Nolan - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to start against Penguins

PITTSBURGH – The numbers are terrible. In 23 career games against the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres franchise goalie Ryan Miller is 7-11-3 with a ghastly 3.26 goals-against average and .888 save percentage.

The powerhouse Penguins own Miller like no other team.

So why start Miller tonight when the Sabres play Washington, a team he has dominated recently, Tuesday at home?

Interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan doesn’t care about Miller’s numbers.

“I just know how good he ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Matt Ellis scoring, earning Ted Nolan’s respect and regular duty

PITTSBURGH – Matt Ellis had two Buffalo Sabres skating to the crease, so even a few steps inside the blue line, the winger figured lofting a backhander toward Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was a smart move.

To Ellis, getting the puck on net – even the seemingly harmless shots – is one of the simplest ways to increase scoring.

“Coaches tell you from Day One when you pick up a hockey stick that things happen ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Cody Hodgson seeing results after using injury time to improve game

BUFFALO – Instead of merely rehabbing, Sabres center Cody Hodgson used his recent hand injury as an opportunity to recharge and revamp his slumping game.

The 23-year-old worked with the team’s skating coach during his eight-game absence. He said he also watched NHL games on TV to study other players.

So far, Hodgson has seen results. In six games since returning, he has three goals and six points entering tonight’s tilt in Columbus against the ... Read the full article

Decision on Sabres rookie Mark Pysyk likely coming soon

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk could get assigned to Rochester today.

Interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said the team plans to “discuss what’s going to happen” with the rookie.

Teams must send waiver-exempt players who have been on an NHL roster 87 days to the AHL by 5 p.m. so they can play during the Olympic break.

“That’s a little above my pay scale,” Nolan joked today when asked if Pysyk had to go ... Read the full article

Phil Varone, family emotional over NHL debut; Sabres fall to Hurricanes

BUFFALO – The voice on the other end of the phone was excited. For a moment, Tony Varone thought his son, Sabres center Phil Varone, had been in a car accident.

“I said, ‘Is everything OK?’” the elder Varone recalled a day later inside the First Niagara Center.

Phil Varone, who nearly shunned the Sabres to play hockey for the University of New Brunswick in 2011, was calling with good news, though.

“He ... Read the full article

Former Sabres Nathan Gerbe, Andrej Sekera thriving with Hurricanes

BUFFALO – At first, Nathan Gerbe said, he didn’t understand why the Sabres waived and bought him out in early July. The diminutive winger had no inkling they had given up on him after five seasons.

“I didn’t know it was coming, that’s for sure,” Gerbe said Thursday prior to the Carolina Hurricanes’ 5-3 win inside the First Niagara Center. “No one spoke to me about it. So I think you get a little shocked. ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Phil Varone set for NHL debut, emotional over first recall

BUFFALO – Phil Varone had no clue why Chadd Cassidy pulled him off the ice Wednesday. The center thought perhaps he had been traded or the Rochester coach just wanted to discuss this weekend’s games.

Nope. Cassidy informed the 23-year-old the Sabres had recalled him.

“When he told me the news, it brought some tears to my eyes,” Varone said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “I called my parents right away. It’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Drew Stafford feeling good about surging game

BUFFALO – To Sabres winger Drew Stafford, these past two months, highlighted by his current stretch of five goals in his last 10 games, have pulled him “out the abyss.”

Stafford was mired in an awful, career-worst slump when interim coach Ted Nolan replaced Ron Rolston on Nov. 13. The 28-year-old had eight goals in his last 66 games. He had lost his alternate captaincy. His ice time was dwindling.

Emotionally, everything was taking a ... Read the full article

Sabres recall from Amerks Phil Varone for first time

BUFFALO – The thinking was the Sabres, with eight defensemen at their disposal, would likely send one to Rochester.

Sure enough, they assigned rookie Brayden McNabb to the AHL with forward Kevin Porter, who’s finally healthy after getting hit into the boards Dec. 21.

But in a surprising move, the Sabres also recalled a youngster Wednesday afternoon, center Phil Varone, the Americans’ leading scorer. The 23-year-old prospect will likely play tonight against the Carolina ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan doesn’t believe he’s softened since first Sabres stint

BUFFALO – Eighteen years later, the 1995-96 Sabres, a rebuilding club that missed the playoffs, still rank among the most popular teams in franchise history.

That team, Ted Nolan’s first as coach, played hard and fought a lot. The Sabres accumulated 2,195 penalty minutes that season, earning Nolan a reputation as a coach who loved fisticuffs.

These days, however, Nolan’s Sabres hardly fight. They’ve scrapped only eight times since he took over Nov. 13. ... Read the full article