LaFontaine - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres notes: Don Granato sensed Ilya Lyubushkin would score OT goal

Ilya Lyubushkin had scored zero goals in his first 41 games with the Buffalo Sabres. In his five-year NHL career, the gritty Russian defenseman had scored just three goals in 252 contests, his last coming 10 months ago.

But when Lyubushkin grabbed the puck from Lightning captain Steven Stamkos in overtime Thursday and set off on a rare short-handed breakaway, Sabres coach Don Granato knew something special was about to happen.

“It was weird in ... Read the full article

At 30, resurgent Jeff Skinner enjoying one of Sabres’ greatest seasons ever

BUFFALO – It’s one thing to recapture your old form as Sabres winger Jeff Skinner did last year, scoring 33 goals during a remarkable comeback season.

But players Skinner’s age, 30, rarely showcase much growth. At that stage, they’re often nearing the end of their prime or past it.

Well, in Skinner’s case, maybe he’s just entering it.... Read the full article

Dynamic stretch earns Sabres’ Tage Thompson NHL Second Star honors

A dynamic three-game stretch in which Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson scored four goals and eight points has earned him NHL Second Star honors for the second consecutive week.

Thompson, 25, continued his torrid production, recording multiple points in each outing as the Sabres went 3-0-0 during the week ending Sunday.

The American scored the game-winning goal in last Tuesday’s 6-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings and Saturday’s 5-2 road win against the Arizona ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tage Thompson never doubted he’d become star: ‘I always knew’

BUFFALO – Coach Don Granato was struggling to conceal five pucks as he addressed the Sabres following center Tage Thompson’s dynamic five-goal, six-point effort in Wednesday’s 9-4 annihilation of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Moments earlier, Chris Dierken, the team’s director of media relations, had handed him every puck Thompson scored with during perhaps the greatest individual performance in the franchise’s 53-year history.

Granato kept two pucks wedged in each each pocket and another in his ... Read the full article

Notes on Sabres star Tage Thompson’s dominant five-goal, six-point game

We’re going to break this down a bit because center Tage Thompson’s brilliant five-goal, six-point night ranks as one of the greatest performances in the Buffalo Sabres’ 53-year history.

Thompson, 25, was downright dominant early in Wednesday’s 9-4 annihilation of the hapless Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, scoring four goals and five points in the first period as the Sabres opened up a stunning 6-0 lead.

Incredibly, he recorded his second hat trick ... Read the full article

Tage Thompson dynamic in win, enjoys one of greatest nights in Sabres history

BUFFALO – Sabres center Tage Thompson stood at his locker following the best outing of his career, a dynamic three-goal, six-point effort in Monday’s 8-3 victory, and it was hard to tell if he had done anything in the game.

Thompson’s slow start this season already feels like a distant memory. Prior to center Dylan Cozens’ third-period goal against the Detroit Red Wings, he recorded a point on eight straight Sabres goals over two games, ... Read the full article

Sabres to retire ex-goalie Ryan Miller’s No. 30 next season

Decorated ex-Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, the franchise’s all-time leader in wins and games played, will have his No. 30 retired and be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame during the 2022-23 season, the team announced Friday.

Miller, 41, will become the seventh player and second goalie to have his number hang from the KeyBank Center rafters, joining Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Rene Robert, Tim Horton, Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine and Dominik Hasek, the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rick Jeanneret, Brad May ‘tied at the hip’ by ‘May Day’ goal

BUFFALO – Brad May will be there tonight to celebrate his friend, Rick Jeanneret. The popular ex-Sabres winger is flying in from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he was vacationing, for “RJ Night” at KeyBank Center.

“I need to be in Buffalo to feel it with him,” May told the Times Herald by phone Tuesday from Belfast.

The two men, May said, are “tied at the hip.” The goal of May’s life, his overtime series-clincher ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Alex Tuch responding to new challenges, piling up points

BUFFALO – In Vegas, Sabres newcomer Alex Tuch played a supporting role on one of the NHL’s deepest teams. The Golden Knights possess high-end talent in Jonathan Marchessault, Max Pacioretty, Alex Pietrangelo, Mark Stone and others.

Tuch, 25, could blend in as a second- or third-liner for the Golden Knights, a team built to win the Stanley Cup right now.

“All the pressure that’s on that team to win and go for the Cup, ... Read the full article

Sabres to honor Rick Jeanneret with banner in KeyBank Center rafters

Legendary play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret will become the 10th member of the Buffalo Sabres organization to be honored with a banner in the KeyBank Center rafters.

The Sabres this afternoon announced Jeanneret, who’s in his 51st and final season calling games, will have a banner bearing his name raised before the April 1 game against the Nashville Predators.

As part of what the team has named “RJ Night,” tributes will also be given and the ... Read the full article