Thompson - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Casey Mittelstadt rewards Sabres’ faith with breakout year: ‘Sense of loyalty’

BUFFALO – There was a time it felt like Casey Mittelstadt wouldn’t be around to experience a revival here. As the talented forward struggled to reach his potential and earn a spot in the lineup, the Sabres seemed to keep hitting rock bottom.

Another team might’ve jettisoned Mittelstadt, the eighth overall pick in 2017, years ago for a shiny new asset.

But the Sabres refused to give up on him and he rewarded them by ... Read the full article

After season of massive growth, Sabres’ Dylan Cozens can reach higher level

BUFFALO – Sabres center Dylan Cozens scored 31 goals despite missing about three or four opportunities a game to generate more chances, coach Don Granato said.

So consider the potential that Cozens, 22, still possesses coming off a breakout season. Granato told him last month there’s a whole lot more he can do.

“He told me that he doesn’t think I’m anywhere close to the player I can be,” Cozens said April 16 as the ... Read the full article

Offense, grit helping Sabres prospect Tyson Kozak stand out in Rochester

ROCHESTER – In the moment, Buffalo Sabres prospect Tyson Kozak had no idea he was fighting Tage Thompson’s brother.

“I just stood up and then we just went,” Kozak, a rookie forward with the Americans, said of his scrap with Utica Comets forward Tyce Thompson.

Kozak, 20, pummeled Thompson after getting knocked to the ice April 1, landing several uppercuts. Not surprisingly, the bout went viral because he trounced the brother of the Sabres’ ... Read the full article

Under coach Don Granato, Sabres’ Jeff Skinner has matured, added offense

BUFFALO – For most of his career, the hockey world labeled Jeff Skinner as a one-dimensional player: the shifty Sabres winger scored goals and that was about it.

Ex-Sabres coach Ralph Krueger, who nearly destroyed Skinner’s career, once famously said the popular veteran “measured his whole career on goals.”

“When I came in, he was known as a 40-goal scorer and now he’s so much more than that to me,” coach Don Granato, who ... Read the full article

Sabres want to re-sign veterans Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons; Buffalo waiting to hear from Ryan Johnson

BUFFALO – General manager Kevyn Adams wants to give captain Kyle Okposo and alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons, the Sabres’ longest-tenured player, time to decompress following a long season.

When the time is right, Adams plans to talk to the veterans, both of whom can become unrestricted free agents this summer, about returning to the Sabres.

“I want them back,” he said during Wednesday’s end-of-season news conference in KeyBank Center.

Okposo, 35, and Girgensons, 29, helped ... Read the full article

Kyle Okposo proud of work with Sabres, quiet on future as contract expires

BUFFALO – Almost seven years ago, captain Kyle Okposo stood at a podium in KeyBank Center and explained he chose the Sabres as a free agent because he believed they possessed all the ingredients to win the Stanley Cup.

Today, with his $42 million contract about to expire, Okposo hasn’t played a single playoff series with the Sabres.

“But if I were to walk away and be done, I think I left here better than ... Read the full article

Sabres send goalie Craig Anderson into retirement with magical win: ‘This is it’

BUFFALO – After center Casey Mittelstadt scored 78 second into Thursday’s overtime, securing a storybook 4-3 victory in Craig Anderson’s final NHL game, the Sabres immediately skated down the ice and mobbed the veteran goalie.

What played out over the next 10 minutes was one of the most emotional scenes you’ll ever watch in a hockey rink.

Every teammate embraced Anderson, 41, on the KeyBank Center ice. When they finished, members of the Ottawa Senators, ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Tage Thompson wanted to hit 50-goal mark

BUFFALO – At the beginning of the season, fresh off a breakout 38-goal campaign, Sabres star Tage Thompson wanted duplicate last year’s career-best output.

“If I could get around the same as I got last year, it would be successful and (I’d) be pretty happy with that,” Thompson said prior to Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center, the Sabres’ home finale.

Well, Thompson, 25, hit the 30-goal mark Jan. 3, ... Read the full article

Alex Tuch’s impact felt on and off ice by Sabres during career-best season

BUFFALO – As the Sabres’ losing streak dragged on last month, winger Alex Tuch could see the struggles taking a toll on Don Granato.

In good times and bad, Granato usually maintains an even-keeled demeanor. But as the Sabres trudged through a wretched stretch in which they lost 10 of 12 games, the normally affable coach wasn’t smiling much.

So Tuch, 26, did something about it. Having developed a strong relationship with Granato – “He’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin plays brilliantly in win; Devon Levi might be starter

BUFFALO – Go ahead, try to pick Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s most impactful play in Saturday afternoon’s thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Was it his game-tying power-play score in the second period, his first goal in nearly 11 weeks? His dazzling backhand pass that created center Casey’s Mittelstadt’s tying goal later in the period? Before he dished the puck, he generated highlight footage by zooming down the slot and slickly undressing two ... Read the full article