Girgensons - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Evander Kane wants to play this week; Zach Bogosian set to return

BUFFALO – After Evander Kane suffered a left MCL injury Oct. 24, the Sabres winger took a positive approach. When doctors told him he would be sidelined four to six weeks, he aimed to return after three and a half weeks.

A year ago with Winnipeg, Kane said he suffered the exact same injury to his right knee and returned in that timeframe.

“I’m a big believer in the mind’s a powerful thing,” Kane said ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Bogosian will play this week; Zemgus Girgensons questionable for Stars

BUFFALO – Nearly two months after suffering a lower-body injury, Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian is almost ready for his season debut.

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said Bogosian, 25, will play this week. But based on how hard the Massena native has been practicing in recent days, could he play Tuesday when the Sabres host the Dallas Stars?

“It’s been feeling good for a little while,” Bogosian said today after skating. “So now it’s just getting ... Read the full article

Sabres rally late, fall to Sharks in overtime

BUFFALO – Somehow, some way, the Sabres have been finding ways to win recently, and when Ryan O’Reilly tied Saturday’s tilt early in the third period, it looked like they might do it again.

Heck, they had to, right? They were playing the San Jose Sharks, a team that had won here once in its 24-year existence.

But the upstart Sabres, who reached .500 for the first time in three seasons on Thursday, couldn’t convert ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Nick Deslauriers needs to showcase more physicality

BUFFALO – Without his gritty, sandpaper style, Nick Deslauriers morphs from a strong fourth-line winger into a journeyman the Sabres are willing to scratch.

Sure, the popular 24-year-old possesses a strong shot, chips in the odd goal and even occasionally earns fill-in duty on a scoring line.

But physicality, something Deslauriers’ game has been lacking recently, is his bread and butter.

So on Thursday following the pregame warm-up in Florida, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma told ... 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

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

Sabres’ Brian Gionta and Zemgus Girgensons starting to showcase offensive skills

BUFFALO – Just over six minutes into the third period Sunday, Sabres captain Brian Gionta deftly backhanded the puck along the left boards through the neutral zone into Islanders territory. Center Zemgus Girgensons then barreled in, retrieving the pass in the circle before slickly feeding Matt Moulson for the tying goal.

For Girgensons, the nifty assist in the Sabres’ 2-1 victory against New York was his first this season and just his second point. For ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Chad Johnson rebounds; Jack Eichel ready for Sidney Crosby

PITTSBURGH – Buffalo Sabres goalie Chad Johnson embraces a simple philosophy following poor outings: Don’t panic, just stick with it.

“I think when you start sitting down and being like, ‘OK, I got to change this, change that, get out here and do this,’ now you’re overthinking instead of saying it was one of those days,” Johnson said Wednesday inside the Consol Energy Center.

Johnson, 29, experienced one of those days Friday, looking shaky in ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly rarely satisfied with efforts

BUFFALO – The scene repeats itself after nearly every Sabres loss.

Inevitably, center Ryan O’Reilly will face a hoard of cameras in the dressing room, lament his miscues and take some responsibility for the defeat.

“It’s something I like about myself,” O’Reilly said about pressure Saturday prior to scoring a goal and two assists in the Sabres’ 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. “I think I have to be that way. … Whether it’s ... Read the full article

Goalie prospect Linus Ullmark excited to join Sabres

BUFFALO – If Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark had suffered any setbacks in his rehab following double-hip surgery in April, the worst-case scenario would’ve been a return to the ice in January.

But the Swede, 22, recovered quickly enough to join full practices a month ago and earn three starts with the Rochester Americans this month.

Ullmark dazzled in the AHL, making 38 saves in his debut and 43 on Wednesday. Incredibly, just three games into ... Read the full article