Tokarski - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres battle to end of crazy weekend; Casey Mittelstadt leaves loss to Avs

Considering the chaos the Buffalo Sabres endured over a wild 36 hours, the end result, a weekend split capped by Sunday’s 4-1 road loss to the Colorado Avalanche, wasn’t too bad.

The Sabres, despite playing without center Tage Thompson and losing center Casey Mittelstadt early in Sunday’s contest, hung tough against the heavyweight Avalanche.

At one point late Sunday, when winger Victor Olofsson briefly left the game after taking a high stick, the Sabres had ... Read the full article

Sabres awaiting retest results following several positive COVID-19 tests

Several members of the Buffalo Sabres tested positive for COVID-19 prior to tonight’s road game against the Arizona Coyotes, coach Don Granato said.

“Every one of those is retesting, and the only one that we’ve gotten back has returned negative,” Granato said on a Zoom call this afternoon following the Sabres’ pregame skate. “So obviously a pretty active situation. I can tell you all of these test that have gone through, everybody feels normal.”

Sabres ... Read the full article

Sabres’ goalie crisis worsens as Michael Houser enters COVID-19 protocol

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ goalie crisis reached a critical level Friday afternoon when the team placed Michael Houser in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Houser, 29, was the team’s only healthy goalie prior to entering protocol. He started practicing Friday morning inside LECOM Harborcenter before leaving the session.

Houser is the sixth goalie the Sabres have lost to injury, illness or suspension.

The Sabres flew Friday afternoon to Arizona, where they continue their road trip tonight ... Read the full article

With Sabres thin in net, goalie Michael Houser has special chance to impress

BUFFALO – For the time being, the Sabres’ net belongs to goalie Michael Houser.

When the Sabres continue their four-game road trip Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, Houser, 29, will likely start his seventh NHL game.

A stunning run of bad luck in net this season – three injuries and an illness – forced the Sabres to sign Houser to an NHL contract Jan. 12. Over the next two weeks, Houser spelled Aaron Dell... Read the full article

Aaron Dell’s three-game suspension creates big goalie problem for Sabres

The three-game suspension the NHL handed goalie Aaron Dell on Wednesday for his illegal hit that injured winger Drake Batherson has created a major problem for the Buffalo Sabres.

Right now, the Sabres have just two healthy goalies in the organization with NHL contracts: Dell and Michael Houser, who has played just six NHL games in his 10-year career.

Goalies Craig Anderson (upper body), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body), Malcolm Subban (upper body) and Dustin ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Craig Anderson could be nearing return from upper-body injury

BUFFALO – Craig Anderson has never had a timetable for his recovery from an upper-body injury. The Sabres goalie has experienced good days and bad ones and starts and stops over the past 11 weeks.

Anderson, 40, said he’s still working through the injury, believed to be around the head or neck area, that has sidelined him the last 30 games.

But Anderson might’ve turned a corner Friday when he practiced for the first time ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Quinn suffers lower-body injury; Craig Anderson practices

BUFFALO – If Jack Quinn hadn’t suffered a lower-body injury in Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars, he likely would’ve kept playing for the Sabres in the coming weeks.

The Sabres, of course, won’t simply award their prospects a spot. But given their rash of injuries and that Quinn, 20, had performed so well – he scored his first NHL goal and assisted on another Thursday – he almost certainly would’ve earned a long ... Read the full article

Sabres center Tage Thompson to sit out tonight; Michael Houser to start

Tage Thompson cleared the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol last week and has played two games since exiting. Still, having tested positive for the virus less than 10 days ago, the Buffalo Sabres center can’t travel to Canada.

So Thompson, who has scored 12 goals this season, won’t play in tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators, Sabres coach Don Granato said.

Granato also said the Sabres will be without winger Vinnie Hinostroza, who suffered an undisclosed ... Read the full article

Sabres assistant coach Jason Christie enters NHL’s COVID-19 protocol

The Buffalo Sabres this afternoon placed assistant coach Jason Christie in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Christie, 52, did not attend today’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center.

So far this season, 13 Sabres players and four coaches, including head coach Don Granato, have been in protocol.

... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Michael Houser beats long odds to return to NHL

BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Michael Houser never stopped preparing for a promotion that seemed less and less likely as the years passed.

Tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, Houser, 29, will likely back up goalie Aaron Dell for the second straight game. The Sabres play four times in a six-day stretch next week, including a back-to-back set, so Houser could be awarded his fifth NHL start.

By last season, his ninth as a pro, it ... Read the full article