Eichel - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Everything has gone wrong for Sabres in chaotic season

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

Rookie Dylan Cozens earning keep as Sabres’ No. 1 center

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

Sabres confident Victor Olofsson will overcome struggles: ‘He’ll get there’

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

Don Granato takes over Sabres with coaching search underway

For the time being, Don Granato, a 53-year-old hockey lifer who has spent the last 27 years coaching or scouting in pro, college and junior, is leading the hapless Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres on Wednesday named Granato their interim coach after firing Ralph Krueger in the midst of a 12-game losing streak.

Granato, who joined Krueger’s staff as an assistant last season, will be behind the bench tonight against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank ... Read the full article

Changes could be coming to Sabres: ‘Guys expect something’

Everything was set up nicely Tuesday for the Buffalo Sabres to end their marathon losing steak.

In the New Jersey Devils, the hapless Sabres faced another reeling team they have earned three of their six wins against this season.

The Devils, who also endured a long COVID-19 pause last month, had 11 lost straight games at Prudential Center. Overall, they had dropped four straight contests and 12 of their last 14.

But the Sabres, who ... Read the full article

Sabres have no plans to rest Rasmus Ristolainen: ‘He’s such a competitor’

BUFFALO – Rasmus Ristolainen’s harrowing battle with COVID-19 left him so weak he struggled to walk up the stairs in his home. The Sabres defenseman did not play for 27 days and missed seven games.

But since Ristolainen returned to the lineup Feb. 27, he has played all 10 contests, averaging 21 minutes, 28 seconds of ice time in the first nine entering Monday’s 6-0 loss to the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center.

Have the ... Read the full article

Injuries to Dylan Cozens, Jack Eichel force Sabres to promote Riley Sheahan

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ center depth has become so thin that Riley Sheahan, a fourth-line winger most of the season, centered the top line in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sheahan, 29, played center almost exclusively before joining the Sabres this season. When he pivoted the No. 1 trio on short notice after captain Jack Eichel was a late scratch Feb. 25, he scored just minutes into the game.

So Sheahan, the ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Jack Eichel to be out for ‘foreseeable future’

Captain Jack Eichel’s upper-body injury will sideline him for “the foreseeable future,” Buffalo Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said this morning.

“Because of the nature of the injury, we can’t put a fixed date,” Krueger said on a Zoom call. “We’re expecting it to, yeah, go on a little longer.”

Krueger said earlier this week Eichel, 24, would miss a minimum of seven to 10 days.

Eichel appeared to hurt his neck when Casey Cizikas hit ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Dylan Cozens undergoing further evaluations, day to day

BUFFALO – Sabres center Dylan Cozens, who left Thursday’s 5-2 loss after getting hit into the boards, did not practice Friday and is day to day with an upper-body injury, coach Ralph Krueger said.

“We’re still doing further evaluations today,” Krueger said on a Zoom call.

Cozens’ head bit the boards hard and he got up slowly after Pittsburgh Penguins center Zach Aston-Reese hit him 2:27 into the third period. The rookie left the game ... Read the full article

Sabres lose game to Penguins, Dylan Cozens to injury

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Colin Miller went right after Zach Aston-Reese, dropping the gloves for the first time in more than three years.

Miller doesn’t fight often, but after watching the Pittsburgh Penguins center hit rookie Dylan Cozens about six feet from the boards Thursday, he needed to stick up for his teammate.

Cozens’ head bit the boards hard and he got up slowly as Miller fought Aston-Reese 2:27 into the third period of the ... Read the full article