Ottawa Senators - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres fall to Senators in first attempt to clinch playoff spot: ‘We weren’t good enough’

OTTAWA – Barring a collapse of epic proportions, in the near future, the Buffalo Sabres will secure their first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 15 years, and Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Senators will become an afterthought.

That they failed in their first attempt to clinch, losing to a desperate and depleted Senators team before the crowd of 17,086 fans in the Canadian Tire Centre, certainly stings a bit.

In their biggest game ... Read the full article

Rookie Zach Metsa back with Sabres, perhaps for good

OTTAWA – By Sunday night, after Buffalo Sabres defenseman Zach Metsa completed a grueling stretch of the three games in three days with the Rochester Americans, he was spent.

“Just mentally and emotionally, you’re just kind of drained after the third game,” the defenseman told the Times Herald prior to Thursday’s game against the Senators in the Canadian Tire Centre.

In his brief return to the minors, Metsa, 27, received the full AHL experience, playing ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Sam Carrick week to week with arm injury; Josh Dunne set to play

OTTAWA – In his first weeks in Buffalo, Sam Carrick quickly established himself as a sturdy and versatile presence as the Sabres’ fourth-line center.

In addition to winning critical faceoffs, Carrick, who seems to do a little bit of everything well, scored five goals and fought twice in his first 13 games.

But Carrick’s willingness to drop the gloves proved to be costly.... Read the full article

Sabres on precipice of clinching playoff spot, ending NHL-record drought

Fifteen years and 1,151 games later, the day has finally arrived.

The Buffalo Sabres’ magic number is just two, meaning if they defeat the Senators tonight in Ottawa, they will clinch their first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since April 8, 2011.

Repeating: the Sabres, whose stunning run of futility ranks as the longest in NHL history, are on the precipice of securing that coveted playoff spot.

A heck of lot has transpired – ... Read the full article

Bowen Byram dynamic in OT victory as Sabres extend streak to seven, move closer to playoff spot

OTTAWA – Coach Lindy Ruff hardly wanted to criticize defensemen Bowen Byram, the best player on the ice in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime victory that extended their win streak to seven games and moved them within two points of a playoff spot.

Byram performed dynamically throughout the night in the Canadian Tire Centre, scoring twice and assisting on Buffalo’s other goal.

But when he released the puck from the top of the right circle – ... Read the full article

Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen says new adds necessary, willing to make more

OTTAWA – For now, the roster will stay intact. Why would new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen mess with it? The Buffalo Sabres carried a six-game win streak into Tuesday’s contest against the Senators.

“There’s no need to disrupt anything right now with the good flow going,” Kekalainen said prior to Tuesday’s game in the Canadian Tire Centre.

Over the final two periods of Sunday’s 3-1 win in New Jersey, the Sabres’ third straight win under ... Read the full article

After trade, injuries, Josh Norris scoring for Sabres, grateful for time in Ottawa

OTTAWA – The Josh Norris who scored four goals and 10 points in his first eight games for the Buffalo Sabres after returning from an injury looks a heck of a lot like the slick young star who scored 35 times for the Senators four years ago.

In 2021-22, Norris was emerging as a stud center and one of the Senators’ building blocks. Then injuries hit.

Shoulder problems wreaked havoc, never allowing him to play ... Read the full article

Once given up for dead, win streak has vaulted Sabres into thick of playoff race

OTTAWA – Two weeks ago, having just lost to the feeble Calgary Flames for the second time in three weeks, the Buffalo Sabres appeared to be barreling toward another postseason DNQ.

Their third consecutive defeat as they began a six-game road trip kept them mired in last place in the Eastern Conference, eight points out of the second wild card spot.

At that point, the Sabres had just two road wins all season, including zero ... Read the full article

Sabres roar back to beat Senators, earn first win: ‘Building came to life’

BUFFALO – The four-goal second period that buoyed the Sabres to Wednesday’s much-needed 8-4 come-from-behind win can be traced to, of all things, winger Alex Tuch’s penalty.

With the Sabres trailing 2-1 at the 5:48 mark and down a man, Tuch was whistled for a slashing call he found, at the time, a little weak.

Tuch, who rarely barks at officials, emphatically pleaded his case.... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Ryan McLeod, other forwards struggling early; Alexandar Georgiev practices with Rochester

BUFFALO – Jiri Kulich, the Sabres’ second-youngest forward, got singled out a bit by practicing as an extra before Wednesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators.

But make no mistake, nearly every Sabres forward struggled during their dreary 0-3-0 start they carried into their contest against the Ottawa Senators.

“This isn’t about Kulich,” coach Lindy Ruff, whose Sabres began the night with just two goals all season, said Wednesday morning in KeyBank Center.... Read the full article