Luukkonen - Buffalo Hockey Beat

With Rasmus Dahlin out against Bruins, Mattias Samuelsson steps up as Sabres extend win streak to eight games

BUFFALO – Early in the second period of the Sabres’ eighth consecutive win, Mattias Samuelsson, once the object of derision from a frustrated fan base, illustrated in a matter of seconds why he has quietly developed into one of the NHL’s top defensemen.

With the Sabres trailing the Boston Bruins 1-0 on Saturday, sniper Morgan Geekie carried the puck behind Buffalo’s net looking to make a play. But Samuelsson drove Geekie into the end boards, ... Read the full article

Sabres star Rasmus Dahlin won’t play versus Bruins; Buffalo makes recall

BUFFALO – Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin returned to Sweden over the Christmas break to be with his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, and will miss tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said.

“He’s just attending to his fiancée in Sweden, should be back shortly,” Ruff said this morning in KeyBank Center.

Dahlin missed three games in November to visit Matovac, who has been rehabbing after experiencing major heart failure and undergoing a heart transplant ... Read the full article

Once given up for dead, win streak has vaulted Sabres into thick of playoff race

OTTAWA – Two weeks ago, having just lost to the feeble Calgary Flames for the second time in three weeks, the Buffalo Sabres appeared to be barreling toward another postseason DNQ.

Their third consecutive defeat as they began a six-game road trip kept them mired in last place in the Eastern Conference, eight points out of the second wild card spot.

At that point, the Sabres had just two road wins all season, including zero ... Read the full article

Alex Lyon, hot Sabres beat Islanders to extend season-long win streak

BUFFALO – If Colten Ellis hadn’t suffered a concussion and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made a few more saves, then Sabres goalie Alex Lyon might still be waiting for his next opportunity.

But Ellis took a hit in the crease and Luukkonen struggled, so the Sabres turned to Lyon again last week, a move that has ignited their season.

Contributions up and down the lineup have buoyed the Sabres throughout to a five-game win streak, none bigger ... Read the full article

Alex Lyon winning games, emerging as Sabres’ No. 1 goalie

BUFFALO – When Sabres goalie Alex Lyon left Yale University following his junior season to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers as an undrafted free agent, he thought riches and enshrinement in hockey’s hallowed hall would be in his future.

“When I first came out of college, I thought I was going to make tens of millions of dollars,” he said following Friday’s practice in KeyBank Center. “I was going to be a Hockey Hall of ... Read the full article

After trade, injuries, Michael Kesselring ready to make impact for Sabres

BUFFALO – After hurrying back from a knee injury, Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring said the ankle sprain he suffered just nine games into his season offered him a chance to “reset a little.”

Not that Kesselring, the Sabres’ biggest offseason acquisition, wanted to miss more time. But when he went down again Nov. 15, he said he was still battling his first injury a bit and “putting a lot of pressure” on himself.

“I didn’t ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Colten Ellis healthy; Conor Timmins to be game-time decision

BUFFALO – The Sabres have three healthy goalies again.

Rookie Colten Ellis rejoined his teammates for this morning’s pregame skate after clearing concussion protocol.

“He’s back at it,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said this morning in KeyBank Center. “So he’ll get some practices in him and make sure he feels good.”

Ellis, 25, left the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime win Dec. 9 in Edmonton in the first period when Oilers forward David Tomasek drove to the ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Jarmo Kekalainen to ‘take charge’ of Alex Tuch’s contract talks; Buffalo could go down to two goalies

BUFFALO – In his first days on the job, Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he plans to “take charge” of contract negotiations with winger Alex Tuch’s representatives.

Tuch, one of former GM Kevyn Adams’ biggest trade acquisitions, expressed his desire earlier this season to sign an extension with the Sabres.

But has another difficult campaign changed Tuch’s mind? The Baldwinsville native can become an unrestricted free agent following the season.... Read the full article

More change likely coming after Jarmo Kekalainen replaces Kevyn Adams as Sabres GM

What happens next? General manager Kevyn Adams, having been fired on Monday by owner Terry Pegula and replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen, is gone after a five-and-a-half-year run in which he failed to build the Buffalo Sabres into a playoff team.

Adams, a Clarence native Pegula and his wife, Kim, a co-owner, hired as GM despite having never worked in an NHL hockey department, came oh-so-close to delivering that elusive playoff berth in 2022-23, when the ... Read the full article

Sabres lose Josh Norris, Colten Ellis to injuries before and during OT win

Shortly before Tuesday’s opening faceoff, the Buffalo Sabres pulled center Josh Norris from the lineup after he skated in the pregame warm-up.

What happened?

Coach Lindy Ruff told reporters in Edmonton following the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime win that the oft-injured Norris, who felt ill, tweaked something warming up.

At that point, the Sabres yanked Norris, who had played four straight games after an upper-body injury he suffered opening night sidelined him 24 contests.... Read the full article