O'Reilly - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres notes: Marcus Foligno showcasing toughness

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Marcus Foligno has a simple explanation why he fixed his hair at a bizarre time – during a heavyweight scrap against Shawn Thornton, the NHL’s dean of fighters – in Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.

“Just try to get readjusted and get ready for round two,” a smiling Foligno said Thursday prior to the Sabres’ 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes inside KeyBank Center.

The bout was a ... Read the full article

Torrid stretch puts Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen in elite company

BUFFALO – The significance of defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s recent exploits shouldn’t be overshadowed by the Sabres’ disappointing season.

In the near future, if Ristolainen becomes an NHL All-Star or garners serious Norris Trophy consideration, remember the torrid run he is enjoying entering tonight’s tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center.

Ristolainen has three goals, two overtime winners and 14 points while averaging a whopping 27 minutes, 41 seconds of ice time over the last ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kyle Okposo couldn’t wait to face Islanders

BUFFALO – Months ago, coach Dan Bylsma and Kyle Okposo talked about different scenarios for the Sabres’ big offseason acquisition in the upcoming season.

Bylsma said he wanted Okposo, 28, to understand he didn’t have to carry the load after signing a seven-year, $42 million contract.

During that conversation, Bylsma said Okposo only talked about one game on the 2016-17 schedule – Friday’s tilt against the New York Islanders, the winger’s first meeting against ... Read the full article

Top Sabres could keep seeing fewer minutes

BUFFALO – Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly averages more ice time than any NHL forward – 21 minutes, 50 seconds a game – but the workhorse skated a season-low 17:08 in Tuesday’s 6-3 win against Los Angeles.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, meanwhile, averages a team-high 26:39 a game, yet only skated 22:04 on Tuesday, his second-lowest total this season.

What happened? A few things.

For starters, the Sabres didn’t kill any penalties and has only one ... Read the full article

Ryan O’Reilly ignites Sabres in comeback win over Kings

BUFFALO – For almost 30 minutes Tuesday, KeyBank Center felt like, well, just about every other Sabres home game this season.

The 18,375 fans barely made a peep as the home team, as it often does, generated little offense and fell behind 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings.

Those goals irked Ryan O’Reilly, especially the first one, a nifty score in which Kings star Anze Kopitar blew by the Sabres center.

“I was just getting ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Kings’ Jordan Nolan speaks up about Standing Rock

BUFFALO – As a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings, Jordan Nolan’s hockey fame has brought him some influence in the First Nations community.

“We’re in a position where a lot of young Native men look up to us,” Nolan said Tuesday prior to the Sabres’ 6-3 win against the Kings inside KeyBank Center. “We’re role models, so I think we have to take that pretty seriously.”

So Nolan, 27, and teammate ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Bogosian nearing return; Goalie Robin Lehner to start

BUFFALO – It was just an innocent play. Early in the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Nov. 1, defenseman Zach Bogosian said he pinched down in the offensive zone.

“I just caught a rut and my knee just kind of went in,” Bogosian said this morning inside KeyBank Center. “It was kind of a freak thing. … Sometimes the ice will get you. Unfortunately, my knee kind of went the wrong way.”

Bogosian, who ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie William Carrier skating with top talents

BUFFALO – When William Carrier earns ice time flanking center Ryan O’Reilly and a top winger, the Sabres rookie has a straightforward assignment to help his talented linemates.

“He’s just going, head down, bruising the way for those guys to get pucks and play with that puck,” Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

That means goals haven’t been priority for the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Carrier, who has scored just once in his first 17 NHL games.

“That’s ... Read the full article

Sabres change up top lines

BUFFALO – When you rank last in the NHL in goals and are coming off your 12th one-goal outing this season, line changes are expected.

So Sabres coach Dan Bylsma switched the right wingers on his top two lines today, putting Kyle Okposo beside center Jack Eichel and Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart with center Ryan O’Reilly and William Carrier.

“A little shakeup in the line combinations,” Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said inside HarborCenter.

Expect ... Read the full article

Versatile Jake McCabe Sabres’ ‘Swiss Army Knife’

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe, like most hockey players, has a pretty straightforward nickname he was given years ago, “Caber.”

But these days, McCabe, 23, is a top-pair defender, skating in every situation for a team whose blue line has been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks.

So the Wisconsin native’s versatility has earned him another moniker.

“We joked around, called him ‘The Swiss Army Knife,’” center Ryan O’Reilly said Thursday after the ... Read the full article