Miller - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres rally to tie Leafs, earn tough road point in shootout loss

TORONTO – For two straight nights, the Buffalo Sabres stopped playing those drab, low-scoring affairs. Their anemic offense looked first-rate, scoring three goals in consecutive games for only the fourth time this season.

Still, it only translated to a single point they earned in Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs before 19,372 fans inside the Air Canada Centre.

To interim coach Ted Nolan, the Sabres fought for a tough road point.

“Third game ... Read the full article

Matt Moulson open to staying with Sabres, not worried about getting traded again

BUFFALO – Thirty games into what could be a very short Sabres career, Matt Moulson said he’s given a lot of thought to a future he can’t control yet.

The winger, quietly one of the NHL’s top goal scorers for years, would be coveted as an unrestricted free agent this summer. But before that, if the Sabres want to deal the 30-year-old, he’d be in high demand as a rental prior to the March 5 ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan wants ‘a little bit more’ from Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko

BUFFALO – Interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan spoke bluntly Monday about 19-year-old prospect Mikhail Grigorenko, who refused an assignment to junior Saturday before accepting it a day later.

“We can’t control what people do and what they say, but we can certainly control how we’re going to run this organization and what we feel is necessary for the development of young players,” Nolan said after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers ... Read the full article

Watch: Sabres goalie Ryan Miller’s amazing stick save on Mikhail Grabovski

Is this the NHL’s save of the year?

With 2:14 left in regulation in the Buffalo Sabres’ 2-1 shootout win in Washington today, goalie Ryan Miller’s amazing stick save stymied the Capitals’ Mikhail Grabovski, keeping the game tied at 1.

“That’s one of those ones where you’re just completely out of options,” Miller said following game. “The puck came through traffic, hit me right in the pads instead of the stick and I knew I ... Read the full article

Goalie Ryan Miller still waiting to discuss future with Sabres’ new regime

BUFFALO – Ryan Miller appreciates Pat LaFontaine’s kind words. The hockey icon lauded his franchise goalie last week, telling reporters the Sabres would do their best to accommodate the former Vezina Trophy winner if he wants to stay here.

“It’s nice of him,” Miller, an unrestricted free agent following the season, said Saturday inside the Riverside Ice Rink. “I still need to kind of see what’s going on in the bigger picture.”

Miller said ... Read the full article

Tim Murray ready to tackle Sabres’ ‘extremely attractive’ GM job

BUFFALO – Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray recently approached his nephew, Tim Murray, and told him the rebuilding Sabres, the NHL’s worst team, wanted permission to interview him for the vacant GM position.

Murray would be leaving what he called “comfortable situation” as the Senators’ assistant GM. The 50-year-old’s from the Ottawa area. His wife and children live there. Many speculated he would replace his uncle someday. At the very least, he acknowledged, he would’ve ... Read the full article

GM Tim Murray unsure about Sabres’ upcoming UFAs; Pat LaFontaine open to keeping Ryan Miller

BUFFALO – General manager Tim Murray knows with three high-profile unrestricted free agents the Sabres’ phones “will ring off the hook here going forward.”

Franchise goalie Ryan Miller, top scorer Matt Moulson and gritty captain Steve Ott will be coveted by teams before the NHL trade deadline.

What will Murray, who was named GM today, do?

“I can’t go out right now and tell you I’m going to trade all the pending UFAs if there’s ... Read the full article

Sabres grateful for snow day; Swedish Olympian Jhonas Enroth to start in goal

BUFFALO – Steve Ott noticed he didn’t have any food for a pregame meal Tuesday. The Sabres captain figured his “pasta place” was probably closed, too.

So even with a ferocious snowstorm battering the area, Ott “took a chance” and drove to a Wegmans supermarket for some spaghetti.

“It was a miserable chance, to be honest with you,” Ott said Wednesday after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers inside the First ... Read the full article

Reports: Sabres will name Tim Murray GM

BUFFALO – It appears the Sabres will name Tim Murray their new general manager.

According to reports, Pat LaFontaine, the president of hockey operations, has chosen the 50-year-old Murray, Ottawa’s assistant GM, to replace Darcy Regier after a nearly two-month search.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported Murray is the “last man standing” and a formal offer, negotiation and ownership approval still must be completed.

The Sabres also interviewed three assistant GMs – Boston’s Jim Benning, ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller knew he had to earn spot on Team USA’s Olympic squad

BUFFALO – Ryan Miller knew what most Olympic observers knew. Despite nearly backstopping Team USA to an unlikely gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games, the Sabres goalie wasn’t a lock to represent his country again this year.

The 33-year-old has performed inconsistently at times during recent seasons. The Sabres, meanwhile, have become the NHL’s worst team.

“It’s something that I wanted to work hard for and get myself back in the picture,” said Miller, ... Read the full article