WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Tage Thompson joined Buffalo in 2018.
BUFFALO – The adversity Sabres winger Tage Thompson endured on his way to becoming one of the NHL’s most dynamic threats makes each goal he scores feel a little sweeter and every win he celebrates alongside his teammates more satisfying.
At times after joining the Sabres seven years ago in a blockbuster trade with the St. Louis Blues, it felt like he would never fulfill his vast potential. He sat out games as healthy scratch, ... Read the full article
Alexander Mogilny scored 76 goals in 1992-93. ©2025, Janet Schultz
Alexander Mogilny, a trailblazer who defected from the Soviet Union in 1989 to join the Buffalo Sabres and later developed into one of the most electrifying talents in NHL history, has been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his 17th year of eligibility.
Mogilny, 56, is one of eight members of the class of 2025 the Hall of Fame announced Tuesday. They will be inducted Nov. 10 in Toronto.
“I am happy ... Read the full article
Rob Ray would take on any heavyweight. ©2025, Janet Schultz
BUFFALO – John Muckler’s voice cut through the din of the crowd that night 32 years ago as Sabres tough guy Rob Ray squared off with hulking Philadelphia Flyers heavyweight Dave Brown.
Muckler, having coached Brown with the Edmonton Oilers, knew him well. He feared Ray could be in way over his head.
The 6-foot-5 Brown, after all, ranked among the NHL’s most feared and punishing fighters. Few dared to challenge him.
So from the ... Read the full article
Tom Barrasso and Pierre Turgeon were teammates in Buffalo. ©2023, Janet Schultz
As nearly two decades passed without a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame, former Buffalo Sabres goalie Tom Barrasso grew to accept one would likely never come.
He felt at peace with his career – both the good and the bad. He played 19 years, won the Stanley Cup twice and enjoyed a remarkable rookie season in 1983-84, winning the Vezina and Calder trophies as an 18-year-old who jumped from high school hockey to ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored 46 goals this season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – At the beginning of the season, fresh off a breakout 38-goal campaign, Sabres star Tage Thompson wanted duplicate last year’s career-best output.
“If I could get around the same as I got last year, it would be successful and (I’d) be pretty happy with that,” Thompson said prior to Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center, the Sabres’ home finale.
Well, Thompson, 25, hit the 30-goal mark Jan. 3, ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has played all 72 games this season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres center Tage Thompson can’t do more damage to his undisclosed injury by playing with it.
“As long as he can fight through it, tolerate any pain that there might be, the decision is his (whether to play),” coach Don Granato told reporters Saturday in New York following the Sabres’ 2-0 win over the Islanders. “With the tolerance threshold, only he knows.”
Thompson, who was injured when he collided with Timo Meier early ... Read the full article
Alex Tuch scored two goals Friday. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Following a fast start in his return from a two-week absence, Sabres winger Alex Tuch had endured one of his quietest stretches this season, registering just a single assist over a four-game stretch.
Meanwhile, Tage Thompson, Tuch’s center, had been uncharacteristically quiet this month, at least by his high standards, scoring only two goals in 10 outings.
Their struggles, of course, contributed heavily to the Sabres’ recent woes – a four-game losing streak ... Read the full article
Craig Anderson has played 25 games this season. ©2023, Michelline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In his two-year career with the Sabres, veteran goalie Craig Anderson had never been pulled from a game before Tuesday’s ugly 7-3 loss to the Nashville Predators.
Despite being the NHL’s oldest player, the 41-year-old’s play hasn’t declined much. Sure, he can’t handle a heavy workload anymore. Age has relegated him to backup status. Throughout his 20th season, he has started about once a week.
Anderson has performed so well at times ... Read the full article
Ilya Lyubushkin hadn’t scored a goal since last season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
Ilya Lyubushkin had scored zero goals in his first 41 games with the Buffalo Sabres. In his five-year NHL career, the gritty Russian defenseman had scored just three goals in 252 contests, his last coming 10 months ago.
But when Lyubushkin grabbed the puck from Lightning captain Steven Stamkos in overtime Thursday and set off on a rare short-handed breakaway, Sabres coach Don Granato knew something special was about to happen.
“It was weird in ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored 21 goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Coach Don Granato was struggling to conceal five pucks as he addressed the Sabres following center Tage Thompson’s dynamic five-goal, six-point effort in Wednesday’s 9-4 annihilation of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Moments earlier, Chris Dierken, the team’s director of media relations, had handed him every puck Thompson scored with during perhaps the greatest individual performance in the franchise’s 53-year history.
Granato kept two pucks wedged in each each pocket and another in his ... Read the full article