Paille - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Season filled with turmoil about to end for reeling Sabres

Mercifully, 193 days after it started, the most tumultuous season in Buffalo Sabres history will end around 7:30 p.m. Sunday inside the First Niagara Center.

The finale can’t come quickly enough for the reeling Sabres, losers of six straight games and 17 of their last 19.

In a season filled with turmoil, the Sabres endured arguably their roughest game this afternoon in Boston, losing five more players to injury, including goalie Matt Hackett, in ... Read the full article

Upstart Leafs used Sabres’ abandoned philosophies as blueprint to success

TORONTO – Think about it, Buffalo Sabres fans, a couple of years ago, your team switched identities with the hated, mega-market Maple Leafs.

As the small-market Sabres morphed into a free-spending, win-at-all-costs club under new owner Terry Pegula, the Leafs began embracing development and patience, the Sabres’ old and successful philosophies.

The Leafs’ major volte-face has quickly paid off. They finished fifth this season, their highest spot since 2003-04.

Inside a noisy Air Canada Centre ... Read the full article

Bruins’ Brad Marchand rips Buffalo during radio interview

BUFFALO – Bruins winger Brad Marchand, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, called Buffalo “the worst place in the NHL” during an appearance on a Boston radio station.

“I’m not too excited to go there,” Marchand told WEEI on Thursday morning, “but I’ll be excited to leave.”

Ouch!

Marchand apologized later inside the First Niagara Center. Well, sort of.

“I never meant to offend anyone,” Marchand said after the Bruins prepared for tonight’s game against ... Read the full article