Girgensons - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres rally to beat Flames, continue hot streak

BUFFALO – The Sabres have lived oh-so dangerously in their victories this season. Getting outshot by double digits and handling the puck for just a small portion of the game is usually a recipe for disaster.

Somehow, the rebuilding club has managed to find success with opponents controlling most of the play.

Despite getting outshot 45-19, the Sabres won again Thursday, using two third-period goals to rally and beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 before an ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Chris Stewart doesn’t want to discuss benching

BUFFALO – Instead of walking into the dressing room following a long skate Tuesday morning, struggling Sabres winger Chris Stewart veered off and undressed somewhere else.

A few minutes later, a staff member wheeled in Stewart’s equipment on a shopping cart and placed it in his locker.

Clearly, Stewart, a healthy scratch for the Sabres’ 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings, wasn’t in the mood to discuss his benching.

“All players have to play ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Chris Stewart to be scratched against Kings

BUFFALO – Less than two weeks ago, Chris Stewart appeared to turn a corner. The 6-foot-2, 231-pound Sabres winger scored two nifty breakaway goals during a three-game stretch, just his second and third goals this season.

But Stewart has done little since then, so Sabres coach Ted Nolan will make the 27-year-old a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings inside the First Niagara Center.

“All players have to play to the ... Read the full article

Jean Beliveau still greatly influences Sabres’ Josh Gorges

BUFFALO – Josh Gorges considers himself old school. He believes defensemen should wear single-digit numbers. So after sporting No. 26 with the Montreal Canadiens for years, the veteran wanted a low number when the Sabres acquired him.

Gorges had a couple of choices. He settled on No. 4, partly because iconic Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau, who died Tuesday at age 83, wore it during his illustrious Hall of Fame career.

Beliveau is hockey royalty.

“What ... Read the full article

Zemgus Girgensons clutch in Sabres’ shootout win over Lightning

BUFFALO – At this rate, Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons, the NHL’s 119^th-leading scorer, will be an All-Star later this season.

Latvians have seemingly been voting non-stop for their favorite player online, helping the 20-year-old open up a stunning 158,994-vote lead. Montreal’s P.K. Subban is a distant second with 240,362 votes. Girgensons has a whopping 399,356 votes!

But if the tenacious Girgensons, who has only 16 goals in 95 NHL games, can’t get ... Read the full article

With Cody McCormick still sidelined, Sabres recall Tim Schaller

BUFFALO – Tim Schaller had just eaten lunch and gotten comfortable on the couch Tuesday afternoon in Rochester when Americans coach Chadd Cassidy phoned the center.

“Get yourself to Buffalo tonight,” Cassidy told Schaller, who had been sent down following his NHL debut Saturday.

Schaller hopped in his car and arrived at the First Niagara Center around 4 p.m.

The Sabres summoned Schaller for their 2-1 shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning because forward ... Read the full article

Cody McCormick out against Lightning; Sabres could make recall

BUFFALO – After participating fully in this morning’s skate, Sabres forward Cody McCormick left the ice and spoke to reporters about his recovery from a possible concussion.

It was assumed McCormick, out since Eric Fehr’s skate hit him in the head Nov. 22 in Washington, would return tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning inside the First Niagara Center.

But McCormick will miss his fourth straight game. With winger Drew Stafford out (lower body), the Sabres ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Zemgus Girgensons leading NHL All-Star Game voting

BUFFALO – The No. 1 vote-getter for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game has 15 career goals, hasn’t hit the 100-game mark yet and plays for one of the league’s worst teams.

As of late Monday, Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons led all NHL players in fan voting. If Latvians keep clicking for the 20-year-old, their favorite player will be in Columbus on Jan. 25.

“I just think it’s kind of funny,” Girgensons said Monday inside the ... Read the full article

Sabres believe postponement of Rangers game good thing

BUFFALO – It was business as usual early Thursday inside the First Niagara Center. Following a day off, the Sabres practiced in anticipation of playing the New York Rangers tonight. Only snowed-in winger Patrick Kaleta, who’s stuck in Hamburg, was missing. Coach Ted Nolan discussed his lineup.

But miles away, Winter Storm Knife was battering Buffalo’s Southtowns again, pouring more snow on an area already devastated by one of the biggest storms in this ... Read the full article

Sabres finally have goal scoring and top line

BUFFALO – Finally, more than a month into the season, the Sabres’ feeble offense has busted loose, scoring nine goals in the last two outings, including a season-high six in Saturday’s annihilation of Toronto.

About time, right?

The NHL’s weakest attack scored 19 goals in the first 17 games, so the last two contests have accounted for 32 percent of the Sabres’ offense this season.

Incredible.

The Sabres are scoring at a shocking 120-goal pace. ... Read the full article