Girgensons - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres beat Leafs in overtime, send legions of Toronto fans home unhappy

BUFFALO – It wasn’t a normal postgame NHL salute. Then again, the Sabres’ exciting 3-2 overtime triumph against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday wasn’t a normal game.

Leafs fans, who normally comprise at least half the raucous crowd when Toronto visits the First Niagara Center, outnumbered Sabres fans perhaps three to one in the capacity crowd of 19,070.

They ruled the building, chanting loudly all night.

So when the Sabres skated to center ice ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Mikhail Grigorenko and Brayden McNabb should return tonight after healthy scratches

BUFFALO – These aren’t regular healthy scratches. Interim coach Ted Nolan, who’s been charged with evaluating and developing the Sabres’ young lineup, wants some of his prospects to sit occasionally.

So he scratched center Mikhail Grigorenko and defenseman Brayden McNabb for Friday’s 3-2 overtime win against Toronto Maple Leafs inside the First Niagara Center.

Both should return tonight in New Jersey against the Devils, however.

“I’m not unhappy,” Nolan said Friday morning about Grigorenko’s play. ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ted Nolan impressed with Mikhail Grigorenko’s two games

BUFFALO – Anybody will notice 19-year-old center Mikhail Grigorenko’s skill set, interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said.

“He sees the ice very well,” Nolan said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “He’s a big man. He has a tremendous shot.”

But Nolan also sees “a young kid” within all that talent.

“A young kid that’s finding his way,” he noted.

That’s why Nolan’s exercising patience with the rookie, who’s pointless in two ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan’s strong words mean Sabres will start making more moves

Bet on it. In the next week or so, the hapless Buffalo Sabres will trade or waive at least one underachieving veteran.

Ted Nolan has seen enough just four games into his tenure.

“The gloves are officially off,” the interim coach told reporters Thursday in Philadelphia following the Sabres’ weak 4-1 loss, their third straight setback. “Now we got to do certain things in order to play. If you don’t, you’re not.”

The youth excuse ... Read the full article

Sabres reward Luke Adam and Brayden McNabb for strong starts with Amerks

BUFFALO – Luke Adam figured he had fallen out of the Sabres’ plans. The 23-year-old winger, a strong Calder Trophy candidate two years ago at this time, barely received a look during the exhibition season.

The struggling, goal-starved team then refused to summon Adam from Rochester as he began piling up scores and recapturing his old form.

“I think they kind of had their mind made up,” Adam said Wednesday inside the First Niagara Center ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan moving Sabres rookie Zemgus Girgensons back to wing

BUFFALO – Long-term, interim coach Ted Nolan said, the Sabres project rookie Zemgus Girgensons as a winger. So despite three impressive games at center, the 19-year-old Latvian switched back to the side today.

“If we’re going to ask him to be a winger, we better play him in that position,” Nolan said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “If he’s going to be a center ice man, we better put him ... Read the full article

Sabres going ‘back to the drawing board’ after NHL rejects Mikhail Grigorenko’s conditioning assignment

BUFFALO – Mikhail Grigorenko figured he’d be starting a two-week AHL conditioning assignment today. The 19-year-old Sabres prospect had already dropped his equipment off at the rink and checked into a Rochester hotel when a team front office member contacted him at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The NHL had rejected the assignment.

Grigorenko drove back to Buffalo and practiced with the Sabres today.

What happened?

“You read the rules and see how they work,” interim Sabres ... Read the full article

Pat LaFontaine’s phone call to Ted Nolan left Sabres coach speechless

BUFFALO – It was going to be a special weekend trip to New York. Ted Nolan and his wife, Sandra, would celebrate her birthday and watch their son, Jordan, play for the Los Angeles Kings.

Nolan also wanted to see “The Book of Mormon” musical on Broadway. So he recently called Pat LaFontaine, a close friend with a ticket connection.

“I said, ‘Teddy, you better get ready for the show. It’s a pretty interesting show,’” ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan moving Sabres rookie Zemgus Girgensons to center

BUFFALO – As the Latvian national team’s coach, Ted Nolan had one center on his roster for the 2013 world championship.

“We a hand a bunch of players, but no natural center ice men,” Nolan, the Sabres’ new interim coach, said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.

So when Sabres rookie Zemgus Girgensons finished his first professional season in Rochester last year, a campaign he spent playing wing, Nolan put the 19-year-old Latvian ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan expecting emotional debut as Sabres’ interim coach; Pat LaFontaine to start GM search next week

BUFFALO – It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for Ted Nolan. Since taking over as the Sabres’ interim coach, the 55-year-old has been trying to learn everything about his new players and team.

Nolan said he hasn’t had time to be nervous for his highly anticipated debut tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs inside the First Niagara Center.

Instead, he’s worrying about his players’ names.

“I’ve been so focused on what I have to ... Read the full article