McLeod - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Ryan McLeod looking for goals, linemates; Buffalo changes lineup

BUFFALO – For weeks, Sabres forward Ryan McLeod has moved around the lineup, skating on scoring lines and checking trios and playing center or even occasionally the wing.

McLeod, who displayed strong chemistry pivoting Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker on the third line earlier in the season, hasn’t found a fit.

Greenway is recovering from surgery to repair a mid-body injury and has missed the last 10 games and 22 of the past 26 contests. ... Read the full article

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff wants Zach Benson to take fewer penalties

BUFFALO – When Sabres coach Lindy Ruff reshuffled his lines earlier this week, he awarded winger Zach Benson a plum assignment alongside center Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.

Barely six minutes into Tuesday’s 6-1 road loss to the Montreal Canadiens, his second game on the line, Benson, 19, was whistled for holding.

“He was going to be in that top line,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said in KeyBank Center. “As soon as he took a ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jordan Greenway to undergo surgery, miss ‘significant’ time; Rasmus Dahlin set to play

BUFFALO – Winger Jordan Greenway, the Sabres’ top penalty killer and one of their most physical forwards, will be undergoing surgery to repair a mid-body injury and be sidelined a “significant amount of time,” coach Lindy Ruff said.

“I don’t have a time frame for it, but it’s a good period of time,” Ruff said following Thursday’s practice in KeyBank Center.

Ruff said he believes Greenway, 27, will play again this season.

The injury recently ... Read the full article

Injured Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin having difficult time sitting out; Jack Quinn could play soon

BUFFALO – On Thursday, a day off for the struggling Sabres, injured captain Rasmus Dahlin and Lindy Ruff had what the coach called “a long conversation” about the team.

Dahlin has missed the last four games after suffering back spasms Dec. 3. The Sabres’ top defenseman skated on his own again Friday and is progressing, according to Ruff.

Still, the Swede has been a bystander as the Sabres’ losing streak reached eight games, and it’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tage Thompson says he’s ready to return from lower-body injury

BUFFALO – In Tage Thompson’s absence, the Sabres have done well, going 4-1-0 and winning all three stops last week in California without their top center.

By the end of the trip, Thompson, who said he’s “ready to go” for tonight’s home game against the Minnesota Wild, told the Sabres he would play if they needed him.

Still, they held him out of Friday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks and Saturday’s 4-2 victory ... Read the full article

Sabres’ UPL, Tage Thompson won’t play versus Flyers; Jordan Greenway injured

BUFFALO – In Tage Thompson’s absence against the St. Louis Blues, centers Ryan McLeod and Dylan Cozens picked up the slack for the Sabres’ leading scorer.

McLeod scored once and created linemate Alex Tuch’s late tying goal in Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win by deftly feeding him from behind the net.

Earlier in the third period, Cozens knocked down Oskar Sundqvist before racing to the net and converting a rebound. While officials overturned the goal because ... Read the full article

Mature effort helps Sabres rally to beat Blues in OT: ‘Learning the game’

BUFFALO – The competitive balance in the NHL has perhaps never been higher, meaning the difference between the top and bottom teams is slim.

There are no gimme games, as coaches will tell you. Still, this week, two teams – the St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens – limped into KeyBank Center reeling and ripe to be exploited.

The Sabres nearly lost both games.

But forget the Sabres needed to late rally and overtime Thursday ... Read the full article

Injured Sabres Tage Thompson and UPL could face Blues; Mattias Samuelsson out long-term

BUFFALO – Sabres center Tage Thompson and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen both missed Wednesday’s practice and are day to day with their respective injuries. Coach Lindy Ruff said they could play in tonight’s home game against the St. Louis Blues.

That’s the good news for the Sabres. The bad? Ruff said the lower-body injury defenseman Mattias Samuelsson suffered in Monday afternoon’s 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens will sideline him “weeks.” The injury, however, isn’t season-ending.... Read the full article

Sabres raise standard, defeat Senators; Henri Jokiharju, Mattias Samuelsson scratched

BUFFALO – Hours before the Sabres ended their three-game losing streak Tuesday by shellacking the Ottawa Senators 5-1, coach Lindy Ruff demanded more of his goalies, saying his team needed bigger saves at critical times.

Ruff wasn’t pinning the Sabres’ recent struggles on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi. In the same breath, said he needed his scorers to finish. He has been asking more of everyone as he tries to raise the Sabres’ standard.

But ... Read the full article

Sabres hope shifting struggling Dylan Cozens to wing can ignite him

BUFFALO – History says Dylan Cozens’ position change will be temporary. Shifting him from center to right wing is a slump-busting move by Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.

Centers, of course, are always at a premium and Cozens, 23, has been entrenched as the Sabres’ second-line pivot for years. It’s just that 10 games into the season, having scored zero goals, he’s in a rut.

Ruff needs to ignite the Yukon native, so in Thursday’s ... Read the full article