Matthews - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Tage Thompson, UPL thrilled to be selected to Olympics

COLUMBUS – In the NHL, Tage Thompson is the Buffalo Sabres’ No. 1 center and most dynamic offensive threat, having scored 178 goals since the start of the 2021-22 season.

But on Team USA’s Olympic entry at the upcoming Milano Cortina Games, which Thompson, 28, was named to on Friday, what kind of role could he be cast in? Third-line winger? Fourth-line grinder?

Thompson, whose surging Sabres carry a 10-game win streak into this afternoon’s ... Read the full article

How Brendan Warren developed into asset for Rochester Amerks and Sabres organization after almost losing career

ROCHESTER – Brendan Warren had nothing going on in his hockey career. The Americans winger couldn’t even find a place to skate.

Two NHL teams that had held his rights passed on signing him. After finishing an underwhelming tenure at the University of Michigan, he briefly latched on with the Indy Fuel, an ECHL team.

At the end of training camp in 2019, the Fuel cut him.

So Warren, a third-round pick by the Arizona ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shines in loss to Maple Leafs: ‘He was dialed in’

BUFFALO – So much for that late-season optimism the Sabres had been generating. Suddenly, they’ve lost four straight games.

Not that they’ve been performing poorly, mind you. No, they’ve led in three of those contests and lost once in a shootout.

They haven’t been finding ways to win like they did beginning in mid-March.

In Tuesday’s 4-0 loss, a game closer than the score indicates, they trailed 1-0 in the third period before the Toronto ... Read the full article

Sabres don’t get breaks against Maple Leafs, lose 12th straight game

BUFFALO – Considering the Sabres’ sorry state these days, their quick response to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goal 89 seconds into Friday’s 6-3 loss was notable.

Early in their 12th consecutive loss, the Sabres countered after Bobby McMann scored, seemingly tying the game at the 2:34 mark when winger Alex Tuch converted linemate Jason Zucker’s nifty pass.

Then following the celebration, the officials huddled. What was going on?

A linesperson saw Zucker’s stick hit Toronto ... Read the full article

Maple Leafs beat Sabres as Toronto fans take over Buffalo: ‘We have to earn it’

BUFFALO – There’s a lot to unpack from Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a defeat that likely extinguishes the Sabres’ faint hopes of making a miracle run to the playoffs.

Mathematically, yes, the Sabres are alive. But forget about it. There are five points to make up and five teams to climb and just seven games left.

Saturday’s defeat illustrates how far the Sabres have fallen during a record-setting playoff drought about ... Read the full article

Sabres sad, surprised Casey Mittelstadt traded, excited for Bowen Byram

TORONTO – Sooner or later, it was going to happen. Over the past few years, as the Sabres grew into a tight-knit group, their young core remained intact. But as the team evolved and needs materialized and the salary cap became a factor again, someone would have to leave Buffalo.

On Wednesday, two days before the trade deadline, it happened. The Sabres dealt center Casey Mittelstadt, a beloved teammate and their leading scorer, to the ... Read the full article

Sabres captain Kyle Okposo enjoying offensive resurgence, among NHL’s hottest scorers

BUFFALO – The zero attached to Sabres captain Kyle Okposo’s name wouldn’t go away, looming larger and larger as the weeks went on.

Two weeks quickly turned into a month and then five weeks. On Thanksgiving, at the 19-game mark, nearly one-quarter of the season, Okposo hadn’t scored a goal.

“It’s not a fun feeling, for sure, that zero,” the veteran winger said following Friday’s practice in KeyBank Center.... Read the full article

Sabres showcase emphatic response, annihilate Maple Leafs: ‘We took last game really personally’

BUFFALO – In the aftermath of the ugliest defeat of Don Granato’s tenure as Sabres coach, his players defended him more vigorously than they had their opponent that night.

But until they displayed more passion on the ice, showcased the pace and tenacity Granato demands, their words would carry some hollowness.

“We wanted to do more than just say we have his back, we wanted to go out there and prove it, and I think ... Read the full article

Alex Tuch breaks loose late in Sabres’ win over Maple Leafs; Dylan Cozens misses game with injury

TORONTO – No, it wasn’t quite a piano off Alex Tuch’s back. The Sabres winger had scored this season before his two third-period goals Saturday secured a 6-4 win over the Maple Leafs. He said he believes he had been skating well.

Piano’s too heavy for the expression.

“Monkey more than piano,” said Tuch, bringing the weight he was carrying early this season down about 700 pounds.

Fresh off a breakout 36-goal campaign, Tuch hadn’t ... Read the full article

Team USA star Gabe Perreault could be intriguing NHL Draft choice for Sabres

NASHVILLE – The genesis of NHL Draft prospect Gabe Perreault’s recording-breaking season for Team USA’s Under-18 squad began a year earlier.

In 2021, Perreault arrived in Plymouth, Michigan, a skinny 16-year-old. Dan Muse, his former coach at the National Team Development Program, said the high-scoring winger weighed just 130 or 140 pounds.

So Perreault took advantage of the resources the program offers and reshaped his body.... Read the full article