Edmonton Oilers - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres goalie Michal Neuvirth earns third straight start

BUFFALO – When the Sabres ended their skate this morning, goalie Michal Neuvirth, not Jhonas Enroth, went off the ice first, meaning Neuvirth will start tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

Sabres coach Ted Nolan said Thursday Enroth would start.

Why the change?

“Oh, I thought I said Neuvy was going to start,” Nolan said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.

Then Nolan smiled.

“Just to confuse the other team,” he joked.

Tonight will ... Read the full article

Sabres goalies Jhonas Enroth, Michal Neuvirth still battling for No. 1 job

BUFFALO – They are both 26 years old, young NHL veterans competing to become the Sabres’ starting goalie.

Right now, Michal Neuvirth, having started five of the last eight games, including the past two, has the upper hand. The Czech struggled badly during the preseason, then watched as Jhonas Enroth earned five of the first six nods.

But Neuvirth has rebounded recently, posting a .957 save percentage in his last two appearances.

Meanwhile, Enroth, tonight’s ... Read the full article

Latest benching another sign Sabres won’t bring back Ville Leino

Yes, the Buffalo Sabres could keep Ville Leino next season. You see, with salary floor growing to more than $50 million, the rebuilding club might need the enigmatic Finn’s six-year, $27 million contract to eat up cap space.

They certainly don’t want to keep the 30-year-old, a healthy scratch tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, for his production.

“Maybe he just needs a little rest and he’ll wake up,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan told reporters ... Read the full article

Sabres lose game to Oilers, defenseman Tyler Myers to injury

BUFFALO – Fittingly, a tilt between the NHL’s two worst teams started ominously for the bottom-feeding Sabres. Just 32 seconds in, Jeff Petry zoomed past Jamie McBain and beat goalie Jhonas Enroth easily on the Edmonton Oilers’ first shot.

But the Sabres settled down against the hapless Oilers and their porous defense, taking a 2-1 lead before the first period ended.

At times, the “Battle for the Basement” or the “Game of the Weak” – ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller wanted Team USA Olympic mask to resemble old one

BUFFALO – If Ryan Miller’s new Team USA Olympic mask for the upcoming Sochi Games looks familiar, it’s because the Sabres goalie kept the same theme he used in 2010.

“I thought it was a cool mask last time,” Miller told the Times Herald on Sunday. “I just want to update the colors. I want to do something more traditional red, white and blue. Last time it was like a little off blue-gray kind of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno knows consistency must improve

BUFFALO – Marcus Foligno enters tonight’s tilt with just one goal in his last 17 games and six in 49 contests this season. The Sabres winger might even get relegated to the fourth line against the Edmonton Oilers.

Foligno has performed like a top power forward at times during his three-year career, using his 6-foot-3, 223-pound frame to create space and offense. Sabres fans remember his rollicking introduction to the NHL late in 2011-12. But ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ville Leino and Chad Ruhwedel to sit against Oilers

BUFFALO – In Ville Leino’s defense, Ted Nolan said, the Sabres winger “has played in spurts, hit a couple goalposts.”

“He’s just missing here and just missing there,” the interim coach said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “When those things just keep missing, you look at the overall picture that he’s not playing well at all. But, truth is, he has played in spurts. It just didn’t click in.”

Leino has zero goals ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Linus Omark looking to break out against Oilers

BUFFALO – So far, 11 games into his Sabres career, Linus Omark has been a colossal disappointment, compiling zero goals, two assists and seven healthy scratches for the NHL’s worst team.

But the slick winger will return tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, his old team, after sitting the last three games. The Swede might even skate on the top line.

Clearly, interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan hopes a visit from the Oilers ignites Omark, who ... Read the full article

Sabres score 4 goals again, beat Bruins for second straight regulation win

BUFFALO – Break ‘em up. Not only have the Sabres won consecutive games in regulation for the first time all season, they’ve scored eight goals while wowing crowds again inside a lively First Niagara Center.

The Sabres had eight goals in their previous seven games before starting this mini-streak.

Thursday’s 4-2 triumph versus the Boston Bruins might’ve been the best of their nine victories this trying season.

Against the class of the Eastern Conference, Drew ... Read the full article

Sabres acquire Linus Omark from Oilers for draft pick

BUFFALO – The Sabres tonight acquired winger Linus Omark from the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2014.

The flashy 26-year-old has eight goals, 30 points and 34 penalty minutes in 88 NHL contests.

The pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, is based on the number of NHL games the Swede plays.

The Oilers drafted Omark 97^th overall in 2007. He played last season in Switzerland before returning to North America.... Read the full article