sam Reinhart doesn’t care how his tying power-play goal late in Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings went in the net. The rookie only cares about scoring his first goal in 11 games.

Just before Detroit’s Tomas Nosek hit the puck into his own net 8:58 into the third period, Reinhart narrowly missed beating Petr Mrazek in front. Reinhart was credited with his ninth goal since he was ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis week-to-week

BUFFALO – Struggling Sabres winger Tyler Ennis is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, coach Dan Bylsma said this morning.

Ennis, who absorbed a big hit Wednesday from Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, is enduring a miserable season. The 26-year-old recently missed 14 games with an upper-body injury that is unrelated to his current one, Bylsma said. He has only three goals and 11 points in 23 games and hasn’t scored since Oct. 27, a 14-game stretch.

“He ... Read the full article

Sabres still struggling to score goals

BUFFALO – Just weeks before his 37^th birthday, Sabres captain Brian Gionta owns a coveted spot on the right wing beside slick rookie center Jack Eichel.

At an age when most players are either retired or reduced to supporting roles, the Sabres still lean heavily on Gionta in his 15^th season, skating him more than 18 minutes a game in every situation.

“I feel the overall game is there,” Gionta said Friday ... Read the full article

Jamie McGinn and Ryan O’Reilly happy as Sabres teammates, linemates

BUFFALO – Right away, Jamie McGinn could hear the excitement in Ryan O’Reilly’s voice. It was June 26, and the two friends had just been traded from the Colorado Avalanche, only they didn’t know they would be joining the Sabres together.

So McGinn and O’Reilly called each other when they learned the full details of the blockbuster deal from television.

The two forwards had grown close over the years, and they knew moving to ... Read the full article

Mike Babcock picks Leafs over Sabres, lands massive contract

BUFFALO – As decision day approached, it appeared Mike Babcock, the prized free agent coach, had whittled his choices down to two teams: Detroit, where he had spent 10 seasons guiding the Red Wings, or the rebuilding Sabres, a team stocked with young talent and willing to break to the bank.

By most accounts, the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of about five teams Babcock had spoken to, had fallen out of the picture.

But the ... Read the full article

Mike Babcock lands record deal with Leafs

By most accounts, the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of about five teams Babcock had spoken to, had fallen out of the picture by Tuesday.... Read the full article

Goalie Tom McCollum’s career back on track with Red Wings

BUFFALO – Tom McCollum’s career was heading down the minor-league journeyman’s path, going nowhere fast.

Three years into professional hockey, the goalie was still shuttling between the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins and the ECHL Toledo Walleye. After his fourth season, the Detroit Red Wings declined to give him a two-way contract.

Instead, Detroit offered McCollum, the 30^th pick in 2008, an AHL deal prior to the 2013-14 campaign. The Cambria native wasn’t even eligible ... Read the full article

Sabres lose to Red Wings, hit all-time low

BUFFALO – Not even watching legendary goalie Dominik Hasek, one of hockey’s all-time greats, have his No. 39 raised to the rafters could jumpstart the hapless Sabres, who have now lost a franchise-record eight consecutive games in regulation.

Right now, having dropped 12 of the last 13 contests, the Sabres are mired in perhaps the worst rut in their 44-year history.

The Sabres showcased more ugliness in Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to Detroit Red Wings, getting ... Read the full article