WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Tage Thompson has performed like a future star this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
TORONTO – Brent Thompson remembers his son, Tage, was beside himself that day almost eight years ago during their five-hour ride home to Long Island.
Tage Thompson, who has emerged as the Buffalo Sabres’ most lethal goal scorer this season, had just been cut from one of USA Hockey’s regional camps, and he left Syracuse angry and shocked.
If Thompson had advanced and earned one of 200 spots for the national camp at the Northtown ... Read the full article
Craig Anderson has faced Toronto often over his long career. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
TORONTO – Having scored 18 goals during their three-game winning streak, including a whopping 10 in one contest, the Maple Leafs are perhaps the NHL’s hottest team.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres, losers of six straight games, are arguably the league’s coldest club.
For the first time since Dec. 11, the Leafs will have a full house of nearly 19,000 fans tonight in Scotiabank Arena. COVID-19 restrictions forced them to play in a near-empty or half-full ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn has missed the last 14 games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – When Sabres prospect Jack Quinn suffered a lower-body injury early in his second NHL game Jan. 20, he pushed through and figured it wasn’t that bad.
“I guess I had a lot of adrenaline or whatever,” said Quinn, who scored his first NHL goal later that night and finished the Sabres’ 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars. “It wouldn’t sideline me, I was thinking, I thought it’d be something I could play through ... Read the full article
Cody Eakin ended a 33-game goal drought Sunday afternoon. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
At this point, as the losses pile up – Sunday afternoon’s 4-2 setback was the Buffalo Sabres’ sixth straight in regulation – they need to find positives and signs of development within their games.
In Friday’s 5-3 loss in St. Louis, the Sabres could take some solace in the tenacity they showcased while arguably outplaying the Blues, one of the NHL’s heavyweights.
What about Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena?
Well, ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored 21 goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Much of the pregame talk leading up to Friday’s 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues surrounded center Tage Thompson and his emergence as the Buffalo Sabres’ most lethal scoring threat.
Thompson, 24, played 41 games for the Blues in 2017-18 before they sent him to Buffalo in the Ryan O’Reilly trade following that season.
The American, the 26th overall pick by the Blues in 2016, left St. Louis a raw, skinny kid and returned ... Read the full article
Henri Jokiharju was injured Wednesday. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Barely a month ago, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Casey Fitzgerald was in the minors. The rookie has played just 14 NHL games.
Still, Sabres coach Don Granato possesses so much confidence in Fitzgerald he will replace the injured Henri Jokiharju on the top pair tonight beside Rasmus Dahlin.
Granato said Fitzgerald and Dahlin are “comfortable” with the Sabres’ style and “compatible” with each other.
Dylan Cozens created a penalty shot for Montreal on Tuesday. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
It took time for the Montreal Canadiens to experience the surge that often accompanies a coaching change. Martin St. Louis lost the first three games of an interim gig that increasingly looks like it will become permanent.
Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres was the Canadiens’ fourth straight triumph. They had just eight victories all season before beating the St. Louis Blues last Thursday.
The Sabres annihilated the Canadiens earlier this season, outscoring them ... Read the full article
Kyle Okposo has scored three goals in the last four games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo missed this morning’s pregame skate in Montreal because of illness and likely won’t play tonight against the Canadiens, coach Don Granato said.
“I don’t expect him for tonight but he’s still a possibility,” Granato said on a Zoom call from the Bell Centre.
With Okposo probably out and winger Victor Olofsson (illness) also sidelined, Granato said he expects forward Brandon Biro to make his NHL debut tonight.
Rasmus Dahlin missed Sunday’s game. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In his fourth season, Rasmus Dahlin has emerged as the Sabres’ most valuable player and one of the NHL’s premier young defensemen.
At 21, Dahlin, who will likely return from upper-body injury tonight, is a budding star.
“He has clearly, definitively established himself as our top defenseman,” Sabres coach Don Granato said following Tuesday’s practice inside KeyBank Center.
Dahlin’s absence in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets was glaring. With the ... Read the full article
Brandon Biro has been on a tear in Rochester. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – Whether it’s tonight against the Montreal Canadiens or later during the Sabres’ five-game road trip, center Brandon Biro will likely make his NHL debut soon.
Biro, 23, has been on a tear for the Rochester Americans, compiling nine goals and 31 points in his last 28 games. The Penn State product figured to earn a look from the Sabres sooner or later.
On Tuesday, with winger Victor Olofsson sidelined by a non-COVID illness, ... Read the full article
