McKee - Buffalo Hockey Beat

For J.P. Dumont, Jay McKee and other members of 2005-06 Sabres, sting of Game 7 loss to Hurricanes remains

To a man, every member of the team walked out of HSBC Arena that night 20 years ago believing the Buffalo Sabres would win Game 7 and earn a trip to the Stanley Cup final.

Why wouldn’t players be confident? A tight-knit group that started the season with little or no expectations had come this far, taking the post-lockout NHL by storm.

When the Sabres began losing defensemen at a startling rate – three were ... Read the full article

By scoring and agitating in postseason, Sabres’ Zach Benson grabbed attention of NHL: ‘A true core piece’

BUFFALO – Long before he gave the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens fits in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Zach Benson’s high-octane game rankled opponents.

The diminutive winger’s ultra-aggressive style helped him crack the NHL at just 18 and later establish himself as one of the Sabres’ most valuable forwards.

“I’ve kind of played like this forever,” Benson said last week in KeyBank Center. “I’ve kind of always played with that edge.”... Read the full article

23 alumni scheduled to attend Sabres’ 2005-06 Reunion Night

Twenty-three members of the beloved Buffalo Sabres team that roared out of the lockout and stunned the NHL by earning 110-points and reaching the Eastern Conference final are scheduled to attend the 2005-06 Reunion Night on Jan. 15 against the Montreal Canadiens, the team has announced.

The talent-laden team, which fell one game short of reaching the Stanley Cup final, will be honored during a pregame celebration in KeyBank Center. Alumni are scheduled to make ... Read the full article

John Muckler, coach and GM of Sabres in 1990s, dies at 86

John Muckler, the coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres for much of the 1990s, died Monday. He was 86.

Glen Sather, who brought Muckler to the Edmonton Oilers as they began their Stanley Cup dynasty in the early 1980s, told the Edmonton Journal his friend had been in failing health.

“John had a heart attack, then he had heart surgery, then he fell in his recovery, then he got COVID,” Sather told the ... Read the full article

After 14 years, Nathan Paetsch finally revisited Sabres’ Game 7 loss in 2006

In April, when MSG replayed the Buffalo Sabres’ gut-wrenching Game 7 loss from 2006, Nathan Paetsch decided it was time to relive the craziest night of his NHL career.

For almost 14 years, the defeat stung so badly that Paetsch, who retired Friday, avoided watching the final game of the classic Eastern Conference final series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I never looked back on it,” Paetsch said of the memorable 4-2 loss during a Zoom ... Read the full article

Five ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2006 series against Hurricanes to air next week

Five more “Sabres Classics” – this time games from Buffalo’s wild Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

After defeating the Ottawa Senators, the Sabres fell one game short of reaching the Stanley Cup final, losing an ultra-tight seven-game series to the Hurricanes.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely March 12.... Read the full article

Sabres at 50: Daniel Briere thought he would spend rest of career in Buffalo

BUFFALO – Daniel Briere couldn’t believe what he heard. The former co-captain knew the Sabres have endured some lean years. But he had no clue their postseason drought started so long ago.

“That was the last playoff round for the Sabres?” Briere asked incredulously when a reporter informed him the Sabres hadn’t made the postseason since 2011, the year his Philadelphia Flyers defeated them in the opening round. “Wow, I knew the last few years ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jason Pominville experienced unique road to 1,000 games

BUFFALO – Of all the places it could’ve been played, it turns out Jason Pominville will hit the prestigious 1,000-game mark tonight in Ottawa, the site of the winger’s signature moment, the dynamic short-handed overtime goal against the powerhouse Senators that pushed the underdog Sabres into the 2006 Eastern Conference final.

“(I) had some great, great moments there, probably my best moment as a player there,” Pominville said earlier this week inside KeyBank Center. “The ... Read the full article

Eden’s Dylan Seitz excited for NHL Draft

CHICAGO – Instead of coming here Saturday and watching the final six rounds with other NHL Draft prospects, Dylan Seitz said he plans to “stay comfortable” at home in Eden, N.Y.

Like any 18-year-old, Seitz is excited and nervous – “It’s always in the back of my mind,” he said – for the day.

“I’m probably not even going to watch it,” he told the Times Herald by phone Sunday. “I’ll probably go do something ... Read the full article

Cheektowaga’s Frank Hora living Sabres dream at development camp

BUFFALO – Michael Hora can’t make it to HarborCenter this afternoon, but one way or another, he’ll find a way to watch his son, Frank, a Cheektowaga native the Sabres are evaluating at development camp.

“He always finds a way to watch my games,” Frank Hora, a 20-year-old defense prospect, said Friday after preparing for the annual Blue and Gold scrimmage.

His father, who’s at a hockey camp in Virginia with another son, Anthony, bought ... Read the full article