Okposo - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo leaves game with upper-body injury

Buffalo Sabres winger Kyle Okposo left Thursday’s 4-3 shootout win in Ottawa with an upper-body injury after colliding with Senators winger Bobby Ryan.

“Upper-body injury, we’ll know more tomorrow,” Sabres coach Phil Housley replied to reporters when asked if Okposo entered concussion protocol following the second-period collision. “Just one of those freak things.”... Read the full article

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 finally renew long rivalry with Maple Leafs

BUFFALO – When the NHL scheduled the only four tilts between the Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs over a 28-day late-season stretch, the league likely envisioned the fierce rivals would be battling for playoff spots or positioning.

Sixty-six games into another lost season, the last-place Sabres finally play the Leafs tonight at KeyBank Center, their first meeting since April 3, 2017.

The Sabres, of course, are playing for pride. The Leafs, meanwhile, are firmly ... 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

GM Jason Botterill issues challenge to Sabres after trade deadline

BUFFALO – While Jason Botterill mostly stayed quiet before the NHL trade deadline, the Sabres general manager knows he must eventually make major changes to his 30th-place team.

So while only one player, winger Evander Kane, left the team before Monday’s deadline, something big will likely transpire following what is arguably the worst season in franchise history.... Read the full article

Sabres beat up Bruins with trade deadline looming

BUFFALO – Kyle Okposo is a self-proclaimed “hockey nerd,” so the Sabres winger plans to follow today’s trade activity closely until the 3 p.m. deadline.

“I’ll be probably looking at stuff most of the day,” Okposo said following Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 win against the Boston Bruins before 18,522 fans inside KeyBank Center. “It’s an exciting day for the league.”

While deadline day is always highly anticipated by fans, most players dread it. The hours leading ... Read the full article

Sabres fall to Capitals after late surge

BUFFALO – With 26 seconds left in Monday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals and the Sabres readying for one last rush with goalie Chad Johnson pulled, Rasmus Ristolainen tried leaving a drop pass for Evan Rodrigues.

Ristolainen, however, fanned and Rodrigues overskated the puck, allowing Evgeny Kuznetsov to score an easy empty-net goal.

With the Sabres’ third straight loss cemented, Ristolainen lost his cool, swinging his stick into the corner boards – it ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo piling up points

BUFFALO – Late in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss, Sabres defenseman Casey Nelson stymied a rush and quickly dished the puck up to winger Kyle Okposo.

Okposo then zoomed through the neutral zone and into the high slot when he noticed center Evan Rodrigues streaking down the right wing.

“I saw that their D was kind of shading over toward (Evander Kane), so I just tried to take the middle,” Okposo explained Friday. “I was ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Chad Johnson could attract interest before trade deadline

BUFFALO – After winning two games in a four-day span, doubling his season total, Sabres goalie Chad Johnson will likely take a back seat again to Robin Lehner tonight in Ottawa.

Lehner loves facing the Senators, his old team, and is 5-0-2 against them since joining the Sabres in 2015. A terrific outing could convince a playoff contender searching for a netminder – hello, Philadelphia! – to pursue the Swede.... 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