Gionta - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres captain Brian Gionta on Ted Nolan’s firing: ‘It’s a result of how we played on the ice’

ROCHESTER – During a trying season in which the Buffalo Sabres lost 59 times and finished 30^th overall, former coach Ted Nolan, who was fired Sunday, made it “good on the guys,” captain Brian Gionta said.

Still, Gionta understands when a team finishes last, the coach is the first to fall.

“Obviously, it’s tough,” Gionta said Friday as the Americans, the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, played the Utica Comets. “We love Teddy. Teddy’s a great ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Josh Gorges feels players’ professionalism suffered

BUFFALO – A player’s mind stays focused on the current season, Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges said. Athletes live in the present. They don’t think a year ahead like their team’s brass.

“You come in with a mindset of we’re going to win, we’re going to try to win,” the veteran said Sunday morning as the Sabres cleaned out their lockers following a 30^th-place finish. “As players, our job is not to play for ... Read the full article

Sabres hold on for tight win over Hurricanes

BUFFALO – Emotionally, the Sabres’ 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes was a difficult game to play in, coach Ted Nolan said.

The bottom-feeders were skating for pride Monday. They Sabres were trying to stave off clinching 30^th place for the second consecutive season.

“When you’re out of the playoffs and you’re trying to lift that emotional level up, it’s quite a challenge,” Nolan said following the Sabres’ third win in the last five ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno looks to brother’s star play for inspiration

BUFFALO – For about 24 hours, Marcus Foligno enjoyed the family’s bragging rights. The Sabres winger felt good after scoring twice Friday, his first goals in 24 games.

Then Foligno’s older brother, Nick, a breakout star with the Columbus Blue Jackets, outdid him Saturday, scoring his first NHL hat trick and hitting the prestigious 30-goal, 70-point marks.

“He had to go out and one-up me,” Marcus Foligno joked Monday prior to the Sabres’ 4-3 win ... Read the full article

Sabres assistant coach Bryan Trottier has special memories of Nassau Coliseum

BUFFALO – New York Islanders legend Bryan Trottier remembers the noise. The roar inside Nassau Coliseum would become deafening, funneling down from the stands to the ice.

“To the point where you’re reading lips,” Trottier, a Sabres assistant coach, said Friday. “Until you actually experience it, it’s just fantastic.”

The Isles are moving to bigger and better digs 24 miles away next season, the shiny Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Trottier, a Hall of Famer who ... Read the full article

Matt Moulson sick; Sabres might need to recall player; Update: Tim Schaller recalled

BUFFALO – Winger Matt Moulson woke up this morning feeling ill. Meanwhile, defenseman Mike Weber woke up feeling sore.

The Sabres don’t have an extra forward. Rochester is playing tonight in Iowa, so recalling one for tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks won’t be easy.

What will the Sabres do?

“That’s a big question,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.

The Sabres haven’t ruled Moulson out. Defenseman Tyson Strachan ... Read the full article

Brian Gionta captaining Sabres through rough season

BUFFALO – Sabres captain Brian Gionta has finally started scoring again. With two more assists Wednesday, the winger has four goals and 11 points in the last nine contests, his hottest stretch in more than a year.

Gionta, after months of offensive struggles, looks like the slick veteran who has averaged 26 goals in his full NHL seasons. The production has helped buoy the Sabres’ late-season goal surge and a two-game winning streak entering tonight’s ... Read the full article

Rare Matt Ellis goal caps Sabres’ comeback win against hapless Leafs

BUFFALO – It was a pretty goal, the type that can bring fans out of their seats before the puck is even in the net. Basically, it was the kind of goal Sabres center Matt Ellis never scores.

In 351 NHL games, Ellis has only 21 goals. The likable veteran hadn’t scored in 33 appearances this season prior to his nifty highlight-reel winner Wednesday in the Sabres’ 4-3 come-from-behind victory against the hapless Toronto Maple ... Read the full article

Lots has gone wrong for Sabres in awful season

BUFFALO – Given the Sabres’ sorry state these days, it’s almost difficult to remember now. But for a brief stretch earlier this season, they morphed into a young team on the rise, winning a string of exciting games in dramatic fashion.

The rebuilding club triumphed 10 times in 13 games – they have only 20 victories in 75 outings all season – during a rollicking run in November and December, roaring back night after night.... Read the full article

Sabres focused on future, not fan support

BUFFALO – Brian Gionta wouldn’t go there. The Sabres captain knows his words carry weight.

Gionta played almost 25 minutes in the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime loss Thursday, a game in which many hometown fans rooted for the Arizona Coyotes, creating a bizarre scene inside the First Niagara Center.

Surely, the veteran heard the loud cheering for the opposition.

“No, our fans were cheering for us,” Gionta insisted Friday after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s ... Read the full article