Sekera - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres waste Enroth’s strong effort, fall to Jets

BUFFALO – To Jhonas Enroth, Friday’s terrible relief effort meant little. The backup goalie forgot about allowing four goals in 31 minutes at the final horn. Enroth didn’t start the Sabres’ 8-4 loss to the New York Rangers. The game wasn’t his.

“I came off the bench the other game,” Enroth said Monday after making 37 saves in the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. “So I really didn’t care about that after ... Read the full article

Sabres’ new defense corps helping keep slim playoff hopes alive

BUFFALO – There are some perks to hotel life, Adam Pardy said. Each day, a maid makes his bed and cleans his room. That’s not a bad thing, right?

For three months, the defenseman has been living out of a suitcase while shuttling between the Sabres and the Rochester Americans, an experience Pardy chalks up to being “one of those years.”

“It (stinks), but it is what it is,” Pardy said about hotel living Saturday ... Read the full article

Jordan Leopold was Sabres’ unsung hero much of tenure

Jordan Leopold’s Sabres career ended today when the team dealt him to the St. Louis Blues for two draft picks. Leopold, whose accountability and quick wit made him a great personality, wasn’t overly flashy. The American did a little bit of everything well. That’s why he consistently (and very quietly) led the Sabres in ice time. His value to the Sabres was huge.

Here’s what I wrote about Leopold on Jan. 6, 2012.

BUFFALO ... Read the full article

Which Sabres player should Rolston sit against Panthers?

While interim Buffalo Sabres coach Ron Rolston wouldn’t confirm it, defenseman Andrej Sekera, out the last five games, essentially told reporters in Florida he planned to play tonight against the Panthers following a five-game absence.

Slick winger Thomas Vanek (muscle strain) is out and struggling winger Drew Stafford, a healthy scratch the last two games, will return, Rolston told reporters.

Assuming Sekera returns, what should the Sabres do? Should Rolston simply sit ... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Mark Pysyk quickly earning keep on blue line

MONTREAL – Earlier this season, rookie Mark Pysyk, the same defense prospect now playing almost 16 minutes a game for the Buffalo Sabres, sat as a healthy scratch in the AHL three times.

“I just needed a little wake-up call,” Pysyk said Saturday inside the Bell Centre prior to the Sabres’ 2-1 win, his fourth NHL game.

When interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston benched Pysyk with the Rochester Americans in December, the odds of ... Read the full article

Slumping Stafford benched as Gerbe returns for Sabres

MONTREAL – In just 32 days on the job, interim coach Ron Rolston has quickly put his mark on the Buffalo Sabres, scratching five regular forwards.

Prior to Saturday, struggling winger Drew Stafford had escaped a benching, only receiving some fourth-line duty for his poor play. With a two-goal effort last Saturday and the shootout-tying score Thursday, it appeared the assistant captain would keep dressing.

But Stafford, who has only four goals and a ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Vanek plans to play against Canadiens

BUFFALO – When Christian Ehrhoff’s point blast hit Thomas Vanek squarely in the hip early in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime win Tuesday in Montreal, the slick winger thought the worst.

“I thought he broke my hip because it was puck on bone,” Vanek said this afternoon after practicing inside the First Niagara Center, his first session back on the ice.

But the Sabres’ leading scorer has healed quickly. He felt good during the short skate ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Vanek questionable for Leafs; Sekera likely out

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Thomas Vanek, who took a lethal Christian Ehrhoff point shot off the hip early in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win in Montreal, missed practice Wednesday and is questionable for tonight’s tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“He’s a little bit better but still going to be day-to-day, what he can tolerate,” interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston said Wednesday inside the First Niagara Center. “He’s certainly a possibility.”

Meanwhile, defenseman Andrej Sekera practiced ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Vanek questionable for Thursday

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Thomas Vanek, who took a lethal Christian Ehrhoff shot off the hip early in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win in Montreal, missed practice today and is questionable for Thursday’s home tilt against Toronto.

“He’s a little bit better but still going to be day-to-day, what he can tolerate,” interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “He’s certainly a possibility.”

Meanwhile, defenseman Andrej Sekera practiced today but ... Read the full article

Sabres recall Pysyk from Amerks to replace Sekera

With Andrej Sekera (upper body) out tonight, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Mark Pysyk from Rochester. The 21-year-old will make his NHL debut tonight against the Washington Capitals.

Pysyk, the 23^rd overall pick in 2010, has four goals, 18 points, 20 penalty minutes and plus-8 rating in 57 games with the AHL Americans.

The rookie played four years with the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings before turning professional this season.

In summoning ... Read the full article