Girgensons - Buffalo Hockey Beat

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

Sabres and Leafs not expecting many fireworks in first meeting since preseason brawl

BUFFALO – Ever since Sabres tough guy John Scott ignited a brawl going after Toronto Maple Leafs star Phil Kessel 54 days ago, tonight’s tilt between longtime rivals has been circled on the schedule.

What’s going to happen? Will there be another melee like the Sept. 22 preseason contest? Will there be any kind of retribution?

Based on what both teams said Thursday, don’t expect any craziness to transpire as the home-and-home set begins.

“If ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan puts Sabres through lively practice, says he has ‘nothing to carry over’ after Maple Leafs brawl

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan’s voice was a constant throughout the Sabres’ lively 60-minute practice this morning inside the First Niagara Center. The interim coach kept encouraging his players, even following them during the up-tempo drills.

The Sabres responded, showcasing more energy and emotion than they had under Ron Rolston, who was fired Wednesday.

“It was really fast,” Sabres winger Tyler Ennis said about Nolan’s first real practice. “We moved through things quickly. It was ... Read the full article

Ron Rolston switches up Sabres’ lines

BUFFALO – Top NHL lines rarely get benched long, especially on anemic teams with little or no depth.

So why did coach Ron Rolston sit the Matt Moulson, Cody Hodgson and Tyler Ennis trio the final 26 minutes of the Sabres’ 6-2 loss Friday in Anaheim.

“I’m not going to discuss that,” Rolston said Monday inside the First Niagara Center after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s contest against the Los Angeles Kings.

As expected, ... Read the full article

Sabres change lines after embarrassing loss

BUFFALO – When you’re 3-15-1 and have 31 goals, why should any line stay intact?

The Sabres, fresh off Friday’s embarrassing 6-2 loss in Anaheim, have changed their forward combinations for practice this morning inside the First Niagara Center.

The top trio coach Ron Rolston benched the final 26 minutes against the Ducks – Matt Moulson, Cody Hodgson and Tyler Ennis – is no longer.

Captain Steve Ott is skating on the right wing beside ... Read the full article