Granato - Buffalo Hockey Beat

On Rick Jeanneret’s night, Sabres ride wave of emotion, beat Predators

BUFFALO – It felt like it was 1999 or 2006 again. A chance to honor Rick Jeanneret filled KeyBank Center for the first time this season, and crowd started buzzing long before the legendary Sabres play-by-play man walked on the ice.

Once Jeanneret’s banner raising ceremony started Friday, one of the most emotional nights in the building’s 26-year history got underway.

The capacity crowd roared for Jeanneret, giving him a prolonged standing ovation and chanting ... Read the full article

Memories of listening to Rick Jeanneret special for Sabres’ Alex Tuch

BUFFALO – When Sabres winger Alex Tuch met legendary play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret earlier this season, he knew his father, Carl, would be jealous.

The Tuchs, proud Sabres fans from Baldwinsville, watched a lot of games together back in the day, and Jeanneret is a big deal to them.

“I told him that my dad was really jealous when I got to meet him one of my first games here,” Tuch said of Jeanneret, who ... Read the full article

Despite shootout loss to Jets, Sabres enjoy best month in years

BUFFALO – Forget that the Sabres blew two leads Wednesday. Forget that they lost a 3-2 shootout to the Winnipeg Jets. Forget that they’ve dropped three of their last four games.

The Sabres just ended their most successful and significant month in years, finishing March 8-3-3. They’ve earned at least one point in seven consecutive outings, their longest stretch since their 10-game winning streak in November 2018.

Every team they faced in March was either ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rasmus Asplund learning rigors of NHL, grateful for Don Granato’s belief

BUFFALO – The grind of an unforgiving seventh-month, 82-game NHL season has at times been difficult for Sabres winger Rasmus Asplund to handle.

Asplund, 24, said he felt tired, mentally and physically, when he hit the 30-game mark. He has also had trouble adjusting to time changes during road trips and playing back-to-back contests.

So the Swede said his first full NHL season – he played 28 games last year and 29 times in 2019-20... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Mattias Samuelsson injured, likely out against Jets

BUFFALO – An undisclosed injury will likely keep Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson out of tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, coach Don Granato said.

“He’s day-to-day,” Granato said this morning inside KeyBank Center. “He could be potential for tonight, but I don’t expect him tonight.”

The rookie did not skate this morning.

Update: Samuelsson is out tonight.

Granato said Samuelsson played through the injury and finished Monday’s 6-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Defenseman Mark ... Read the full article

Sabres illustrate growth with thrilling comeback win over Blackhawks

BUFFALO – Monday’s thrilling 6-5 win, a game in which the Sabres roared back and erased a 4-0 second-period deficit against the Chicago Blackhawks, ranks as one of their most exciting and significant victories of the last decade.

It marked only the fourth time in franchise history and the first time since Jan. 21, 1989 the Sabres trailed by four or more goals and won a game.

How much have the Sabres grown over the ... Read the full article

After 11 years in minors, Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski earning keep in NHL

BUFFALO – Dustin Tokarski has accomplished something unusual. Goalies in their 30s more than four seasons removed from their last NHL game rarely return to the big leagues.

Tokarski, 32, not only made it back, he has stuck with the Sabres for more than a year.

Since relieving an injured Carter Hutton on March 22, 2021, Tokarski has played 35 games, including a career-high 22 this season. In his first 11 pro seasons, he made ... Read the full article

Sabres showcase more growth in loss to Capitals: ‘Taken a lot of steps’

BUFFALO – In having their three-game winning streak snapped Friday, the Sabres showcased how much they’ve evolved and grown this month.

On a night they clearly weren’t at their best, the Sabres scratched and plowed forward, taking the Washington Capitals down to the wire before losing a 4-3 shootout.

In compiling a 7-3-1 record in March, the Sabres have proven they can thrive in tight games and rise to the level of their competition.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Cody Eakin, Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo forming strong line

BUFFALO – There’s nothing fancy about the line. A no-frills style has made the trio of center Cody Eakin and wingers Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo highly effective since Sabres coach Don Granato recently reunited the veterans.

“We just seem to play the game the right way and do all the cliché things that you talk about, get pucks in, get pucks out and we win some battles,” Okposo said prior to Friday’s 4-3 shootout ... Read the full article

Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin prolific as ever entering meeting with Sabres

BUFFALO – At 36, an advanced age in which most superstars are graying or well past their primes, Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin remains a dynamic threat.

Ovechkin, whose Capitals face the Sabres tonight, just scored for the 40th time this season, his 770th career goal. In his 17th season, he’s roaring toward a record once thought to be unbreakable, Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals mark.

Right now, Ovechkin stands 124 goals behind Gretzky, who scored ... Read the full article