WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
February Edition
Kyle Okposo has scored three goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Twenty-five games into his season, Kyle Okposo has beaten a goalie just once. While the Sabres captain has scored three goals, two have gone into empty nets.
The veteran winger started slowly after getting injured at the end of training camp. He has also left the lineup twice because of injuries, missing seven total games.
A year after scoring 21 times, his highest output since 2015-16, Okposo said his 16th NHL season has ... Read the full article
Rookie JJ Peterka (left) and Jack Quinn celebrate a goal Nov. 28. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Winger JJ Peterka scored perhaps the most scintillating of the Sabres’ 114 goals this season because he possessed the confidence to thread the puck through Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.
Think about it, a rookie just 31 games into his NHL career believed he could beat a 15-year veteran and the 2015-16 Norris Trophy winner.
“He’s not afraid to try those things and he’s confident in his abilities to execute them,” Sabres ... Read the full article
Craig Anderson made 40 saves Tuesday. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – At 41, Sabres goalie Craig Anderson hasn’t shown many signs of graying. In fact, the NHL’s oldest player can even make hockey’s toughest position look easy.
Take, for example, the 20-year veteran’s splendid 40-save performance in Tuesday’s 6-0 shellacking of the Los Angeles Kings, the 43rd shutout of his decorated career.
Anderson was the Sabres’ backbone as they struggled to generate offense early, making 16-first period stops and 30 saves through 40 minutes ... Read the full article
Peyton Krebs has scored two goals in the last three games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
PITTSBURGH – With the Buffalo Sabres trailing by one goal in the waning minutes of Saturday’s 3-1 loss, winger JJ Peterka set up a splendid scoring chance for linemate Jack Quinn at the top of the right circle.
But instead of unleashing a shot on goalie Casey DeSmith, the rookie quickly passed to center Dylan Cozens, who couldn’t handle the puck in the left circle.
“Everybody watching wishes Jack Quinn would have taken that shot ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has been on a tear over the past few weeks. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Forget about Dylan Cozens’ skill set for a moment. What makes the Sabres center such a unique talent and one of the NHL’s burgeoning young stars are the intangibles he possesses.
Cozens, 21, plays a mature, tenacious style that belies his limited experience.
“He competes for the right reason being in a team sport,” Sabres coach Don Granato said following Tuesday’s practice at KeyBank Center. “He brings guys in with him, he drags ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens just recorded nine points over a four-game stretch. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
A torrid four-game stretch in which Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens registered four goals and nine points has earned him NHL Second Star honors for the week ending Sunday.
Cozens, 21, scored in last Monday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning before adding two more goals in Wednesday’s 5-4 shootout road win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Yukon native followed up by recording one goal and two assists in Thursday’s 6-4 loss ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner (left) and Rasmus Dahlin (right) celebrate a goal in Sunday’s win. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – If the struggling Sabres couldn’t fix some of their recent problems and earn a much-needed win against the lowly San Jose Sharks, well, you had to wonder when they’d ever get on track.
The Sharks limped into town Sunday to close a four-game road trip having lost four of their last five contests, including a defeat a night earlier in Ottawa.
They were ripe to be beaten and the Sabres, as their 6-3 ... Read the full article
JJ Peterka ranks among the NHL’s leading rookie scorers. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – JJ Peterka spotted imminent danger coming the Sabres’ way, so as the puck slid around the boards as they enjoyed a power play, he began hightailing it back toward his zone.
“I got on my horse,” the rookie winger said following Saturday’s practice.
Peterka’s instincts and speed allowed him to close in on Logan O’Connor at center ice, and he thwarted the Colorado Avalanche winger’s scoring attempt with the Sabres trailing by one ... Read the full article
Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tries to thwart a scoring attempt by Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen’s on Thursday. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres’ penalty killing has alternated this week between abysmal and excellent, helping them lose two games and win another.
In Thursday’s 6-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at KeyBank Center, it was awful, allowing three goals in six attempts to the NHL’s top power play, including two in a span of 49 seconds in the second period.
A night earlier in their 5-4 shootout win in Detroit, the Sabres killed all seven ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn has scored three goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The first quarter of Sabres rookie Jack Quinn’s season can be broken down into three parts.
In the early going, Quinn, 21, looked overwhelmed. So he embraced sitting out two games as part of the Sabres’ forward rotation, using it as an opportunity to catch his breath and study the game from a fresh perspective. The time helped him develop a better understanding of the team’s system and the intensity needed to ... Read the full article
