Myers - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Despite losses, Sabres feeling good again, believe they’re on right path

BUFFALO – The end result hasn’t changed much yet. On paper, at least, the Sabres are still a terrible hockey team.

They’ve lost eight of their 10 games under interim coach Ted Nolan, scoring just 15 goals, a pathetic 1.5 a contest.

At their current pace, the 6-22-2 Sabres, who have 48 goals, would finish with the fewest points in the shootout era and score the fewest goals in NHL history.

But talk to ... Read the full article

Sabres fall to Rangers, left searching for answers again

BUFFALO – Finally, about seven minutes into the third period Thursday, Cody Hodgson briefly generated some excitement for the 18,088 fans inside the First Niagara Center, slickly undressing Ryan McDonagh before roaring in on a partial breakaway.

But New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stoned Hodgson, and a second later the center tripped star Rick Nash.

Brad Richards scored on the ensuing power play, building the Rangers’ lead to 2-0.

It was one of those ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko excited for world junior championship

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko knows watching NHL games as a spare forward is hurting his development.

“I can’t be sitting in the press box. I need to play,” Grigorenko said Thursday morning inside the First Niagara Center. “Everybody understands this.”

Luckily, the Sabres’ new regime understands how vital ice time is to Grigorenko’s maturation, so the team’s letting the 19-year-old center play for Russian at the upcoming world junior championship in Sweden.

“I ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Brayden McNabb to sit again, showcasing right attitude

BUFFALO – Attitude, Ted Nolan said, “is everything.”

“It’s like a flat tire,” the interim Sabres coach said this morning, “if you don’t change it, you ain’t going nowhere.”

Sabres defenseman Brayden McNabb’s great attitude about his one-day assignment to Rochester helped the 22-year-old compile one goal and three points in the Americans’ 6-1 win against the Utica Comets, Nolan said.

“He’s knows that he’s got a little ways to go before becoming a full-time ... Read the full article

Late penalty dooms Sabres in loss to Canadiens; Matt D’Agostini expected to join team today

BUFFALO – Tyler Ennis said he was simply trying to hit his spot on the Sabres’ set breakout. Both wingers are supposed to loop. He had no intention of trying to pick Ryan White.

“All of a sudden he was going to my ice,” Ennis said Wednesday following the Sabres’ 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, their fifth straight defeat.

With the Sabres down 2-1 with 2:58 remaining, a referee whistled Ennis for interference, giving ... Read the full article

Sabres grab early lead against tired Red Wings, falter again late

BUFFALO – The reeling Detroit Red Wings limped into a town Sunday a beaten up and tired bunch ripe to be exploited. They left galvanized by only their second win in 10 games, a tight 3-1 triumph against the rested Sabres in a dull, low-chance affair.

Playing without three regulars, including star Pavel Datsyuk, the Wings fell behind early before scoring the go-ahead goal 11:43 into the third period inside the First Niagara Center.

So ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Myers confident he’s finally regaining old form

BUFFALO – Tyler Myers needed some advice. Just four games into the season, the struggling Sabres defenseman had already compiled a wretched minus-7 rating. He was starting to lose ice time.

For all the preseason hubbub over his productive summer, the 23-year-old hadn’t showcased any improvements in his wobbly game.

So following his minus-3 performance in the Sabres’ 4-1 loss to Columbus on Oct. 10, Myers reached out to Jim Corsi, the goalie coach... Read the full article

Ted Nolan’s strong words mean Sabres will start making more moves

Bet on it. In the next week or so, the hapless Buffalo Sabres will trade or waive at least one underachieving veteran.

Ted Nolan has seen enough just four games into his tenure.

“The gloves are officially off,” the interim coach told reporters Thursday in Philadelphia following the Sabres’ weak 4-1 loss, their third straight setback. “Now we got to do certain things in order to play. If you don’t, you’re not.”

The youth excuse ... Read the full article

Sabres beat Leafs in Ted Nolan’s debut, look like new team

BUFFALO – It might as well have been opening night again inside the First Niagara Center. Twenty-one games into the season, the Sabres started over Friday, performing like a new, refreshed team in their first game under interim coach Ted Nolan, an exciting 3-1 triumph against the hated Toronto Maple Leafs.

Nolan told the Sabres he was wiping the slate clean and didn’t care about their awful start under Ron Rolston, who was fired ... Read the full article

Sabres hope waiving Patrick Kaleta will help winger develop calmer style

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ surprising decision to waive Patrick Kaleta, general manager Darcy Regier said Saturday, could give the hard-hitting winger an opportunity to “redesign his game” in Rochester.

If Kaleta, who’s been suspended twice in his last 21 games, clears and begins his first AHL stint since 2007-08, he has “a significant amount of work that he will have to do,” Regier said.

But the Sabres couldn’t let Kaleta, fresh off a 10-game ban ... Read the full article