McGinn - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Will Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark start Thursday?

BUFFALO – Just three games into his career, Linus Ullmark’s strong play has some observers already wondering if the Swede, 22, could be the Sabres’ goalie of the future and present.

Right now, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma won’t let himself think about that. He wouldn’t even say if Ullmark will make his third consecutive start Thursday against Tampa Bay.

Given Ullmark has won two straight nods and has a 2.03 goals against average and a ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Josh Gorges knows hit looks ugly; Ryan O’Reilly earns day off

BUFFALO – Some quick updates from HarborCenter, where the Sabres practiced today before catching a flight to New York for Sunday’s tilt against the Islanders:

– Defenseman Josh Gorges won’t face any supplemental discipline for hitting Philadelphia’s Matt Read head-first into the corner boards late Friday, according to the Buffalo News.

Gorges was given a five-minute boarding major and ejected from the Sabres’ 3-1 win.

“From a couple of angles it doesn’t look great,” Gorges ... Read the full article

Tim Schaller back with Sabres after disappointing preseason

BUFFALO – Dan Bylsma was mad. Well, kind of. The Sabres coach wanted Tim Schaller to know he wasn’t happy the center tried to play through a lower-body injury early in training camp.

So earlier this week, after the Sabres summoned Schaller from the AHL, he told the 24-year-old to be honest about his ailments.

“I was feigning getting upset at him,” Bylsma said earlier this week.

Bylsma believes Schaller, the Sabres’ first recall the ... Read the full article

Sabres can’t complete comeback against Penguins

PITTSBURGH – A year or two ago, as the Buffalo Sabres rebuilt their lineup from the ground up, a game like their exciting 4-3 loss to the Penguins on Thursday would’ve turned into an utter annihilation.

But against a team that usually destroys them, the Sabres roared back from an early 2-0 deficit inside the Consol Energy Center, their personal house of horrors, tying it before the first period ended.

When the Penguins went up ... Read the full article

Goalie prospect Linus Ullmark excited to join Sabres

BUFFALO – If Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark had suffered any setbacks in his rehab following double-hip surgery in April, the worst-case scenario would’ve been a return to the ice in January.

But the Swede, 22, recovered quickly enough to join full practices a month ago and earn three starts with the Rochester Americans this month.

Ullmark dazzled in the AHL, making 38 saves in his debut and 43 on Wednesday. Incredibly, just three games into ... Read the full article

Quick Toronto trip to watch Blue Jays special for Sabres

BUFFALO – The call came at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Sabres winger Evander Kane asked defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, a Toronto native and a huge Blue Jays fan, if he wanted to go watch Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre in a few hours.

“I know some of the boys wanted to go, so I figured out some transportation,” Kane said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center.

That transportation ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly responds to move to left wing

BUFFALO – Three games into the season, Ryan O’Reilly, the shiny acquisition the Sabres recently awarded a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension and touted as their No. 1 center, has already been shifted to the left wing.

In an attempt to ignite his struggling top line Monday afternoon, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma moved Zemgus Girgensons to center between O’Reilly and Tyler Ennis for the Sabres’ 4-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets inside the ... Read the full article

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma constantly tinkering with lines

BUFFALO – After some fourth-line duty in the season opener, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma rewarded Jamie McGinn with a plum assignment as the right winger beside rookie center Jack Eichel and Evander Kane early Saturday afternoon.

McGinn, however, didn’t last long on the second line.

Bylsma moved Marcus Foligno up beside Eichel early. Zemgus Girgensons, who practiced with Eichel on Friday, also received some time. So did Tyler Ennis and Sam Reinhart. Then McGinn went ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner knows he’s a question mark

BUFFALO – As a Swedish import, Sabres newcomer Robin Lehner isn’t a big football fan. But after arriving here in August, the goalie started following the Buffalo Bills a little bit.

“A lot of people talk about their defense and how good their defense and stuff are, but people start questioning the quarterback a little bit,” Lehner said this morning prior to the season opener. “I feel like I’m a little bit in the same ... Read the full article

Sam Reinhart won’t stay with Sabres as scratch

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ top two lines, while they could still be rearranged, appear to be set. So is the fourth line.

So four days before opening night, only the third line, which currently comprises center Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons, Jamie McGinn and Sam Reinhart, a center-turned-winger, has a spare.

Reinhart, given his age, 19, and rawness – he has played only nine NHL games and is learning a new position – could be ... Read the full article