Rochester Americans - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Phil Housley believes Sabres can look at Bills’ success

BUFFALO – Phil Housley became a Buffalo Bills fan during his eight years playing here, so he has been keeping tabs on them during his first two months coaching the Sabres.

Right now, the 5-2 Bills are perhaps the NFL’s biggest surprise. To Housley, their success is no fluke. He keeps noticing a trend when the upstart team is discussed on television.

“What is the one thing they’re talking about the Buffalo Bills?” Housley said ... Read the full article

Defense injuries give Sabres’ Matt Tennyson opportunity

BUFFALO – As a depth defenseman for four seasons, Sabres newcomer Matt Tennyson often played sparingly during his frequent recalls to the NHL.

In a career-high 45 games with the Carolina Hurricanes a year ago, Tennyson, 27, hit the 18-minute mark once.

But these days, Tennyson is one of coach Phil Housley’s most trusted defensemen. In Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, Tennyson played just over 21 minutes, his highest total since ... Read the full article

Goalie interference call on Sabres’ Sam Reinhart negates power-play goal

BUFFALO – When Jack Eichel’s blistering wrist shot whistled past San Jose Sharks goalie Aaron Dell early Saturday afternoon, the goal horn blared, the crowd roared and the Sabres center celebrated wildly with his teammates.

No one, except for perhaps a couple eagle-eyed San Jose coaches, realized a problem with the power-play goal, which seemingly tied the game at 1 just over 17 minutes into the game.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zach Redmond overcame stroke, severed artery to play in NHL

ROCHESTER – When Kim Howser spotted her son, Buffalo Sabres newcomer Zach Redmond, stretching on the family’s dining room table that day almost five years ago, she said “pure panic” overwhelmed her.

Just weeks earlier, as some Winnipeg Jets extras skated prior to their Feb. 21, 2013 road game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Redmond nearly died in a harrowing accident on the PNC Arena ice.... Read the full article

Short-handed goal dooms Sabres again in loss to Canucks

BUFFALO – By now, you figured the Sabres’ disturbing early-season penchant for allowing short-handed goals would’ve been corrected.

Four in the first three games? Yikes! That can’t continue, right?

Well, eight contests into what looks like another lost season, the reeling Sabres haven’t bucked the trend. A short-handed goal – incredibly, the Sabres have already allowed a whopping six – swung the momentum again in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks before 18,050 fans ... Read the full article

Season with Sabres ignited goalie Anders Nilsson’s NHL career

BUFFALO – Goalie Anders Nilsson figured after a breakout season in which he emerged as one of the NHL’s top backups, the Sabres would be interested in re-signing him.

In his first start-to-finish NHL campaign, Nilsson performed strongly, going 10-10-4 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a sparkling .923 save percentage.

Nilsson, 27, morphed into a terrific option for the Sabres, pushing starter Robin Lehner while showcasing consistency throughout his 26 appearances.... Read the full article

Injuries force Sabres to recall Taylor Fedun; Chad Johnson to start

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ rash of injuries forced them to recall Taylor Fedun this morning. Will the defenseman play tonight against the Vancouver Canucks?

“I was the odd man out in practice today, so I assume I will not be,” Fedun said this morning after skating inside KeyBank Center.

The 1-4-2 Sabres are so banged up, they summoned Fedun from the Rochester Americans just so they have an extra player tonight.... Read the full article

Sabres return from road trip banged up

BUFFALO – Up top in the press box, with a view of the entire ice surface, hockey can look pretty simple.

“It’s obviously a lot easier watching games than it is being on the ice,” said Sabres winger Seth Griffith, a healthy scratch the last two games. “You see stuff that you wouldn’t normally see necessarily on the ice.”

Thanks to a glut of injuries, Griffith, the team’s biggest surprise during training camp, should ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Justin Bailey trying to evolve with Amerks

ROCHESTER – Even with a 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame, hitting can be difficult for Buffalo Sabres prospect Justin Bailey, a slick goal scorer trying develop more tools.

“It’s not as easy as people think, even as I think,” Bailey said Friday following the Rochester Americans’ 2-0 loss to the Utica Comets. “Hitting’s difficult to do.”

Bailey, 22, said he has learned thumping opponents – “Making sure that you’re not killing a guy from behind,” he ... Read the full article

Sabres newcomer Nathan Beaulieu struggling early

BUFFALO – By the 12-minute mark of the second period, with the New Jersey Devils throttling the Sabres and a huge gaffe fresh in his mind, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu figured he better do something notable.

So the struggling newcomer, whose turnover minutes earlier created New Jersey’s fourth goal, fought Miles Wood, winning a quick and easy decision.

“I was obviously frustrated with the way it was going and just trying to find a spark,” Beaulieu ... Read the full article