Ullmark - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres win again, sweep season series from Senators; Tyson Kozak injured

OTTAWA – The Buffalo Sabres’ recent victories – Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Senators was their second straight and fifth in their last six games – come with a caveat. They fell out of playoff contention long ago, meaning the contests, at least standings-wise, are meaningless.

The pressure has been off the Sabres for weeks. Playing looser surely helps them.

Still, these wins illustrate coach Lindy Ruff’s message is sinking in. While it took months, ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin, UPL named to 4 Nations tournament rosters

Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be representing their respective countries at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The NHL and NHLPA on Wednesday announced Dahlin as one Team Sweden’s seven defensemen and Luukkonen as one of Team Finland’s three netminders.

Sabres center Tage Thompson (USA), winger Alex Tuch (USA) and defenseman Henri Jokiharju (Finland), all of whom were believed to be in the mix to represent their respective countries, did ... Read the full article

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen playing at elite level, could be Sabres’ long-coveted franchise goalie

BUFFALO – Think about it, when was the last time the Sabres had a true No. 1 goalie? Not a guy playing well and earning most of the action, but a top-flight NHL starter who could be entrenched in the crease for years.

Linus Ullmark might’ve become that guy if he had re-signed here. Robin Lehner enjoyed some success but battled personal issues. Others have seen their performance – remember how well Jonas Enroth and ... Read the full article

Sabres lose game to Bruins, star Tage Thompson to injury that will sideline him ‘significant time’

BUFFALO – The game, a 5-2 shellacking from the heavyweight Boston Bruins after the Sabres celebrated captain Kyle Okposo’s 1,000th NHL appearance, was bad enough.

But they also lost top center Tage Thompson on Tuesday to an upper-body injury coach Don Granato said will probably sideline their most dynamic scorer “significant time.”

Thompson, 26, left the game just over 11 minutes into the second period after blocking Charlie McAvoy’s shot with his left hand or ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Peyton Krebs developing with Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo

BUFFALO – In the second period of Thursday’s 6-3 win, Sabres center Peyton Krebs zoomed into the Detroit zone to chase down a loose puck and drove Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider into the boards behind the net.

Krebs, who’s four inches shorter and 17 pounds lighter than Seider, gained possession. A split-second later, linemate Zemgus Girgensons fed captain Kyle Okposo in front for the first of his three goals in the Sabres’ fifth ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Former Buffalo prospect Brandon Hagel thriving with Lightning

BUFFALO – Over the past 10 years, five prospects the Sabres drafted in the sixth round or later have played NHL games. Just three have earned regular duty.

Winger Victor Olofsson has scored 11 goals for the Sabres this season, a total that trails only center Tage Thompson’s 13. Goalie Linus Ullmark, who departed Buffalo in 2021, has a stunning 13-1-0 record for the Boston Bruins.

The other? Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel, ... Read the full article

Reports: Sabres pursued trade for Senators goalie Matt Murray

MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres must keep looking for another goalie.

A potential deal between the Sabres and Ottawa Senators involving Matt Murray was nixed because Buffalo is on the goalie’s 10-team no-trade list, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The Senators would’ve retained some of Murray’s salary and given the Sabres the seventh overall pick in tonight’s NHL Draft in exchange for the 16th selection, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

“The reality is we worked ... Read the full article

Ex-Sabres goalie Carter Hutton retires having beaten long odds to crack NHL

Ex-Buffalo Sabres goalie Carter Hutton planned to become a machinist or millwright. Cracking the NHL, or even earning a college scholarship, was a far-fetched dream.

Hutton, who last week retired from the NHL after nine seasons, wasn’t any sort of prospect.

In his late teens, he was taking a mechanical engineering technician course, working at the local phone company and allowing more than five goals per game in the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

... 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

Peyton Krebs’ nifty assist creates Alex Tuch’s first goal with Sabres

Having previously played with Peyton Krebs, winger Alex Tuch said he knew a pass was coming before the center’s nifty no-look backhand created his first goal with the Sabres.

“I’m not really surprised that he did that,” Tuch said on a Zoom call following Saturday’s afternoon’s 4-3 overtime loss at TD Garden in Boston. “I saw it coming the whole way.”

Tuch, however, might’ve been the only one in the building who thought Krebs ... Read the full article