Ruff - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres bounce back against Lightning, earn much-needed win: ‘Our guys had great pushback’

BUFFALO – In a grueling six-month, 82-game NHL season, slumps are inevitable. That the Sabres avoided losing two straight games in regulation for almost four months illustrates how dynamically they performed for more than half of the schedule.

But a slump finally materialized last week – albeit a short one – when in dropping back-to-back contests, the Sabres looked nothing likes themselves.

One of the league’s elite teams looked out of whack defensively and struggled ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Beck Malenstyn adding offense; Buffalo makes change on defense

BUFFALO – In their exit meeting last season, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff challenged Beck Malenstyn to convert more of the offensive opportunities his role as a heavy presence on the fourth line offered him.

Ruff told the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Malenstyn he saw about seven or eight opportunities “that were like, ‘Hey, you really need to execute that.’”

Showcasing subtle finish around the net or putting a softer touch on a pass would help him finish ... Read the full article

Sabres to make lineup change against Lightning

BUFFALO – Right now, the Sabres have a deep roster – 26 healthy bodies, to be exact – meaning a whopping six players must be scratched each game.

Coach Lindy Ruff has tried to keep the extras involved, moving guys in and out. Still, two players – defensemen Luke Schenn and Michael Kesselring – have recently sat out for weeks.

Tonight, Schenn, who arrived March 6 in trade with the Winnipeg Jets, is expected to ... Read the full article

As Sabres struggle before playoffs, visit from Lightning could help ignite them

BUFFALO – A visit from the heavyweight Tampa Bay Lightning tonight might be enough to shake the Sabres out of their recent funk.

In losing consecutive games in regulation for the first time since early December, the Sabres often looked uninterested, failing to match the desperation and tenacity of opponents fighting to get into the postseason.

The Sabres, of course, have been firmly entrenched in a playoff spot for months. They officially clinched their first ... Read the full article

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

Years after trade, Sabres’ Peyton Krebs becomes first-liner and driver; Buffalo expected to change lineup

BUFFALO – Few envisioned the long and often arduous path Peyton Krebs would take to becoming what coach Lindy Ruff called one of the Sabres’ “drivers.”

Krebs, 25, needed more than three years to get here. He struggled for stretches, sometimes failing to meet the lofty expectations that accompany high-end prospects. He reinvented himself, earning his keep as a high-octane checking forward willing to showcase a rugged style and drop the gloves.

At times, it ... Read the full article

Shootout exploits by Jack Quinn, UPL, cap Sabres’ exciting come-from-behind win over Kraken

BUFFALO – A few years ago, Sabres winger Jack Quinn retired the slick shootout move – a nifty fake in the slot that freezes the goalie – he often utilized early in his pro career.

Goalies study their opponents and assemble a book on their tendencies, so Quinn has developed into one of the NHL’s premier shooters by evolving and showcasing other dazzling moves.

But a move that good shouldn’t be mothballed, right?

After dusting ... Read the full article