WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Curtis Lazar is Buffalo’s latest center to get injured. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres center Curtis Lazar suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s 6-1 win over and the Philadelphia Flyers and is week to week, interim coach Don Granato said.
The Sabres, who host the New York Rangers tonight at KeyBank Center, have become woefully thin down the middle. In addition to Lazar, three other centers – Jack Eichel, Dylan Cozens and Eric Staal – have been injured or traded in the last month.
Granato said he ... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart scored the first goal in Wednesday’s win. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Instead of addressing the Sabres during Wednesday’s second intermission, interim coach Don Granato left his players alone.
No words of encouragement. Not even a tactical point or two.
The game was playing out eerily similar to Monday’s. Granato, whose Sabres also held a three-goal that night over the Philadelphia Flyers, wanted his players to take over.
“I wouldn’t have handed it off to them if I wasn’t confident that they could do it ... Read the full article
Casey Mittelstadt has moved up the depth chart this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Shifting Casey Mittelstadt to center wasn’t simply a result of the hapless Sabres trading Eric Staal or Jack Eichel suffering a lower-body injury.
Yes, injuries and Staal’s departure have decimated the Sabres at center. The four who practiced Tuesday inside KeyBank Center – Mittelstadt, Cody Eakin, Curtis Lazar and Riley Sheahan – have combined to score 10 goals and 25 points this season.
Interim coach Don Granato, whose Sabres host the Philadelphia ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has often been a healthy scratch this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – After morphing from a first-liner into a healthy scratch earlier this season, Tage Thompson could enjoy regular duty under interim coach Don Granato.
Thompson needs consistent action to buoy his development. The 6-foot-7, 219-pound winger has played only 17 NHL games in a more than two-year stretch.
Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center was the Sabres’ 18th straight defeat. They have nothing to lose by playing him.
“It’s ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has become a key contributor to Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Buffalo Sabres rookie center Dylan Cozens suffered what appeared to be a left arm injury and will not return to tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Cozens departed after Flyers defenseman Philippe Myers checked him into the left boards deep in the Philadelphia zone 11:43 into the game.
Riley Sheahan replaced Cozens between Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart.... Read the full article
Jack Eichel has missed the last 10 games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres captain Jack Eichel, who has missed the last 10 games recovering from an upper-body injury, could play again this season, interim coach Don Granato said.
Granato said he spoke to Eichel late last week.
“He said he felt good, he was feeling better,” Granato said on a Zoom call this morning. “I don’t think it would be season-ending. So I know we’re all working to get him back. (I) do not ... Read the full article
Eric Staal played 32 games for Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres this afternoon traded veteran center Eric Staal to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks in 2021.
The Sabres will retain $1.625 million of Staal’s $3 million salary. Staal, 36, did not practice with the Sabres today in Boston.
Following the session, Sabres winger Kyle Okposo said he said goodbye to Staal.... Read the full article
Don Granato has coached the Sabres three games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Ninety minutes before his NHL head coaching debut, Kevyn Adams was more focused on stepping behind the bench than trying to process the chaos that has transpired in his first season as Buffalo Sabres general manager.
“I can’t even really get into all that,” Adams said on a Zoom call prior to the Sabres’ 16th consecutive loss, a 4-0 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Can you blame Adams? The season from hell refuses to let ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has quickly become Buffalo’s No. 1 center. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
For now, rookie Dylan Cozens is the Buffalo Sabres’ No. 1 center. With captain Jack Eichel injured and veteran Eric Staal mired in a 22-game goal drought, the hapless team sorely needs a productive presence in the middle.
The Sabres shifted Cozens, 20, to right wing earlier this season so he could be eased into the NHL. But before he played 20 games, they moved him back to his natural position.
Cozens, the seventh ... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson has scored just one goal in the last 14 games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Interim Sabres coach Don Granato keeps learning how badly struggling winger Victor Olofsson wants to break out of his season-long funk.
Whether it’s the Swede’s behavior as he prepares for practice or his attentiveness during a conversation or a meeting, Granato said he sees a player “searching for the answer, searching for the direction within himself.”
“Which is great,” Granato said on a Zoom call Tuesday. “And he’ll get there, there’s no doubt in my ... Read the full article