Moulson - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Matt Moulson finally scoring again

BUFFALO – Matt Moulson can’t figure out what exactly caused his awful, career-worst start. Maybe the five-year, $25 million contract the Sabres awarded the high-scoring winger in free agency played in his head. Perhaps the expectations that accompany scoring 30 goals three straight years weighed on him.

Whatever the case, Moulson was downright terrible earlier this season. At one point during his 14-game goal drought, his wife, Alicia, gave him a little pep talk.

“I ... Read the full article

Sabres rally to beat Flames, continue hot streak

BUFFALO – The Sabres have lived oh-so dangerously in their victories this season. Getting outshot by double digits and handling the puck for just a small portion of the game is usually a recipe for disaster.

Somehow, the rebuilding club has managed to find success with opponents controlling most of the play.

Despite getting outshot 45-19, the Sabres won again Thursday, using two third-period goals to rally and beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 before an ... Read the full article

Goalie Jhonas Enroth shines again, Sabres beat Kings

BUFFALO – While there has been no official designation, Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth started again Tuesday, his seventh nod in the last eight games.

Two months into the season, the 26-year-old Swede has quietly become the rebuilding team’s No. 1 netminder, showcasing a calm, steady style each night.

Enroth dazzled again Tuesday in the Sabres’ 1-0 win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, stopping 34 shots and outdueling counterpart Jonathan Quick, a ... Read the full article

Sabres score fluky goal late, beat Canadiens

BUFFALO – One Sabres goal was scintillating, the kind destined to become a highlight-reel staple. The other goal was, well, pure luck, a rare bounce off the glass.

“That’s the way hockey goes,” winger Tyler Ennis, whose slick goal opened the scoring, said Friday following the Sabres’ 2-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens. “It doesn’t matter how it goes in, as long as we get the win we’re happy.”

The Sabres were a happy ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Chris Stewart finally ends long goal slump

BUFFALO – The question made Chris Stewart pause for a moment.

“I’m searching for the right answer here,” the struggling winger said Wednesday prior to scoring a breakaway goal in the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets inside the First Niagara Center.

Stewart, a two-time 28-goal scorer, has arguably been the Sabres’ biggest disappointment this season, compiling just two goals and three points in 22 games.

So much for that breakout season.

“It’s not ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Torrey Mitchell enjoying best stretch in years

BUFFALO – After watching Torrey Mitchell score the winning goal on a sore foot late in Saturday’s 2-1 win in Washington, Sabres coach Ted Nolan jokingly asked the center if he had heard of Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun.

Mitchell’s outing, of course, wasn’t as gutsy or memorable as the time Baun scored an overtime winner in the Stanley Cup final on a broken leg 50 years ago.

Still, given the way Mitchell had ... Read the full article

Sabres finally have goal scoring and top line

BUFFALO – Finally, more than a month into the season, the Sabres’ feeble offense has busted loose, scoring nine goals in the last two outings, including a season-high six in Saturday’s annihilation of Toronto.

About time, right?

The NHL’s weakest attack scored 19 goals in the first 17 games, so the last two contests have accounted for 32 percent of the Sabres’ offense this season.

Incredible.

The Sabres are scoring at a shocking 120-goal pace. ... Read the full article

Sabres throttle Leafs, send Toronto fans home unhappy

BUFFALO – For one night at least, the First Niagara Center felt like the old days. A raucous capacity crowd of 19,070 fans roared from start to finish Saturday. The Sabres buzzed up and down the ice all night against the hated Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring goals and creating chance after chance.

The Sabres’ rollicking 6-2 win, just their second regulation triumph this season and first at home, was wildly entertaining, high-octane hockey.

Up in ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan searching for right Sabres line combinations

BUFFALO – Drew Stafford figured what the heck, he had nothing to lose by offering his services at center. The Sabres winger had played the position in high school.

So Stafford recently told coach Ted Nolan he would move if the reeling Sabres wanted to experiment.

“I wanted to let him know I’m comfortable with whatever he throws at myself or whoever I end up with,” Stafford said Friday inside the First Niagara Center. “I ... Read the full article

Young Sabres Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Zadorov impressing as tandem

BUFFALO – When you’re struggling and searching for anything to ignite the team, you experiment. So with nothing to lose, Sabres coach Ted Nolan paired Rasmus Ristolainen, 20, and rookie Nikita Zadorov, 19, together last game.

The defensemen became the Sabres’ top tandem in Saturday’s ugly 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh, each skating more than 20 minutes, more than Tyler Myers. Zadorov wasn’t on the ice for any goals against.

“If you look at both ... Read the full article