Nolan - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres want Brendan Guhle to utilize speed during recall

BUFFALO – For a chunk of the season, Sabres defensemen Brendan Guhle and Casey Nelson formed a strong AHL tandem, showcasing their speed and slick puck-moving skills together.

Then the Sabres recalled Guhle, 20, in early January for two games. A week later, the Sabres summoned Nelson, 25, and he quickly earned a regular spot.

So the two haven’t played together for about two months. Tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Guhle, who was brought ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo on minus-29 rating: ‘It’s absolutely gross’

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Kyle Okposo heard the question coming and groaned, likely out of embarrassment.

The veteran owns a ghastly minus-29 rating, the NHL’s worst number among forwards.

“It’s gross, it’s absolutely gross,” Okposo said this morning inside KeyBank Center. “It’s something, whether the goal’s my fault or not, it just seems like it goes in, they’re just going in this year. It’s something I wanted to get better at. It’s something that’s very ... Read the full article

Barry Trotz believes Phil Housley has plan for Sabres

BUFFALO – Barry Trotz was working late Sunday, so the Washington Capitals coach sent a trainer to see if Phil Housley, a former assistant, was still in his office inside KeyBank Center.

Housley was there, so Trotz and his old friend caught up for a little while.

Trotz, a mentor to Housley, is the NHL’s dean of coaches, having continuously led a team since 1998-99, when he took over the expansion Nashville Predators.... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Buffalo homecoming special for Eden’s Alex Iafallo

BUFFALO – The bus carrying family and friends from The Towne House, the tavern Alex Iafallo’s parents, Barb and Tom, own and operate in Hamburg, to KeyBank Center on Saturday was missing two notable passengers.

Eden natives Barb and Tom Iafallo.

Instead of watching Alex face the Sabres in his first NHL game in Buffalo, the Iafallos were in Columbus, Ohio, because their daughter, Julianna, a forward on the Ohio State women’s hockey team, was ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner to start against Kings

BUFFALO – Fresh off a strong 33-save effort, Sabres goalie Robin Lehner will start this afternoon’s tilt against the Los Angeles Kings.

Lehner, who struggled in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Colorado, rebounded nicely in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Ottawa.

“It’s good to see him bounce back,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said inside KeyBank Center. “In that game, if it wasn’t for Robin, we wouldn’t have been in the game. He made some key saves, ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jordan Nolan excited to face Kings again

BUFFALO – Jordan Nolan won two Stanley Cups in Los Angeles, so while the Sabres winger already played against the Kings in October, facing his old team for the second time will still be special.

“I have a lot of friends on that team, that’s where I started my career and we were successful from the start, so you always have that kind of bond no matter where you go,” Nolan, who was claimed on ... Read the full article

Former Sabre Cory Conacher thrilled to be back with Lightning

BUFFALO – Two and a half years ago, former Sabres center Cory Conacher wanted a fresh start. So just months removed from regular NHL duty, the Canisius College product bolted overseas to Switzerland.

“The reason I went over was just to find a second wind,” Conacher said Tuesday prior to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-3 loss to the Sabres inside KeyBank Center.

Some risk, of course, accompanied leaving North America at 25 years old. Conacher, ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Chad Johnson to start against Lightning

BUFFALO – Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL’s top team, you figure the Sabres would start No. 1 goalie Robin Lehner, who has played 42 times this season.

But Lehner, fresh off Sunday’s 5-4 home loss to Colorado, will sit tonight for backup Chad Johnson.

Why start Johnson, who has just three wins and zero at home?... Read the full article

Thumb surgery to sideline Sabres’ Jake McCabe weeks

BUFFALO – With Jake McCabe out three to four weeks after undergoing thumb surgery today and Rasmus Ristolainen struggling, the Sabres’ defense corps will look much different tonight against the New York Islanders.

Casey Nelson, a recent recall quickly earning coach Phil Housley’s trust, will play with Marco Scandella, Ristolainen’s partner much of the season on the No. 1 pair. Ristolainen, meanwhile, will move back and skate with Nathan Beaulieu.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Nathan Beaulieu remaining confident through rough season

BUFFALO – Nathan Beaulieu has never experienced a season as difficult as this one. In less than four months, injuries and illnesses have already sidelined the Sabres defenseman four times.

“Mentally and physically, it’s both challenging, but you got to find positives,” Beaulieu said prior to Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers inside KeyBank Center. “I’d rather deal with it now than later on in my career.”

... Read the full article