Ennis - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark to start; Zemgus Girgensons to return

BUFFALO – In the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to St. Louis on Monday, coach Dan Bylsma felt goalie Linus Ullmark was playing so well his team would only need one goal to win.

The Sabres eventually broke down late, allowing the Blues to eke out a victory. But Ullmark’s 24-save performance convinced Bylsma, who had been alternating the Swede and Chad Johnson, to start the rookie again tonight against the Nashville Predators, his third nod in ... Read the full article

Former Sabres captain Steve Ott playing like old self

BUFFALO – A season ago, months removed from hernia surgery, former Sabres captain Steve Ott played his usual high-octane style, but the gritty St. Louis Blues veteran chased the game.

The energy Ott showcased “was more hunting energy,” St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said Monday prior the Blues’ 2-1 win against the Sabres inside the First Niagara Center.

“He went out of his way for hits,” Hitchcock said. “He went out of his way to ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis needs to simplify

BUFFALO – It’s a fine line. As a shifty, speedy player who often creates highlight-reel goals few NHLers can pull off, Sabres winger Tyler Ennis’ instincts often tell him to go for the glitzy play.

But mired in one of the worst slumps of his 363-game career, Ennis, who hasn’t scored in nine games, knows he needs to go for the safer play.

“It’s tough because I know I can make the plays,” Ennis said ... Read the full article

Improved Sabres have long ways to go

BUFFALO – Realistically, one quarter into the season, seventh in the stacked Atlantic Division is a place many envisioned the Sabres would be at climbing out of their rebuild.

The 8-10-2 Sabres, as their current four-game losing streak (0-2-2) illustrates, are still a raw work in progress. They’ve already endured a string of ups and downs – a disappointing 2-6 start, a significant 6-2 run to reach .500 and injuries to defenseman Zach Bogosian and ... Read the full article

Sabres forwards struggling to generate offense

BUFFALO – Sabres coach Dan Bylsma believes Tyler Ennis’ recent erratic play is a result of pressing. The shifty winger, meanwhile, thinks he’s “just trying to play hard.”

Whatever the case, Ennis, who has zero goals in the last seven games, keeps trying to do too much.

“I think he’s trying to make a lot happen with every time he touches the puck,” Bylsma said Wednesday. “He has that mentality and (is) probably trying to ... Read the full article

Late overturned goal costs Sabres in loss to Stars

BUFFALO – As the 18,101 fans roared and celebrated a late Sabres comeback that seemed improbable just minutes earlier Tuesday, back on the bench, coach Dan Bylsma knew Sam Reinhart’s tying power-play goal wouldn’t count.

“I knew it was offside before the puck went in,” Bylsma said about the goal 13:53 into the third period following the Sabres’ 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars inside the First Niagara Center.

For the third time in 18 ... Read the full article

Significant wins have Sabres primed to go over .500

BUFFALO – Eighteen NHL teams, including nine in the Eastern Conference and four in the Atlantic Division, have more points than the Sabres’ 16. At 8-8, they’re one of 20 clubs at .500 or better.

On the surface, and without fully understanding their recent turbulent past, the Sabres’ start might look a bit pedestrian. But having won three straight games and six of eight, they’ve roared back into the playoff picture. In the last two ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis knows he can improve

BUFFALO – When Dan Bylsma and Tyler Ennis discuss the speedy Sabres winger’s play, the coach rarely has to give the young veteran his opinion.

That’s because Ennis, who can often be critical of his own game, usually beats Bylsma to the punch.

“He tells me the same thing he’s told you,” Bylsma said Monday following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “I know (he’s) probably been a little hard on himself a handful of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Bogosian progressing

BUFFALO – When general manager Tim Murray pulls the trigger on the Zach Bogosian trade, coach Dan Bylsma joked, it’ll help the Sabres.

After all, the Sabres will be receiving a minute-munching first-pair defenseman.

“It’ll be a good trade made when Tim makes it,” Bylsma cracked this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center.

Fourteen games into the season, Bogosian, who suffered a lower-body injury early in training camp, is still sidelined. There is, however, some ... Read the full article

Rasmus Ristolainen’s late goal pushes Sabres past Canucks

BUFFALO – There were still 16.8 seconds left on the clock, but Rasmus Ristolainen figured what the heck, his second goal of the game, the winner in the Sabres’ exciting 3-2 victory against goalie Ryan Miller’s Vancouver Canucks, needed to be celebrated wildly.

So the defenseman skated to center ice, slid down on his knees and yelled out as the capacity crowd of 19,070 fans roared Saturday afternoon. Tyler Ennis, whose dynamic effort created the ... Read the full article