Ellis - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres goalie Matt Hackett still confident he can grab top job

BUFFALO – Nothing has changed, Matt Hackett said. Forget that he was enduring a terrible season in Rochester before injuries forced his recall. Forget that general manager Tim Murray recently said the Sabres’ goalie of the future likely wasn’t in the organization.

Hackett, a key piece of April’s Jason Pominville trade with the Wild, hasn’t lost much confidence. The 24-year-old still believes he can become the team’s No. 1 netminder, a coveted spot that’s up ... Read the full article

Memories of playing with Dominik Hasek special for Sabres’ Matt Ellis

BUFFALO – One current Sabre, forward Matt Ellis, played with legendary goalie Dominik Hasek, who was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame prior to Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning inside the First Niagara Center.

Ellis played 16 games as a rookie with Detroit in 2006-07, Hasek’s 15^th NHL season. Incredibly, Hasek posted a 2.05 goals-against average and .913 save percentage as 42-year-old that year.

“He was a ... Read the full article

Former Sabres broadcaster Pete Weber back in booth after suffering heart attack

BUFFALO – Just 33 days after suffering a heart attack, veteran play-by-play man Pete Weber is calling games again. Incredibly, the Nashville Predators’ 4-1 win Tuesday inside the First Niagara Center was the former Sabres broadcaster’s seventh contest back.

Sitting in his booth about two hours before faceoff, the affable Weber, a popular Buffalo sports voice in the 1980s and 1990s, recalled the scary day.

“Right people, right time and right location,” said Weber, whose ... Read the full article

Sabres ready for hectic schedule following Olympic break, know changes are coming

BUFFALO – Trade rumors have dogged Matt Moulson since the Sabres acquired the winger almost four months ago. But with rosters frozen for 16 days during the NHL’s Olympic break, Moulson briefly got away from the noise, rehabbed his rib injury and relaxed a bit.

“It was good to just go home and train and get healthy again and spend some family time,” Moulson said Monday inside the First Niagara Center.

Moulson and the Sabres ... 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

Penguins’ Brooks Orpik says Olympians more concerned with family safety

PITTSBURGH – Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, a member of Team USA’s Olympic squad, said athletes aren’t that concerned about their own safety for the upcoming Sochi Games.

“It’s more they’re concerned over their family members going because they’re not in the village,” Orpik said Monday prior to the Penguins’ 3-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres inside the Consol Energy Center. “We’ve been pretty assured they’re going to be safe where they are. It’s one of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Matt Ellis scoring, earning Ted Nolan’s respect and regular duty

PITTSBURGH – Matt Ellis had two Buffalo Sabres skating to the crease, so even a few steps inside the blue line, the winger figured lofting a backhander toward Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was a smart move.

To Ellis, getting the puck on net – even the seemingly harmless shots – is one of the simplest ways to increase scoring.

“Coaches tell you from Day One when you pick up a hockey stick that things happen ... Read the full article

Phil Varone, family emotional over NHL debut; Sabres fall to Hurricanes

BUFFALO – The voice on the other end of the phone was excited. For a moment, Tony Varone thought his son, Sabres center Phil Varone, had been in a car accident.

“I said, ‘Is everything OK?’” the elder Varone recalled a day later inside the First Niagara Center.

Phil Varone, who nearly shunned the Sabres to play hockey for the University of New Brunswick in 2011, was calling with good news, though.

“He ... Read the full article

Sabres recall from Amerks Phil Varone for first time

BUFFALO – The thinking was the Sabres, with eight defensemen at their disposal, would likely send one to Rochester.

Sure enough, they assigned rookie Brayden McNabb to the AHL with forward Kevin Porter, who’s finally healthy after getting hit into the boards Dec. 21.

But in a surprising move, the Sabres also recalled a youngster Wednesday afternoon, center Phil Varone, the Americans’ leading scorer. The 23-year-old prospect will likely play tonight against the Carolina ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ville Leino struggling to score, reach Ted Nolan’s expectations

BUFFALO – Ville Leino said he doesn’t mind battling or working hard, two aspects of his game interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan has questioned. Getting hit “or getting into stuff,” well, the struggling forward doesn’t mind that, either.

“I like battling,” Leino said Monday following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “Sometimes in a game it’s hard to get into the game, to get inside of the game to go battle hard. So somehow you ... Read the full article