WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Zemgus Girgensons has played only 109 NHL games. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
With lots of help from the rabid fans in his native Latvia and Buffalo, 20-year-old Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons earned an NHL-high 1,574,896 votes and has been elected to the All-Star Game Jan. 25 in Columbus, the league announced tonight.
Girgensons is just 109 games into his career.
The other five players voted in are all Chicago Blackhawks stars: forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and goalie Corey Crawford.... Read the full article
Florida goalie Roberto Luongo watches the puck in front of Cody Hodgson on Friday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – It’s getting ugly again. In fact, it’s starting to feel like October. The Sabres are losing every game. They can’t score. Opponents keep outshooting them.
Following an exciting 10-3 run, the Sabres have lost three straight games and seven of the last eight.
A wretched start, an early-season staple, doomed the Sabres in Friday’s boring 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers before a capacity crowd of 19,070 fans inside a quiet First Niagara ... Read the full article
Brian Campbell joined Florida in 2011. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Don’t tell 35-year-old former Sabres All-Star Brian Campbell he’s the oldest member of the Florida Panthers.
“No, no, no, no,” Campbell said Friday prior to the Panthers’ 2-0 win against the Sabres inside the First Niagara Center. “I’m not even top two. I’m third. I might even be later.”
Campbell then turned to Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo.
“Louie, what month were you born in?” he asked.
Luongo replied he was born in April.... Read the full article
Michal Neuvirth will receive a rare start tonight. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As injuries recently weakened his defense corps, Sabres coach Ted Nolan spread out the wealth a bit, breaking up Rasmus Ristolainen, 20, and Nikita Zadorov, 19, arguably his best tandem.
“Our defense corps was a little bit in disarray for a while, and those two were probably our two shining lights,” Nolan said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.
The struggling Sabres desperately need another strong defense pair, so with Ristolainen ... Read the full article
Jhonas Enroth has allowed 30 goals in his last eight starts. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Jhonas Enroth, the quiet, mild-mannered Sabres goalie, finally lost his cool Wednesday.
Following Tampa Bay’s final goal late in Sabres’ 5-1 loss, the diminutive Swede angrily whacked the left post with his stick like he was chopping down a tree. When the final horn ended the Sabres’ sixth loss in seven games, Enroth heaved his stick and skated off.
Minutes later, he was visibly upset in the dressing room.
In the ... Read the full article
Rasmus Ristolainen has missed two games. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – While the top line remained intact, Sabres coach Ted Nolan rearranged his other three trios today, an attempt to jumpstart the struggling team.
The new lines, left to right: Brian Flynn beside Mikhail Grigorenko and Chris Stewart; Cody Hodgson with Cody McCormick and Drew Stafford; Nick Deslauriers beside Johan Larsson and Patrick Kaleta.
Injuries and illness have ravaged the Sabres recently. They haven’t had a second line with Marcus Foligno and Brian Gionta ... Read the full article
The Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta (36) is thwarted by Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman (77) and Brendan Morrow (10) on Wednesday. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The stage was set. The Sabres, four days removed from a scintillating third-period rally, fell behind three goals again.
Could the Sabres roar back again Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning? Uh, not quite.
The Sabres couldn’t even get the puck on net late in their 5-1 loss inside First Niagara Center.
The Lightning scored three times on 14 shots during the third period. The Sabres, meanwhile, had one shot the entire period.... Read the full article
Mark Pysk started the season in Rochester. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – This time, Mark Pysyk could stay in the NHL for good.
Of course, some thought the Sabres defenseman had secured regular duty last season. The steady 22-year-old was often the only bright spot on a dreadful team, skating 20 minutes some nights.
But 42 games into Pysyk’s season, the Sabres sent the prospect back to Rochester. Pysyk possessed the mental skills for the NHL then, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said, but he needed ... Read the full article
Matt Moulson (left) and Tyler Ennis have been celebrating with their Sabres teammates regularly at home. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – It felt like the glory days of the First Niagara Center again, 2006 and 2007 or even the late 1990s. Sabres fans sensed something special was happening, an improbable comeback was in the works.
The crowd grew louder and louder Saturday as the Sabres roared back from a 3-0 third-period deficit against the New York Islanders in just 5:12. When Chris Stewart’s nifty goal tied it, the 19,070 fans erupted.
The building hadn’t ... Read the full article
Rasmus Ristolainen will miss his second straight game tonight. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Some quick Sabres lineup updates following a very quiet morning skate inside the First Niagara Center:
– Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen skated but will miss his second consecutive game because of the flu.
“He’s available, but this is the first time he touched the ice in four or five days, so we’re going to let him get his feet back underneath him and put him in the next game,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said.... Read the full article