McLeod - Buffalo Hockey Beat

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

Tage Thompson backs up words, scores late to help Sabres beat Stars

BUFFALO – On the bench in the third period, as the Sabres began playing a little too conservative for coach Lindy Ruff’s liking, center Tage Thompson urged his teammates to hit the accelerator again.

A 2-0 lead can vanish in a hurry, especially against a heavyweight opponent like the Dallas Stars. Ruff, of course, wants his players to keep playing aggressively when they’re ahead, a message Thompson relayed.

“He was the one guy on the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan McLeod scoring, earning trust from Lindy Ruff after trade

BUFFALO – This isn’t the hottest stretch of Ryan McLeod’s career. No, 10 months ago as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, the Sabres newcomer scored four times and compiled six points during a three-game goal streak.

Following a pointless night, he registered one goal and two points in his next outing.

Right now, McLeod has scored one goal in each of the last three games entering tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars at ... Read the full article

Sabres continue troubling start, lose to Blue Jackets: ‘They won more battles’

COLUMBUS – Seventy-six games remain for the Buffalo Sabres following Thursday’s ugly 6-4 loss to the Blue Jackets, so there’s time to correct things.

But having started this season a dreadful 1-4-1, they better get going in a hurry. Right now, it sure feels a lot like past years. Not much has changed under new coach Lindy Ruff.

The Sabres are a mess defensively. Their special teams are brutal.... Read the full article

Sabres blow leads as Sidney Crosby and Penguins spoil JJ Peterka’s return

PITTSBURGH – Where do you start with this one? The Buffalo Sabres blew an early two-goal lead before roaring back late to go up again after superstar Evgeni Malkin’s 500th goal put the Penguins ahead and seemingly seized all the momentum.

In the end, the Sabres earned one point for Wednesday’s wildly entertaining 6-5 overtime loss in PPG Paints Arena.

Still, the setback surely stings. The Sabres led 2-0 led by the 2:08 mark, 3-1 ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jordan Greenway becoming big asset: ‘An incredibly smart player’

PITTSBURGH – Early in Saturday’s 5-2 win, Buffalo Sabres winger Jordan Greenway spotted 30-goal scorer Carter Verhaeghe on his radar and leveled him, knocking off his helmet before he fell to the ice.

Later in the first period against the Florida Panthers, Greenway grabbed a loose puck at the net and backhanded it under the crossbar, tying the game at 1.

Overall, he enjoyed perhaps the finest of his 88 outings with the Sabres, playing ... Read the full article

As Sabres stumble out of gate, veteran Jason Zucker’s experience can help

BUFFALO – Right now, as the Sabres try to avoid losing their first four games and a full-blown crisis, they might be wise to lean on veteran newcomer Jason Zucker a bit.

Having played 700 NHL games – he reached the milestone in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings – the winger has experienced a lot over the years.

“Games played in this league is always a great thing, kind of shows longevity,” ... Read the full article

Sabres can’t finish chances, unravel late in loss to Kings: ‘I do feel snake bit’

BUFFALO – The Sabres performed a heck of a lot better in Thursday’s home opener than they did overseas. It was hardly a perfect effort, mind you. But they put together a terrific 40 minutes, showcasing speed and tenacity while generating loads of scoring chances in the first two periods.

Following two underwhelming outings to open the season, coach Lindy Ruff believes the Sabres played close to their identity throughout the night.

What do they ... Read the full article