Dylan Cozens had scored just one goal this season entering Friday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres’ Dylan Cozens scores twice in ‘amazing game,’ stops Connor McDavid

BUFFALO – Earlier this week, Sabres coach Don Granato sat down with Dylan Cozens and watched some video clips. When they finished, he asked the second-year center if he felt ready to shadow Connor McDavid, hockey’s biggest superstar.

“I watched his body language,” Granato said after Cozens starred in Friday’s 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, which ended a five-game winless skid. “If his body language was different, he wouldn’t have got that matchup. I ... Read the full article

Anders Bjork has scored three goals this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres notes: Gritty goal shows Anders Bjork starting to find game

BUFFALO – For a few weeks, Sabres winger Anders Bjork often looked invisible. The American couldn’t score. He dropped down the lineup, losing ice time.

“Bjork was searching for his game and he lost a feel of what he did,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.

So Granato said the Sabres let Bjork, 25, experience that rough phase before he and his staff started working with him more often and pinpointing things in his game.

“(We) ... Read the full article

Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl is a lethal scorer. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu

Leon Draisaitl as dynamic as Connor McDavid; Sabres to make one change

BUFFALO – Forget about Connor McDavid for a moment. The Edmonton Oilers have a player with more points than the superstar. Through 12 games, Leon Draisaitl has amassed a whopping 12 goals and 26 points, both NHL highs.

So far, McDavid, 24, has scored nine goals and 24 points.

Draisaitl, of course, is usually overshadowed by McDavid, a center widely considered hockey’s most dynamic talent.

But coach Don Granato, whose Sabres face the Oilers tonight ... Read the full article

Tage Thompson was switched to center this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres’ Tage Thompson starting to realize potential: ‘Grown tremendously’

BUFFALO – Sabres coach Don Granato could see Tage Thompson possessed confidence. It was just that the talented center believed he would eventually reach his potential.

Granato wanted Thompson, 24, to understand the opportunity he had right now.

“I talked to him a lot in the last year about I know you are confident about success, but that confidence is somewhere off in the future, I’m going to be able to become the player ... Read the full article

Connor McDavid is probably his generation’s greatest talent. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres coach Don Granato wowed by Connor McDavid’s talents

BUFFALO – The most scintillating goal of superstar Connor McDavid’s career, the one in which he split four New York Rangers on Saturday, reminded Sabres coach Don Granato of a psychology study he once read.

“Fifty people see an incident, no one calls 9-1-1 because they think the other person’s going to call 9-1-1,” Granato said following Thursday’s practice. “That’s what it made me think of when I saw that.”

For the first time since ... Read the full article

Dominik Kahun’s Sabres career lasted six games. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Report: Oilers sign former Sabre Dominik Kahun to one-year contract

Former Buffalo Sabres winger Dominik Kahun has signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, according to eichockeynews.com.

The deal is worth $975,000, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Kahun had a salary cap hit of $925,000 last year.

The Sabres did not give Kahun, 25, a qualifying offer last month, making him a free agent. That decision, of course, raised some eyebrows.

Kahun looked impressive in six late-season games with the Sabres, scoring ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel beats Edmonton goalie Mike Smith on a penalty shot in overtime Thursday. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Jack Eichel scores on penalty shot in OT after Sabres lose Victor Olofsson

BUFFALO – For 10 seconds during the first minute of Thursday’s overtime, Sabres captain Jack Eichel stood behind his own net to recharge as his teammates changed.

Possession is critical in three-on-three overtime, especially with Edmonton Oilers superstars Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lurking nearby.

So Eichel wasn’t about to give the puck up. The center waited and waited and waited before the capacity crowd of 19,070 inside KeyBank Center.

At that point, Eichel had ... Read the full article

Marco Scandella spent two and a half seasons with the Sabres. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

To acquire Michael Frolik from Flames, Sabres had to trade Marco Scandella

BUFFALO – When the Sabres traded defenseman Marco Scandella to the Montreal Canadiens shortly before Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers, it felt like another deal could be imminent.

The Sabres need help at forward. Why would they dish Scandella, 29, for or a fourth-round pick in 2020? They’re trying to win now, right?

Well, shortly after the Sabres announced the deal, they traded the pick they received from the Canadiens to the ... Read the full article

Conor Sheary celebrates his goal Tuesday. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres’ Conor Sheary finally starting to showcase more offense

BUFFALO – In his five-year NHL career, Sabres winger Conor Sheary said he had never experienced being a healthy scratch until last month.

“That was something different for me,” said Sheary, who sat out three times over a six-game stretch.

But in his first half season as Sabres coach, Ralph Krueger has established he’s willing to scratch anyone.

Krueger benched forward Evan Rodrigues on opening night and has kept sitting him out for months. In ... Read the full article

Marco Scandella joined the Sabres in 2017. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu

Sabres trade Marco Scandella to Canadiens for draft pick

BUFFALO – The Sabres traded defenseman Marco Scandella to the Montreal Canadiens tonight for a fourth-round pick in 2020.

Update: The Sabres have traded the selection they received from Montreal to the Calgary Flames for forward Michael Frolik.

Scandella, a Montreal native, will be an unrestricted free agent following the season.

The Sabres and Canadiens, of course, rarely make trades. Right now, the sixth-place Sabres trail their Atlantic Division rival by one point.... Read the full article