Ellis - Buffalo Hockey Beat

1994-95 Sabres recall fun and intense 48-game season

BUFFALO – Buckle up, Sabres fans. You could be watching a lot of intense, high-stakes hockey very soon.

If the NHL and the Players’ Association reach a new collective bargaining agreement by next Friday’s deadline, the league will most likely begin a shortened 48-game schedule against conference opponents Jan. 19.

Sure, losing 34 contests from the normal 82-game slate may be disappointing. But the increased importance of each game could make for some wildly entertaining ... Read the full article

Sabres players ratcheting up workouts as optimism for season increases

AMHERST – For the first time in the NHL’s agonizing 109-day lockout, players “know there could be an end in sight,” Buffalo Sabres forward Matt Ellis said today, “whether we are playing or whether we’re not playing.”

Of course, nothing’s finalized yet, but positive signs are emerging a schedule of 48 games or so could begin later this month. The NHL and the Players’ Association have been tight-lipped as they’ve exchanged detailed proposals over the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Steve Ott hopes charity game wows fans

BUFFALO – In Steve Ott’s mind, the special “Rockout The Lockout” charity hockey game he’s helping present Saturday could become more than a mere exhibition contest.

Eighty-three days into the NHL lockout, players are starving for some game action, the Sabres winger said.

So don’t expect the event “to be just an all-star game,” he said. Players are becoming increasingly competitive as they wait for the season to start. Some haven’t played a game in ... Read the full article

Locked-out Sabres pursuing new jobs

AMHERST – Following another informal skate Wednesday, Jason Pominville packed up his hockey equipment, hopped in the car and drove home seven hours to Montreal.

It’s that hard for the locked out NHL players to find a game these days.

The Sabres captain said he’ll play tonight in the Quebec Caravan League, a charity exhibition series pitting players from Montreal against others from around the province. The contests should resemble intense shinny, he said.

His ... Read the full article

Sabres trying to remain upbeat as lockout practices begin

AMHERST – Now they’re officially on their own, locked out and barred from any contact with the organization. About 12 Buffalo Sabres regulars skated with some prospects Monday morning inside the Northtown Center, the first of possibly dozens of practices without a regular coaching staff.

The team employees who had recently assisted with informal skates have left. Other than the Sabres logo on their jerseys, something the players could soon ditch, the symbol has almost ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Thomas Vanek not living up to expectations

BUFFALO – Five years after the Sabres matched the astonishing seven-year, $50 million offer sheet Edmonton awarded winger Thomas Vanek, the star expected to score 40 goals annually and flirt with 50 has averaged just 32 a season.

At times, Vanek still utterly dominates the game like few players can these days. See the beginning of 2008-09, the end of 2009-10 and the start of his past one season for proof.

For long stretches, however, ... Read the full article

Sabres expect more goals from Gerbe

BUFFALO – The defensive style winger Nathan Gerbe has embraced and played so well this season isn’t quite a full-fledged checking role. No way. The Sabres still expect Gerbe to score, something he’s done only six times this season in 60 games.

Gerbe, who returned from a muscle pull Tuesday that sidelined him nine games, often shadows and stymies the opposition’s top scorers. But that shouldn’t hinder his offense, said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who’s ... Read the full article

Bad weekend might doom Sabres’ playoff hopes

BUFFALO – In less than 24 hours, the Sabres morphed from a postseason frontrunner to a likely bystander. Consecutive regulations losses can do that. An incredible nine-week run up the Eastern Conference possibly fell apart with one bad weekend.

Nonetheless, the ninth-place Sabres haven’t been eliminated yet. They still possess hope.

Three games remain, starting with tonight’s huge home finale against the hapless Maple Leafs, who downed them 4-3 on Saturday in Toronto.

The Sabres ... Read the full article

Leafs’ season crumbled quickly

TORONTO – By the third period of the hapless Maple Leafs’ 11^th consecutive home loss Thursday, the remaining fans inside the Air Canada Centre – normally some of the NHL’s quietest and most corporate patrons – finally had enough.

Watching the Philadelphia Flyers throttle their Leafs 7-1 put the self-proclaimed “Center of the Hockey Universe” in a baseball mood.

“Let’s go Blue Jays” fans chanted three times, getting pretty loud by the end.

Yikes!... Read the full article

Sabres’ Hodgson getting accustomed to new city, team

BUFFALO – Cody Hodgson said he loves exploring cities. On the road, where he’s on pace to play an NHL-record 48 games this season, the 22-year-old Sabres center tries to see all the sights.

Hodgson just visited Times Square last week prior to his first game in New York. The Toronto native rates Dallas – sorry, Sabres fans – and Nashville among his favorite cities.

One day recently, Hodgson hopped in his rental car and ... Read the full article