WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Marcus Foligno has been playing big minutes. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – For about 24 hours, Marcus Foligno enjoyed the family’s bragging rights. The Sabres winger felt good after scoring twice Friday, his first goals in 24 games.
Then Foligno’s older brother, Nick, a breakout star with the Columbus Blue Jackets, outdid him Saturday, scoring his first NHL hat trick and hitting the prestigious 30-goal, 70-point marks.
“He had to go out and one-up me,” Marcus Foligno joked Monday prior to the Sabres’ 4-3 win ... Read the full article
Andrey Makarov played well in his NHL debut Saturday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Finally – or perhaps a more appropriate word would be “mercifully” – the end of the Sabres’ long, trying season is in sight.
Three games are left. A regulation loss tonight at home to the Carolina Hurricanes or later this week will cement 30th place, ending probably the oddest campaign in the franchise’s 45-year history.
Hours after the Sabres’ 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday, the 29th-place ... Read the full article
Bryan Trottier is one of the New York Islanders’ all-time greats. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – New York Islanders legend Bryan Trottier remembers the noise. The roar inside Nassau Coliseum would become deafening, funneling down from the stands to the ice.
“To the point where you’re reading lips,” Trottier, a Sabres assistant coach, said Friday. “Until you actually experience it, it’s just fantastic.”
The Isles are moving to bigger and better digs 24 miles away next season, the shiny Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Trottier, a Hall of Famer who ... Read the full article
Matt Moulson (26) could miss tonight’s game. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Winger Matt Moulson woke up this morning feeling ill. Meanwhile, defenseman Mike Weber woke up feeling sore.
The Sabres don’t have an extra forward. Rochester is playing tonight in Iowa, so recalling one for tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks won’t be easy.
What will the Sabres do?
“That’s a big question,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.
The Sabres haven’t ruled Moulson out. Defenseman Tyson Strachan ... Read the full article
T.J. Brennan played 21 games with the Sabres. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In the beginning, former Sabres prospect T.J. Brennan followed a normal path to the NHL. The high-scoring defenseman developed four seasons in the AHL before briefly cracking the Sabres two years ago.
Back then, Brennan, who grew up in New Jersey playing lacrosse, didn’t fully understand what it took to make the NHL.
“I’ve always been kind of learn as I go,” Brennan said Wednesday prior to the Sabres’ 4-3 win against the ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis (63) jostles with Florida’s Brian Campbell earlier this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sometimes, Sabres winger Tyler Ennis said, he has to realize he’s only 5-foot-5 and not a 6-foot-3 behemoth. Trying to thump a larger opponent usually isn’t the best idea.
Ennis, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, went after someone bigger Thursday and paid the price, suffering an upper-body injury. The Sabres’ top offensive threat missed two games but will return tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Maybe I got to tone down the hits,” Ennis ... Read the full article
Sabres goalie Anders Lindback tries to stop New Jersey’s Steve Bernier (18) with Andre Benoit’s (61) help March 20. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Just like that, 29th place – a precarious spot that wouldn’t guarantee the Sabres either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, the mega-draft prospects they covet – is back in play.
Sorry, fans, the race isn’t over yet. The Sabres’ 4-1 victory Monday in Arizona moved them to within four points of the Coyotes, who looked awful throughout the night.
The 30th-place Sabres also have a game in hand, so ... Read the full article
Andrey Makarov has never played an NHL game. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
The Buffalo Sabres recalled goalie Andrey Makarov from Rochester this afternoon, hours before their road game against the Arizona Coyotes.
The 21-year-old Russian is 15-17-3 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 37 games with the AHL Americans.
Sabres goalie Matt Hackett, who relieved Anders Lindback in Saturday’s 5-3 loss in Colorado, has been banged up and feeling sore after games. It’s unclear if Hackett’s injured.
Makarov has been recalled before ... Read the full article
The Sabres could call on Matt Hackett often down the stretch. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In less than a year, Sabres prospect Matt Hackett morphed from Ryan Miller’s possible heir apparent into an afterthought, the fifth goalie on the rebuilding team’s depth chart.
Hackett struggled last year in Rochester, posting career-worst numbers. Then the 25-year-old tore up his knee during a late-season recall, shelving him for nine months.
As Hackett rehabbed, Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth battled for the Sabres’ starting job. In Rochester, Nathan Lieuwen and Andrey ... Read the full article
Matt Hackett has played 14 AHL games this season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
Matt Hackett could be the Buffalo Sabres’ new starting goalie.
With a lower-body injury putting newcomer Chad Johnson’s season in doubt, the Sabres recalled Hackett from Rochester on Saturday and started him hours later against the Washington Capitals, his second NHL appearance this season.
Hackett must play eight NHL games or he will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Sabres need to evaluate goalies for next season, so he could receive a long ... Read the full article
