WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Training Camp Edition
Anthony Beauvillier and the New York Islanders won’t be visiting Buffalo on Monday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Monday’s Buffalo Sabres game against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center has been postponed.
The NHL tonight pushed back its resumption of play one day so it could analyze testing data and determine teams’ readiness to compete coming out a four-day Christmas/COVID-19 break. The league wants to resume games Tuesday.
The Sabres’ next scheduled contest is Wednesday at home against the New Jersey Devils.
Johnny Boychuk retired last year. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Hours after trading center Jack Eichel today, the Buffalo Sabres swung a minor deal to help them stay above the salary floor, acquiring retired defenseman Johnny Boychuk from the New York Islanders in exchange for future considerations.
Boychuk, who was forced to stop playing last year because of a left eye injury, carries a $6 million cap hit.
The Sabres never dropped below the NHL’s $60.2 million floor after dishing Eichel and his $10 million ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel spent six seasons in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Jack Eichel saga ended this morning after nearly six months, with the Buffalo Sabres trading their disgruntled former captain to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for two players and two picks.
The Sabres received forwards Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch, a first-round pick in 2022 and a second-round pick in 2023 for the dynamic center. They also sent the Golden Knights a third-round pick in 2023. The first-rounder is top-10 protected.
The ... Read the full article
Michael Houser stops a shot in Tuesday’s win. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Hours before Michael Houser’s second NHL start, interim Sabres coach Don Granato said he wasn’t concerned about his goalie becoming fatigued.
Coaches, of course, rarely use the same goalie on back-to-back nights. The position is simply too taxing.
But Granato, having lost his other goalies, needed Houser again Tuesday, a night after his big league debut. It was also his first game at any level in nearly 14 months.
Granato was confident ... Read the full article
Stefanos Lekkas recently joined Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – On April 10 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, goalie Stefanos Lekkas played his last game for the Komets, an ECHL team, allowing five goals in a loss to the Indy Fuel.
Twenty-three days later, Lekkas was in the NHL, serving as Sabres rookie Michael Houser’s backup for Monday’s 4-2 win over the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center.
The memories of the night will forever be seared in Lekkas’ head.
“Just to go through ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen recently played his first four NHL games.
The Buffalo Sabres will be without goalies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Dustin Tokarski and Carter Hutton for the final three games this season, interim coach Don Granato said.
Luukkonen, 22, left Saturday afternoon’s 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins after getting his left skate caught on the goal post.
Granato did not have much information on the Finn, who was examined Monday.
“As far as the details of the report, I don’t have those,” Granato said ... Read the full article
Buffalo goalie Michael Houser is embraced after Monday’s win by teammates Will Borgen (left) and Rasmus Ristolainen. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Eight teams, nine seasons and 284 games into his pro career, Sabres goalie Michael Houser made his NHL debut, stopping 34 shots in Monday’s 4-2 come-from-behind win over the New York Islanders.
In a dreadful year in which the Sabres could finish dead last again, Houser’s first big league start created a feel-good story that provided some excitement and intrigue to a meaningless late-season game.
Houser, 28, has spent most of his career ... Read the full article
Michael Houser has spent nine seasons in the minors. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Michael Houser toiled nine years in the minors, playing 283 games, most of them in the ECHL, for seven teams before an opportunity to start an NHL game materialized.
Tonight against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center, Houser, 28, will make his NHL debut, interim coach Don Granato said. Houser will be the sixth Sabres goalie to start a game this season.
Houser has spent most of the past seven ... Read the full article
Linus Ullmark hasn’t played since April 13. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – After a lower-body injury sidelined goalie Linus Ullmark 15 games, he returned in late March and quickly morphed into the Sabres’ backbone again.
Then on April 13 in Boston, Ullmark, in his eighth appearance back, suffered a lower-body ailment stretching to make a save in the opening minutes. At first, he tried to play through the pain.
“When the pain never subsided and it was getting worse and worse, I couldn’t find any ... Read the full article
Michael Houser is receiving his first taste of the NHL with Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Michael Houser arrived at the visiting dressing room that night six weeks ago in Madison Square Garden sweating.
Minutes earlier, Houser, 28, had been watching the action against the New York Rangers from a suite with other members of the team’s taxi squad.
Then Carter Hutton suffered a lower-body injury less than three minutes into the game, meaning Houser, the emergency backup, had to rush downstairs and get ready.
“I had ... Read the full article