Zucker - Buffalo Hockey Beat

After win streak ends, Sabres to change lineup by inserting Jason Zucker

BUFFALO – As the Sabres recently rattled off 10 consecutive wins, they utilized the same 18 skaters most nights, only making changes for injuries.

If it’s working, why mess with it, right?

Coach Lindy Ruff explained the performance within that lineup, not so much the victories – “Just how well the individuals were playing,” he said – forced the Sabres to keep things consistent.

When Ruff, his staff and even general manager Jarmo Kekalainen sat ... Read the full article

Sabres’ win streak shows they might be starting something special

COLUMBUS – Hours before a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jackets ended the Buffalo Sabres’ win streak at 10 games, coach Lindy Ruff revealed some of the superstitions that materialized during one of the hottest stretches in franchise history.

For example, Ruff said assistant coach Marty Wilford refused to change his bench attire, so he wore the same brown suit each game.

Meanwhile, as the Sabres got on a tear and Owen Power kept reading ... Read the full article

Sabres send prospects to Rochester, get injured players back

BUFFALO – The Sabres on Sunday sent prospects Ryan Johnson and Isak Rosen back to the Rochester Americans.

They recalled Johnson, 24, before Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins because captain Rasmus Dahlin’s absence left them with just six defensemen.

Dahlin, who visited his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, in Sweden over the Christmas break, is expected to rejoin the Sabres today in St. Louis for the start of their three-game road trip.... Read the full article

Jason Zucker thrilled to see Sabres on hot streak, eyes return from injuries

BUFFALO – Since veteran winger Jason Zucker suffered a lower-body injury and left the lineup, the Sabres are 7-0-0 without the services of their oldest and most experienced player entering tonight’s contest against the Boston Bruins.

“They got rid of the dead weight, you know?” Zucker quipped this morning in KeyBank Center after skating with his teammates for the first time since getting injured Dec. 8.

Then Zucker, 33, joked “they might need me to ... Read the full article

Sabres star Rasmus Dahlin won’t play versus Bruins; Buffalo makes recall

BUFFALO – Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin returned to Sweden over the Christmas break to be with his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, and will miss tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, coach Lindy Ruff said.

“He’s just attending to his fiancée in Sweden, should be back shortly,” Ruff said this morning in KeyBank Center.

Dahlin missed three games in November to visit Matovac, who has been rehabbing after experiencing major heart failure and undergoing a heart transplant ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Lindy Ruff sad to see GM Kevyn Adams fired, faces uncertain future

BUFFALO – Coach Lindy Ruff walked into the media room, his whistle still hanging around his neck after running the Sabres’ first practice since general manager Kevyn Adams’ dismissal, and stood at the podium looking somber.

Ruff, 65, and Adams, 51, go way back and enjoyed a close working relationship.

Late in Ruff’s first tenure here, he hired Adams as a skills coach before promoting him to an assistant on his staff. Last year, Adams ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Michael Kesselring set to return from injury; Justin Danforth ‘doing OK’

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring, who has missed the last 14 games with a lower-body injury, is expected to return tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Kesselring, the Sabres’ biggest offseason acquisition, hasn’t played since Nov. 15. He practiced Wednesday alongside defenseman Owen Power in his first session back.

“Kesselring indicated to me that he would be good to go, which is a great thing,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said in KeyBank Center.... Read the full article

Sabres lose Josh Norris, Colten Ellis to injuries before and during OT win

Shortly before Tuesday’s opening faceoff, the Buffalo Sabres pulled center Josh Norris from the lineup after he skated in the pregame warm-up.

What happened?

Coach Lindy Ruff told reporters in Edmonton following the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime win that the oft-injured Norris, who felt ill, tweaked something warming up.

At that point, the Sabres yanked Norris, who had played four straight games after an upper-body injury he suffered opening night sidelined him 24 contests.... Read the full article

Sabres veteran Jason Zucker sidelined with lower-body injury; Buffalo recalls prospect from Rochester

Winger Jason Zucker, the Buffalo Sabres’ oldest and most experienced player, will “miss some time” after suffering a lower-body injury in Monday’s 7-4 road loss to the Calgary Flames, coach Lindy Ruff told WGR this morning.

Zucker, 33, appeared to be injured when he hit an opponent into the boards in the second period. He briefly left the game but later returned.

His injury is the latest blow for the reeling Sabres, who have lost ... Read the full article

Josh Norris wows in return as Sabres beat Jets: ‘He was unbelievable’

BUFFALO – In his first action in almost eight weeks, center Josh Norris needed less than three minutes to give the Sabres a taste of what they had been missing for the last 24 games.

During a power play, Norris, who hadn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury opening night, skated into the right circle and adroitly fed winger Josh Doan the puck at the top of the crease.

A second later, winger Jason Zucker ... Read the full article