Tuch - Buffalo Hockey Beat

After 11 years in minors, Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski earning keep in NHL

BUFFALO – Dustin Tokarski has accomplished something unusual. Goalies in their 30s more than four seasons removed from their last NHL game rarely return to the big leagues.

Tokarski, 32, not only made it back, he has stuck with the Sabres for more than a year.

Since relieving an injured Carter Hutton on March 22, 2021, Tokarski has played 35 games, including a career-high 22 this season. In his first 11 pro seasons, he made ... Read the full article

Rasmus Dahlin becoming vocal leader for Sabres: ‘Showing another side’

BUFFALO – It just happens sometimes, Rasmus Dahlin explained. The ultra-competitive defenseman has no real explanation for it. In the heat of the game, with his adrenaline pumping, he stands ups on the bench, leans over and yells to his Sabres teammates.

“Doesn’t it feel good to compete? Feels good to compete!” Sabres coach Don Granato said Dahlin has shouted. “(He does it) after a guy has a hard shift or he feels guys need ... Read the full article

Sabres beat Penguins in shootout to continue hottest stretch in years

BUFFALO – Each win the Sabres earn these days feels like the kind of game they would’ve lost earlier this season.

Take, for example, Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game in which they blew three leads, including one late in the third period before center Tage Thompson and winger Alex Tuch scored shootout goals.

In the recent past, they probably would’ve wilted down the stretch, especially against the NHL’s best road ... Read the full article

If Sabres trade Craig Anderson, Mark Pysyk, could they return next season?

BUFFALO – When the Sabres signed a slew of cheap free agents to one-year contracts last summer, it appeared their tenures here would be short.

After a season or less, they might become expendable. Some of organization’s prospects would mature and the rebuilding Sabres might also acquire better talent.

Well, so far, some prospects – defenseman Casey Fitzgerald and Mattias Samuelsson, for example – have graduated from the minors and earned regular duty. Others like ... Read the full article

Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch lead Sabres over Jack Eichel, Golden Knights

BUFFALO – After scoring a goal and helping spoil Jack Eichel’s return, Peyton Krebs gave his good friend, Alex Tuch, a hug to celebrate perhaps the Sabres’ most exciting victory in years.

Krebs and Tuch, having arrived from the Vegas Golden Knights in the blockbuster Eichel trade, will forever be linked together. The wingers have embraced the opportunities that materialized when they departed one of the NHL’s elite teams to join a rebuilding one.

So ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Henri Jokiharju, other injured players close to returning

BUFFALO – Defenseman Henri Jokiharju and some other injured Sabres could return for tonight’s home game against Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights, coach Don Granato said.

Jokiharju, out the last six games with a lower-body injury, practiced Wednesday in his regular spot beside defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Meanwhile, winger Zemgus Girgensons, out the last 16 games with a lower-body injury, skated on a line of extras with center Mark Jankowski and Anders Bjork inside ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Alex Tuch to be game-time decision against Panthers

BUFFALO – Sabres winger Alex Tuch, who left Sunday afternoon’s game injured after crashing head first into the left goalpost, said he will be a game-time decision for tonight’s contest against the Florida Panthers.

Tuch, 25, participated in the Sabres’ optional skate this morning inside KeyBank Center.

Update: Tuch is officially in the lineup.

“Took a pretty nasty spill yesterday, was seen our team docs and our training staff,” Tuch said this afternoon of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Alex Tuch leaves game injured after crashing into goalpost

BUFFALO – Twelve minutes into the third period Sunday afternoon, Sabres winger Alex Tuch skated into the opposing zone short-handed and unleashed a shot that missed the net.

Tuch quickly chased after the puck, and as he zoomed toward Los Angeles Kings goalie Cal Petersen, he lost his balance and crashed head first into the left goalpost.

After staying down on the ice face first for a minute or two, Tuch, 25, skated to the ... Read the full article

Slow start dooms Sabres in loss to Stars: ‘Have to keep plowing ahead’

At this point, as the losses pile up – Sunday afternoon’s 4-2 setback was the Buffalo Sabres’ sixth straight in regulation – they need to find positives and signs of development within their games.

In Friday’s 5-3 loss in St. Louis, the Sabres could take some solace in the tenacity they showcased while arguably outplaying the Blues, one of the NHL’s heavyweights.

What about Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena?

Well, ... Read the full article

Sabres look awful early, lose to surging Canadiens: ‘We were sloppy’

It took time for the Montreal Canadiens to experience the surge that often accompanies a coaching change. Martin St. Louis lost the first three games of an interim gig that increasingly looks like it will become permanent.

Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres was the Canadiens’ fourth straight triumph. They had just eight victories all season before beating the St. Louis Blues last Thursday.

The Sabres annihilated the Canadiens earlier this season, outscoring them ... Read the full article