WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
January Edition
Matt Ellis is playing on the Sabres’ fourth line. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Today’s NHL is too fast-paced to play two or three lines consistently, interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. A balanced attack is needed.
“You need that fourth line to eat up some minutes for you,” Nolan said Wednesday after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s tilt against the Boston Bruins inside the First Niagara Center.
In the best performance by the Sabres’ fourth line in a long time, the hardworking combination of Kevin Porter... Read the full article
Drew Stafford (21) scraps with Winnipeg’s Grant Clitsome on Tuesday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Just a few weeks ago, if they had fallen behind after frittering away a strong start, the Sabres would’ve been cooked. Heck, they might’ve gotten run out of their own building.
But the bottom-feeding Sabres have slowly been improving under interim coach Ted Nolan. Their game is cleaner. Their efforts are much better. They’re finally responding to adversity.
Tuesday’s exciting 4-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets, the Sabres’ first triumph this season when ... Read the full article
Mark Pysyk has played 31 NHL games this season. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Mark Pysyk’s assignment to Rochester won’t last long, interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. The rookie defenseman will be back after the Americans participate in the upcoming Spengler Cup tournament in Switzerland.
Nolan said the steady Pysyk, one of the Sabres’ few bright spots this season, is capable of playing in the NHL right now.
“But is he at the mature level we think he can be? Not yet,” Nolan said Tuesday ... Read the full article
Cody McCormick was injured Saturday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres forward Cody McCormick suffered an upper body injury blocking a shot in Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary and will miss four to six weeks, interim coach Ted Nolan said this afternoon.
“One thing about doing what Cody does, unfortunately, sometimes that’s going to happen,” Nolan said inside the First Niagara Center. “He’s fearless. He puts himself in front of shots that are coming 90 mph. Sometimes they hit you in the ... Read the full article
Zemgus Girgensons stuffs his shootout winner past Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner on Tuesday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The best part of the Sabres’ 2-1 shootout win, interim coach Ted Nolan said, came 15:30 into the second period, when officials disallowed what appeared to be his team’s go-ahead goal.
Wait, what? Why would Nolan say that?
The Sabres have crumbled under adversity all season. But on Tuesday, after a delayed penalty possession whistle wiped out Jamie McBain’s score, they kept fighting against the Ottawa Senators inside the First Niagara Center.
“It ... Read the full article
Brayden McNabb has sat the last four games. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Ted Nolan wanted to give his lines a long look. The interim Sabres coach figured he couldn’t ask his players for consistency if he kept shuffling the trios.
But after a string of losses and more meager offensive production, Nolan switched up his combinations Monday.
“Our top line is having a little bit of trouble, maybe the chemistry wasn’t quite right,” Nolan said following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “We talked to ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis said the lines had to be changed. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Ted Nolan wanted to give his lines a long look. The interim Sabres coach figured he couldn’t ask his players for consistency if he kept shuffling the trios.
But after a string of losses and more meager offensive production, Nolan switched the lines up today.
“Our top line is having a little bit of trouble, maybe the chemistry wasn’t quite right,” Nolan said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center. ... Read the full article
Jamie McBain sat four games recently. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
MONTREAL – Jamie McBain wanted to know why he was sitting so much. So the defenseman dissected the four games he had played under Ted Nolan, the Buffalo Sabres’ new interim coach.
“I couldn’t come to an answer myself,” McBain said Saturday prior to the Sabres’ 3-2 loss to the Canadiens inside the Bell Centre.
So the 25-year-old, a healthy scratch four straight games recently, approached Nolan.
“I wanted to kind of hear his opinion ... Read the full article
Jhonas Enroth will start tonight. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
MONTREAL – Shortly after he took over the Buffalo Sabres, interim coach Ted Nolan said he wanted to play franchise goalie Ryan Miller as much as he could. Sure enough, backup Jhonas Enroth sat two weeks between starts.
But Enroth’s 23-save performance in the Sabres’ 1-0 overtime loss last Saturday in New Jersey impressed Nolan, who didn’t like the Swede’s first start Nov. 16.
Enroth will start tonight against the Canadiens, a team he’s 3-0 ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko played well at the world junior championship the last two years. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko knows watching NHL games as a spare forward is hurting his development.
“I can’t be sitting in the press box. I need to play,” Grigorenko said Thursday morning inside the First Niagara Center. “Everybody understands this.”
Luckily, the Sabres’ new regime understands how vital ice time is to Grigorenko’s maturation, so the team’s letting the 19-year-old center play for Russian at the upcoming world junior championship in Sweden.
“I ... Read the full article