WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Tage Thompson (72) celebrates Wednesday with Alex Tuch (89) and his Buffalo teammates. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Each win the Sabres earn these days feels like the kind of game they would’ve lost earlier this season.
Take, for example, Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game in which they blew three leads, including one late in the third period before center Tage Thompson and winger Alex Tuch scored shootout goals.
In the recent past, they probably would’ve wilted down the stretch, especially against the NHL’s best road ... Read the full article
Mattias Samuelsson enjoyed Sunday afternoon’s Heritage Classic. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The poise Mattias Samuelsson possesses belies his experience. Barely 30 games into his NHL career, the Sabres consistently utilize the rookie against the opposition’s top talent.
On Thursday, Samuelsson faced Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. In Sunday afternoon’s 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the defenseman was often tasked with shutting down Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, one of the NHL’s elite duos.
At one point Sunday, with Marner roaring toward him, ... Read the full article
Zemgus Girgensons hasn’t played since Jan. 25. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The uncertainty Sabres winger Zemgus Girgensons experienced after he left the lineup in late January wore on him. The Latvian’s lower-body injury was related to the hamstring problem that forced him to miss all of last season.
“It was definitely mentally tough at the start where I kept going back and forth with how long I would be out,” Girgensons said following Tuesday’s practice at LECOM Harborcenter. “It brought back flashbacks from last ... Read the full article
Casey Fitzgerald has played 21 NHL games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, five of the six defensemen the Sabres utilized were 25 or younger.
The graybeard of the group, Robert Hagg, 27, has played all of 282 NHL games.
The rest of the blue line consisted of neophytes. Only one other defenseman, Rasmus Dahlin, 21, has played more than 200 big league contests.
The Sabres dressed two rookies – Casey Fitzgerald, 25, and Mattias Samuelsson, who turns ... Read the full article
Mark Pysyk sat out one game last month. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju will return tonight from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him the last six games, coach Don Granato said.
To make room, Granato said the Sabres will scratch defenseman Mark Pysyk against the Vegas Golden Knights.
When the Sabres had a surfeit of defensemen last month, they began rotating one in and out each game. Right now, however, Granato wants the team’s young defenders keep playing.
Henri Jokiharju has missed the last six games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Defenseman Henri Jokiharju and some other injured Sabres could return for tonight’s home game against Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights, coach Don Granato said.
Jokiharju, out the last six games with a lower-body injury, practiced Wednesday in his regular spot beside defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Meanwhile, winger Zemgus Girgensons, out the last 16 games with a lower-body injury, skated on a line of extras with center Mark Jankowski and Anders Bjork inside ... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart has kept producing in Florida. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In his six years here, ex-Sabres winger Sam Reinhart never experienced anything like this season. His playoff-bound Florida Panthers have established themselves as a Stanley Cup contender.
The Panthers, the NHL’s highest-scoring team, ranked fourth in the league entering Monday’s 6-1 win over the Sabres. They’re so deep that Reinhart, who spent most of his tenure in Buffalo as a first-liner, now skates on the third trio.
After more than 500 regular-season appearances, ... Read the full article
Vinnie Hinostroza has missed the last 18 games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres center Cody Eakin suffered an undisclosed injury in Friday’s 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild and missed this morning’s practice at LECOM Harborcenter.
Coach Don Granato said Eakin, who was undergoing X-rays, hasn’t been ruled out of Sunday afternoon’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
“We will know more in a couple hours,” Granato said of Eakin’s injury.
Zemgus Girgensons has missed the last 13 games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Among all the blue and white on the ice for the Sabres’ optional skate this morning, one jersey, the gold non-contact one worn by winger Zemgus Girgensons, stood out.
For the first time since Jan. 25, Girgensons, 28, skated with his teammates. A lower-body injury has sidelined the Latvian, an alternate captain, 13 straight games and 18 of the last 19 contests. While he won’t play tonight against the Minnesota Wild or ... Read the full article
Drake Caggiula hasn’t played since Nov. 22. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Drake Caggiula will undergo season-ending fusion surgery today in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disc in his neck, general manager Kevyn Adams said this morning.
Caggiula, 27, has a six to eight month recovery, according to Adams.
“He’s been seeing some different specialists and gathered all the information and then made the decision a few days ago that he was moving forward with the surgery,” Adams said inside KeyBank Center.... Read the full article