Girgensons - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis nearing return

BUFFALO – Slowly, Tyler Ennis, out the last 11 games with an upper-body injury, is improving. The Sabres winger skated in an optional practice with five teammates today and will likely join the morning skate Thursday.

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said Ennis could be moved from the week-to-week category to day-to-day.

If that happens, perhaps Ennis could play Saturday afternoon against Chicago, the last game before the Christmas break.

“We’ll see, see how I ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark believes struggles are mental

BUFFALO – Right now, Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark’s struggles are “mostly mental things,” the Swede said this morning. In his last six starts, the rookie is 0-4-2 and has allowed 18 goals. In his last three starts, his save percentage is .859.

Remember, Ullmark, who will start tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, dazzled early on, winning four of his first six starts.

“We know that my game works,” Ullmark said inside the First ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen developing into star

BUFFALO – No one could believe the number that has been attached to Rasmus Ristolainen’s stat line all season: zero.

In 606 minutes, 12 seconds on the ice spread over 25 games – that’s a team-high 24 minutes, 14 seconds a contest – the Sabres’ ace defenseman hasn’t taken a penalty.

“Zero?” Josh Gorges, Ristolainen’s defense partner, asked incredulously Thursday before saying he was “impressed” and “surprised.”

When informed Ristolainen has zero penalty minutes, ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zemgus Girgensons doesn’t want All-Star votes

With NHL All-Star balloting now open, Buffalo Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons has a message for the fans in his native Latvia: Don’t vote for me again.

In a tweet Girgensons posted in Latvian today, he wrote, according to Google Translate, “All due respect to the fans, but please (do) not … vote for me (for) this (year’s All-Star Game)! Such things must be earned!”

Girgensons, 21, has only two goals and four points in 21 ... Read the full article

Hall of Famer Phil Housley grateful for early days with Sabres

BUFFALO – It was September 1982, and before the Sabres headed to Montreal for their first exhibition game, the team bus stopped at a hotel to pick up some players.

Phil Housley, an 18-year-old just months removed from high school, thought the bus was going to another hotel. So the green rookie, who was with his girlfriend, Karin, decided to bring his future wife on the bus, a big no-no.

“Everybody was on the ... Read the full article

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

Sabres’ Zemgus Girgensons close to returning

BUFFALO – Sure, Zemgus Girgensons has only mustered one goal and two points in 17 games this season. But the center, 21, is one of the Sabres’ best two-way players.

Not coincidentally, the Sabres have lost all four games since an upper-body injury sidelined Girgensons.

“We’ve missed him considerably,” said coach Dan Bylsma, who noted the Sabres have allowed more scoring chances without Girgensons. “It’s a big piece down the middle and a big piece ... 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