Offseason Edition
Jeff Skinner scored his 11th goal this season on Thursday. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks was just the Sabres’ fourth game in 20 days. Right now, they have six players sidelined by COVID-19 and another five out injured.
They’re rusty, having lost the rhythm of a season that rarely let up before COVID started wreaking havoc on the schedule again. And the rebuilding team was fielding one of the NHL’s weaker lineups before injuries and illness started decimating it.
The ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin leads Buffalo in ice time this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – At the end of Thursday’s mistake-riddled first period, with the Sabres trailing the San Jose Sharks 3-0, coach Don Granato told his players to watch the way defenseman Rasmus Dahlin plays.
“Absolutely amazing,” Granato said of Dahlin following the Sabres’ 3-2 loss inside KeyBank Center. “Something that goes wrong, he elevates.”
The rest of the team did not elevate after a slew of early mistakes, and the Sabres found themselves in a huge ... Read the full article
Ryan MacInnis has played 26 NHL games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
The Buffalo Sabres this morning reassigned forward Ryan MacInnis from the Rochester Americans to the taxi squad.
The Sabres need another forward for tonight’s game against the San Jose Sharks, so perhaps they will promote MacInnis, 25, to the active roster later today.
Update: Sabres coach Don Granato said this morning MacInnis will play wing tonight. Meanwhile, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will start in goal.
The 6-foot-4, 201-pound MacInnis has recorded six goals and 16 points in ... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson hasn’t scored a goal since Oct. 31. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Since Sabres winger Victor Olofsson returned from a soft tissue injury Nov. 21, he has recorded zero goals in 17 games, a career-long drought. The Swede hasn’t scored since Oct. 31, when he registered his fifth goal in the season’s eighth contest.
Given his power-play scoring prowess, Olofsson wasn’t prone to long slumps over his first two NHL seasons. His previous career-long goalless stretch was just eight games.
So what’s going on? How ... Read the full article
Jacob Bryson has missed two games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Coach Don Granato breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday, as zero Sabres entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Henri Jokiharju, who was held out of Tuesday’s practice as the team awaited test results, skated in Wednesday’s session, giving the Sabres a full defense corps.
“It was a relief on many fronts, just even to run a better practice with six full D,” Granato said of no one entering protocol. “But … they go into ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner scored twice Tuesday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
As the Buffalo Sabres roared out to a surprising start this season, they established a simple, straightforward identity by playing so aggressively.
Given their lack of star power, that style has become their bread and butter. If they get away from it, well, losses like Tuesday’s 5-3 setback to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center will happen.
The Sabres faced a Sharks team ravaged by COVID-19 and ripe to be exploited. Seven players and ... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson has gotten off to a hot start. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Leading scorer Victor Olofsson is questionable for the Buffalo Sabres’ road game tonight against the San Jose Sharks.
Olofsson, 26, has been battling a soft tissue injury. The Sabres held the Swede out of their game day skate at SAP Center.
“He had an injury or an aggravation in a spot we just don’t want to aggravate it, so we’re doing a little bit more on it,” Sabres coach Don Granato said on a Zoom ... Read the full article
J-J Peterka has been playing against men for more than a year. ©2020, Red Bull Munich
As the NHL Draft progressed Tuesday night, J-J Peterka started getting a little upset. The German forward many had pegged as a first-round selection kept waiting to be picked.
Two of his fellow countrymen – forwards Tim Stutzle (third overall, Ottawa Senators) and Lukas Reichel (17th, Chicago Blackhawks) – went off the board early.
When the first round ended, Peterka, 18, was still available. Meanwhile, rookie general manager Kevyn Adams was trying to move up ... Read the full article
J-J Peterka spent last season in Munich. ©2020, Red Bull Munich
The Buffalo Sabres made a trade early on the second day of the NHL Draft, sending the 38th and 100th picks to the San Jose Sharks so they could move up and grab German forward J-J Peterka 34th overall.
The Sabres don’t have another pick today until the fifth round, 131st overall.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Peterka spent last season playing against men for Red Bull Munich in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), scoring seven goals ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel celebrates his first goal Tuesday. ©2019, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Jack Eichel’s night started ominously, with the Sabres captain passing up a glorious scoring chance in front of wonky San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones.
It wouldn’t be the last time Eichel did it early in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime victory, a wild contest in which the Sabres roared back thanks to their young star’s dynamic performance.
“(I was) a little frustrated with myself more than anything,” Eichel said after scoring the overtime winner, ... Read the full article
