WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Stretch Run Edition
Tonight will be Rasmus Dahlin’s 21st NHL game. ©2018, Micheline Veluvolu
PITTSBURGH – If not tonight, then when?
Right now, having won five straight games, the scorching Buffalo Sabres are enjoying their best streak in about nine years. Meanwhile, having lost eight consecutive contests and eight of the last nine (1-7-1), the Penguins are reeling.
So perhaps the Sabres can end their eight-game losing streak to the Penguins tonight at PPG Paints Arena.... Read the full article
Jason Pominville scored Saturday’s winner. ©2018, Micheline Veluvolu
PITTSBURGH – You have to go back nine years to find the last time the Buffalo Sabres ranked among the NHL’s heavyweights like they do right now.
The upstart Sabres haven’t roared out of the gate this fast since the 2009-10 season, when they also earned 26 points in their first 20 outings, their second-best 20-game start of the overtime era.
Entering tonight’s tilt against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, the Sabres are enjoying ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner (53) has already scored 13 goals this season. ©2018, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Jeff Skinner tries to deflect credit for his recent scoring barrage. After all, the slick Sabres winger likes to point out, he has a terrific center in Jack Eichel and goals result from the players operating as a five-man unit.
“The line’s played well, the team’s played well,” Skinner said Thursday inside KeyBank Center. “You’re not going to be able to score unless all five guys are contributing. I think we’ve had that ... Read the full article
Carter Hutton made 29 saves Tuesday. ©2018, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Over their three-game winning streak, winger Kyle Okposo believes the Sabres have played just a period and a half of “real good” hockey.
“We’ve got some stuff to clean up,” Okposo said after scoring in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. “Obviously, we’re getting two points and good teams find a way to win.”
Yes, believe it or not, the Sabres are finally a good team again. They improved ... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart moved to the top line Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – By now, after 99 games as Sabres coach, Phil Housley knows his group well enough he’s confident making line changes.
Three weeks ago, when Housley put wingers Jeff Skinner and Jason Pominville beside top center Jack Eichel, the Sabres went on a tear. The line quickly morphed into one of the NHL’s best.
“It’s definitely an experience with the group and how they play and … realizing when they are going, to ... Read the full article
Sabres goalie Carter Hutton watches Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson try to reach the puck Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Who would’ve thought the Sabres, the NHL’s laughingstock a year ago, would suddenly become such a resilient bunch?
Just 17 games into the season, coach Phil Housley has already developed trust among his players, helping the upstart Sabres build an identity and mature.
Take, for example, Saturday afternoon’s wild 4-3, come-from-behind shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks, a game in which the Sabres rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 2:27 of ... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart returned to Saturday afternoon’s game with some stitches. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel have been Sabres teammates for 263 games over the last three-plus seasons.
In that time, Reinhart, 23, has compiled 67 goals and 151 points. On two occasions, the winger enjoyed a three-goal outing. In five other games, he recorded three points.
But Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 come-from-behind shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks might’ve been Reinhart’s best performance ever, according to Eichel.
“I thought Reino played awesome,” Eichel said. ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel has a team-best 17 points. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – It’s hard to quibble with Jack Eichel’s torrid start. In the last eight games, the slick Sabres captain has compiled a hefty 12 points. Right now, he’s pivoting perhaps the NHL’s best line between scorching wingers Jeff Skinner and Jason Pominville.
Through the first 15 contests, Eichel has scored a team-leading 17 points. At his current pace, he would have 93 points over a full season, the most since Daniel Briere had ... Read the full article
The team presented Jason Pominville a silve sabre before the game. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Celebrations like the one the Sabres threw for Jason Pominville’s 1,000-game milestone often mean a long, distinguished career is entering its final stage.
These days, with 30 being considered old by NHL standards, very few players possess longevity like Pominville’s. Even fewer keep producing offense like they’re still in their mid-20s.
But right now, Pominville, a winger who has compiled 285 goals and 710 points over his NHL seasons, looks like he’s still ... Read the full article
Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark stops Mark Stone’s breakaway Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Watching your teammates throttle an opponent and pile up goal can be a negative and positive experience, Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark said.
“It’s both boring and really fun,” Ullmark said after making 27 saves in Saturday afternoon’s 9-2 win against the Ottawa Senators. “We had some really good goals today and guys battling up front, so that’s a lot of fun for me when I’m seeing that. …
“I’m happy as long as ... Read the full article
