WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition
Kyle Okposo played 35 games this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Kyle Okposo has undergone season-ending surgery to repair a broken bone in his cheek, the team announced this afternoon.
Okposo, 33, left the ice bleeding 9:27 into Thursday’s 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals after teammate Matt Irwin’s shoot-in struck him around the left ear.
His loss could be significant for the Sabres, who have 13 games left this season. The alternate captain has been one of their prominent leaders for ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has moved back to center, his natural position. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres rookie center Dylan Cozens has quickly reached another phase of his development, adding slick playmaking to his repertoire.
Since Cozens, 20, returned from an upper-body injury Sunday, he has recorded four assists, two more than he compiled in his first 25 games.
Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals was arguably Cozens’ best NHL outing. The Yukon native registered two primary assists, creating goals for wingers Sam Reinhart and Anders Bjork.... Read the full article
Linus Ullmark has earned nine of Buffalo’s 11 wins this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark is week to week with a lower-body injury, interim coach Don Granato said this afternoon.
So, does that mean Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be recalled? General manager Kevyn Adams said Thursday the top goalie prospect could make his NHL debut this weekend.
Luukkonen, 22, hasn’t been summoned yet. Granato said the Sabres would determine his status later today. The Finn has been recovering from a lower-body injury and missed the ... Read the full article
Taylor Hall signed a one-year, $8 million contract with Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Nothing at this point, 32 games into perhaps the most miserable season in the franchise’s 51-year history, would surprise the Buffalo Sabres.
So when they learned interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis had entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol just hours before Thursday’s game, it wasn’t a big deal.
“In a season of unfortunate and terrible events, we’re just ready for it,” winger Taylor Hall said on a Zoom call following the Sabres’ 4-0 ... Read the full article
Don Granato has coached the Sabres three games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Ninety minutes before his NHL head coaching debut, Kevyn Adams was more focused on stepping behind the bench than trying to process the chaos that has transpired in his first season as Buffalo Sabres general manager.
“I can’t even really get into all that,” Adams said on a Zoom call prior to the Sabres’ 16th consecutive loss, a 4-0 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Can you blame Adams? The season from hell refuses to let ... Read the full article
Don Granato took over the Sabres last week. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Interim Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis have entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced late this afternoon. General manager Kevyn Adams will coach the team.
Granato and Ellis are self-isolating, according to the team. Adams said they’re asymptomatic. Entering COVID-19 protocol doesn’t mean the person has tested positive.
The coaches, of course, were in close contact with the players, ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has quickly become Buffalo’s No. 1 center. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
For now, rookie Dylan Cozens is the Buffalo Sabres’ No. 1 center. With captain Jack Eichel injured and veteran Eric Staal mired in a 22-game goal drought, the hapless team sorely needs a productive presence in the middle.
The Sabres shifted Cozens, 20, to right wing earlier this season so he could be eased into the NHL. But before he played 20 games, they moved him back to his natural position.
Cozens, the seventh ... Read the full article
Rasmus Ristolainen doesn’t think the Sabres play smart hockey. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The hapless Buffalo Sabres kept hanging around Wednesday, trailing by one goal late in the second period despite being outshot by nearly a two-to-one margin.
No one, of course, expected the Sabres would win. But right now, they’re so bad a one-goal deficit is noteworthy.
That narrow margin did not last. The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled ahead late in the second period, capitalizing on two miscues from struggling winger Taylor Hall to take a commanding lead ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has played eight games with Rochester this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
If injured Buffalo Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark keeps progressing, he could play this week, perhaps as soon as tonight. So Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s first taste of the NHL might be brief.
Still, spending just a day or two with the Sabres, even on the taxi squad as their third goalie, should be a significant step for Luukkonen’s development.
“The more time a prospect can get around (the NHL), the easier it becomes for them to associate, ... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson has scored just one goal in the last 14 games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Interim Sabres coach Don Granato keeps learning how badly struggling winger Victor Olofsson wants to break out of his season-long funk.
Whether it’s the Swede’s behavior as he prepares for practice or his attentiveness during a conversation or a meeting, Granato said he sees a player “searching for the answer, searching for the direction within himself.”
“Which is great,” Granato said on a Zoom call Tuesday. “And he’ll get there, there’s no doubt in my ... Read the full article