Kaleta - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Corey Tropp, Patrick Kaleta hoping to ignite struggling Sabres

BUFFALO – Injuries have severely limited Corey Tropp’s time here. The ferocious Sabres winger tore up his right knee last season waiting out the NHL lockout in Rochester. Then he broke his jaw during a Sept. 22 preseason fight in Toronto.

Tropp has played just 34 NHL games, the last coming April 5, 2012. Still, the 24-year-old has developed a good feel for this blue-collar city.

“I think this is a city, if you’re ... Read the full article

Corey Tropp, Patrick Kaleta ready to return to struggling Sabres

BUFFALO – The reeling Sabres, winners of just two of their 15 games, need reinforcements badly. Luckily, some aggressive, high-energy players are available.

Corey Tropp, out since breaking his jaw during a Sept. 22 preseason fight, is healed. Meanwhile, Patrick Kaleta has finished serving his 10-game suspension for hitting Columbus’ Jack Johnson in the head Oct. 10.

Sabres coach Ron Rolston said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center both players looked ... Read the full article

Headshot earns Sabres tough guy John Scott 7-game suspension

BUFFALO – The NHL suspended Sabres tough guy John Scott seven games Thursday for his powerful blindside headshot that concussed Boston’s Loui Eriksson last week.

In banning Scott, NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan noted that while Scott had never been fined or suspended, the 6-foot-8 winger has 217 hits in his 187-game career.

“While that works in Scott’s favor, it also takes away any argument on his part that illegal head contact is inevitable simply ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Steve Ott will keep playing fierce style

BUFFALO – Steve Ott, the high-octane, fun-loving and helmet-licking agitator, won’t alter his style now that he’s the Sabres’ captain.

“I want to play a fine line edge of the game,” Ott said Wednesday after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s road tilt against the New York Rangers. “But I also can’t be a deterrent to my teammates, no difference if I was a captain or was not a captain.”

In Monday’s 4-3 loss to Dallas... Read the full article

Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta mum on why he didn’t take suspension appeal further

BUFFALO – Sabres agitator Patrick Kaleta said his battle-scarred nose, which “had a bunch of stuff going on with it,” has a different look following his recent surgery.

“I think they straightened it out for me,” Kaleta said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “My down break left turned into a little fade now.”

Kaleta said his Oct. 10 fight with Columbus’ Jared Boll, seconds after he hit Jack Johnson in the head, was ... Read the full article

Matt Moulson endures long day to debut for Sabres

BUFFALO – Having grown up in nearby Mississauga, Ont., about a 90-minute drive, Sabres winger Matt Moulson said he’s well-acquainted with his new city.

“I used to love coming to Bills games,” Moulson said Monday inside the First Niagara Center prior to scoring twice in his Buffalo debut, a 4-3 loss to former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and the Dallas Stars. “So it’s a great city. Who knows, it could be for a long time. ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta has suspension appeal denied; Kevin Porter waived

BUFFALO – In a strongly worded 19-page document released Thursday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman rejected Sabres winger Patrick Kaleta’s appeal of his 10-game suspension.

Kaleta, who’s been suspended four times in the last four seasons, including twice in his last 21 games, hit Columbus’ Jack Johnson in the head Oct. 10.

Clearly, Bettman wants to send Kaleta a message.

Kaleta, Bettman wrote, “has demonstrated a total disregard for the safety of other players, and, ... Read the full article

Sabres’ John Scott emotional about head hit, says he belongs in NHL

BUFFALO – Sabres tough guy John Scott acknowledges that, yes, 5:49 into the third period Wednesday, his powerful hit to Loui Eriksson’s head, while not intentional, was illegal.

“It happened pretty fast,” an apologetic Scott said after practicing this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “I just thought I was completing a check. But, obviously, I hit his head. It wasn’t exactly what I was aiming for. I didn’t want to do that. It’s ... Read the full article

Woeful Sabres fall to Bruins, lose John Scott to likely suspension

BUFFALO – Finally, the hapless Sabres began showcasing some progress Wednesday. Slow starters all season, they played a sturdy first period against the mighty Boston Bruins.

Hey, take it where you can find it, right?

Even after falling behind 2-0 just 40 seconds into the second period, they battled back, slicing the Bruins’ lead to 3-2 after 18-year-rookie Nikita Zadorov scored his first NHL goal, a nifty one at that, late in the period.

Maybe ... Read the full article

Former Sabres goalie Martin Biron content with retirement

BUFFALO – A year ago, as Martin Biron spent the 113-day NHL lockout at home in East Aurora with his wife, Anne Marie, and four small children, the popular former Sabres goalie began seriously thinking about his post-hockey life.

Biron enjoyed attending all of his children’s activities – cheerleading competitions, football games, school events – something he couldn’t do while tending goal in the NHL.

The family time “made me realize all the things that ... Read the full article