Gorges - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sidney Crosby and high-powered Penguins destroy Sabres

BUFFALO – This one lasted one shift. Eighty-one seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-1 annihilation of the Sabres, Kris Letang converted Sidney Crosby’s slick pass, the first of the superstar’s five assists Saturday.

Game over.

The Penguins utterly destroyed the hapless Sabres before a capacity crowd of 19,070 fans inside the First Niagara Center.

The potent Penguins scored again before the Sabres recorded their first shot 13:21 into the lopsided contest. They led 3-0 ... Read the full article

Sabres allow 52 shots, fall to hapless Oilers

BUFFALO – Fifteen games into another trying season, goaltending has been the Sabres’ only constant each night.

Despite some wretched efforts and an anemic offense on pace to be the worst in NHL history, Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth have kept the Sabres in almost every contest, stopping a barrage of shots.

On Friday, the Sabres laid another egg, allowing the hapless Edmonton Oilers to pump a season-high 52 shots on Neuvirth.

“Fifty-two, that’s crazy,” ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Nikita Zadorov enjoying NHL life, happy to be playing

BUFFALO – It went on for weeks. Each day, 19-year-old Nikita Zadorov, the eighth defenseman most of this season, asked Sabres coach Ted Nolan if he would play.

“He asked me every day,” Nolan said Wednesday prior to the Sabres’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens inside the First Niagara Center.

Finally, Nolan gave his assistant coaches a message: “Tell him I’ll tell him when he’s in.”

After sitting the first seven games ... Read the full article

Sabres’ top defensemen could skate big minutes again versus Canadiens

BUFFALO – In Sunday’s 3-2 shootout win against Detroit, four Sabres defensemen – Josh Gorges, Tyler Myers, Andrej Meszaros and Rasmus Ristolainen – skated more than 25 minutes.

Expect to see the defensemen play big minutes tonight against the Montreal Canadiens inside the First Niagara Center. To Sabres coach Ted Nolan, it’s no big deal.

“Twenty, 24 minutes a day is not too hard, I don’t think,” Nolan said. “It’s 24 minutes of a 24-hour ... Read the full article

Ex-Canadiens Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges want to focus on present with Sabres

BUFFALO – Tonight’s not about feeling nostalgic. Sure, respected Sabres veterans Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges enjoyed some specials years with the Montreal Canadiens. Gionta captained the storied franchise. Gorges was their heart and soul.

But these days, despite two wins in their last five games, the rebuilding Sabres are struggling badly. Tonight’s game, the first tilt against the Canadiens this season, can’t be overshadowed by Gionta and Gorges facing their old team.

“At the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges downplay first game against Canadiens

BUFFALO – The Sabres won’t face the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night trying to win for former Habs Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges, who will face their old team for the first time.

“As a team right now, we can’t be thinking about winning it for anybody but ourselves,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center.

Neither player wants the game treated any differently.

“You’re playing your former team for ... Read the full article

Leafs send Sabres to embarrassing loss

TORONTO – It turns out that nice win three days earlier was an anomaly. The hapless Buffalo Sabres reverted back into a laughingstock in Tuesday’s embarrassing 4-0 loss to the Maple Leafs, getting thoroughly dominated throughout their eighth loss in 10 tries this season.

How ugly was Buffalo’s effort?

The Sabres, three weeks into their 44^th season, sprinkled a franchise-low 10 shots on Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier. The Leafs, meanwhile, pumped 37 shots on ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Chris Stewart plays first game in Toronto after long wait

TORONTO – Incredibly, Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to the Maple Leafs, Chris Stewart’s 392^nd NHL game, was his first appearance in his hometown.

Toronto was the only city the 26-year-old Buffalo Sabres winger hadn’t played in.

How did that happen?

Stewart played in the Western Conference with Colorado and St. Louis before the Sabres acquired him in March.

“My first year I got healthy scratched here, and then the lockout year we didn’t play the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Josh Gorges knows his heart wasn’t in Toronto

TORONTO – Take away the character, take away the tenacity, and Buffalo Sabres veteran Josh Gorges becomes a run-of-the-mill defenseman.

The undrafted Gorges has built an unlikely 10-year NHL career by showcasing passion – on and off the ice.

“I have to play with my heart,” Gorges, whose Sabres play the Maple Leafs tonight, said Monday. “I have to play everything I got every shift.”

The 30-year-old believes he couldn’t do either of those wearing ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Myers ready for new season: ‘I’m back to my normal self’

BUFFALO – Before the defensemen became Sabres teammates, they met about nine years ago, as Tyler Myers was beginning his junior career and Josh Gorges was leaving the Kelowna Rockets for professional hockey.

Gorges couldn’t believe the teenager’s lanky frame.

“He was 6-5, 6-6, but probably only 180 pounds,” Gorges, who will skate beside Myers in tonight’s season opener, recalled earlier this week. “I’m thinking, ‘They’re really high on this kid, he better fill out. ... Read the full article