Miller - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Tight win over Canadiens has Sabres back in playoff chase

MONTREAL – This one could’ve gotten ugly early as the Buffalo Sabres bumbled around their own zone and the Canadiens kept relentlessly applying pressure.

Somehow, though, the Habs missed a slew of prime chances during the first period Saturday.

If they didn’t misfire in front of Ryan Miller, the franchise goalie gobbled it up. His play and a little luck kept the Sabres in the game.

Just a few weeks ago, the struggling team might’ve ... Read the full article

Struggling Stafford to sit tonight as Gerbe returns for Sabres

MONTREAL – Naturally, getting benched for tonight’s game against the Canadiens is disappointing, Drew Stafford said. The struggling Buffalo Sabres winger, who has only four goals in 31 games this season, hasn’t been a healthy scratch in years.

But the 27-year-old veteran, an assistant captain, understands why interim coach Ron Rolston will sit him.

“I mean, it’s no secret I haven’t been getting on the score sheet,” Stafford said this afternoon following Buffalo’s skate ... Read the full article

Relentless Sabres roar back to down Leafs in ultra-intense tilt

BUFFALO –For 65 wildly entertaining minutes Thursday, the Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs fought, traded goals and battled for every inch as they zoomed up and down the ice before a noisy bipartisan crowd of 19,070 fans inside the First Niagara Center.

The Sabres’ 5-4 shootout victory was NHL hockey at its fiercest and most exciting.

“They got their money’s worth tonight,” interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston said about the capacity crowd.

Fittingly, Sabres agitator ... Read the full article

Sulzer disappointed season over, hoping to re-sign with Sabres

BUFFALO – When defenseman Alexander Sulzer caught his skate in a rut and twisted his knee early in the Sabres’ 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Feb. 23, the defenseman immediately knew something wasn’t right.

“I felt that something happened,” Sulzer said prior to the Sabres’ 5-4 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday inside the First Niagara Center. “It was really painful. I didn’t know how bad it was. But ... Read the full article

Miller to start for Sabres tonight

BUFFALO – Following goalie Jhonas Enroth’s strong 34-save performance in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime triumph Tuesday in Montreal, interim coach Ron Rolston and his staff considered giving the backup another start.

Ultimately, though, Rolston awarded tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs to Ryan Miller.

“We like what Jhonas is doing and how he’s building his game and building confidence, and certainly he’s given us two big wins here recently,” Rolston said this morning inside ... Read the full article

Rolston wise to switch up Sabres’ top trio

In reality, the Buffalo Sabres’ top trio – Thomas Vanek, Cody Hodgson and Jason Pominville – should’ve been broken up or tweaked weeks ago.

Since roaring out of the gate as the NHL’s best line in January, the line has cooled off considerably.

Vanek, once hockey’s most lethal scoring threat, has only three goals and eight points in the last 15 games. Pominville has three goals and eight points in the last 19 contests.

Not ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth should receive late-season action

See, this is what happens when you have a backup goalie you trust. You can, you know, play him occasionally.

Jhonas Enroth will start tonight for the Sabres against the Canadiens in Montreal, his third nod in six games after receiving only two in the first 24 contests.

This was originally the Sabres’ plan; Enroth would spell No. 1 netminder Ryan Miller regularly, start about every fourth game.

With Enroth playing well again – ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rolston sending Kaleta a message with scratch

Patrick Kaleta is seething because he will be scratched tonight. The Angola native, the Buffalo Sabres’ chief agitator, has enjoyed a regular spot in the lineup for years, never sitting unless he’s hurt or suspended (so he does miss a lot of games).

But against the Washington Capitals, the aggressive winger, who’s eligible to return from a five-game boarding suspension, will be benched as a healthy scratch.

“I’m (ticked) off. I want to play,” ... Read the full article

Awful second period dooms Sabres in overtime loss to Senators

BUFFALO – The Sabres haven’t been able to buck the disturbing trend this season. Their second periods are terrible. During the opening 20 minutes Saturday afternoon inside the First Niagara Center, they dominated the Ottawa Senators, giving themselves a 2-0 lead after one period for the first time all year.

Then, halfway through the second period, the game was tied. The Senators grabbed their first lead at the 18:57 mark.

Incredibly, the Sabres have ... Read the full article

Regier on struggling Sabres: ‘I’m not in a blowing-up mindset’

BUFFALO – With the trade deadline hitting April 3 and the Sabres mired in 14^th place, general manager Darcy Regier said he has no plans to blow the team up and start fresh.

“I’m not in a blowing-up mindset,” Regier said late Friday afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “Blowing up to me means blowing up. I mean, nothing left.”

It appears goalie Ryan Miller and wingers Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek, the team’s ... Read the full article