Zucker - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Tage Thompson says he’s ready to return from lower-body injury

BUFFALO – In Tage Thompson’s absence, the Sabres have done well, going 4-1-0 and winning all three stops last week in California without their top center.

By the end of the trip, Thompson, who said he’s “ready to go” for tonight’s home game against the Minnesota Wild, told the Sabres he would play if they needed him.

Still, they held him out of Friday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks and Saturday’s 4-2 victory ... Read the full article

Injured Sabres Tage Thompson and UPL could face Blues; Mattias Samuelsson out long-term

BUFFALO – Sabres center Tage Thompson and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen both missed Wednesday’s practice and are day to day with their respective injuries. Coach Lindy Ruff said they could play in tonight’s home game against the St. Louis Blues.

That’s the good news for the Sabres. The bad? Ruff said the lower-body injury defenseman Mattias Samuelsson suffered in Monday afternoon’s 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens will sideline him “weeks.” The injury, however, isn’t season-ending.... Read the full article

Dylan Cozens scores early, but mistakes doom Sabres in loss to Islanders

BUFFALO – The New York Islanders limped into town in a tailspin, having lost three straight games and scored just one goal in their last eight periods. They departed Friday filled with confidence after handing the Sabres a troubling 4-3 defeat.

Following two season-opening losses, the Sabres had found a groove, compiling a 4-2-1 mark in their next seven games. Sure, they hardly set the NHL on fire, but in these parts, a record like ... Read the full article

Sabres hope shifting struggling Dylan Cozens to wing can ignite him

BUFFALO – History says Dylan Cozens’ position change will be temporary. Shifting him from center to right wing is a slump-busting move by Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.

Centers, of course, are always at a premium and Cozens, 23, has been entrenched as the Sabres’ second-line pivot for years. It’s just that 10 games into the season, having scored zero goals, he’s in a rut.

Ruff needs to ignite the Yukon native, so in Thursday’s ... Read the full article

Sabres roar back against Panthers, fall apart late: ‘It was right there’

BUFFALO – On one hand, the Sabres erased an early 2-0 deficit Monday against the Florida Panthers and made things interesting. Despite losing 5-2, they matched the Stanley Cup champions’ skill and grit.

On the other hand, the Sabres, whose three-game winning streak was snapped, showed they haven’t reached the Panthers’ class. They broke down defensively all night, took ill-advised penalties and wilted late while allowing two third-period goals.

Coach Lindy Ruff doesn’t take much ... Read the full article

Tage Thompson playing like superstar, helps Sabres beat Red Wings

BUFFALO – A strong argument can be made the past week or two ranks as the most significant stretch of Tage Thompson’s four-year run as the Sabres’ top center.

His gaudy statistics are just part of it, mind you. After scoring two goals and three points in Saturday afternoon’s 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings, he has recorded six goals and 10 points during his six-game point streak.

Right now, Thompson, who has a ... Read the full article

Goal-scoring struggles frustrate Sabres’ Dylan Cozens: ‘Just keep shooting’

BUFFALO – In the waning minutes Tuesday, as the Stars pressed for another goal, Sabres center Dylan Cozens grabbed the puck inside the Dallas blue line with a chance to seal a victory and generate some much-needed confidence.

Cozens simply had to deposit it into the empty net 63 feet away to register his first goal this season. Instead, his shot hit the right side of the cage. Play continued, and winger Alex Tuch’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan McLeod scoring, earning trust from Lindy Ruff after trade

BUFFALO – This isn’t the hottest stretch of Ryan McLeod’s career. No, 10 months ago as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, the Sabres newcomer scored four times and compiled six points during a three-game goal streak.

Following a pointless night, he registered one goal and two points in his next outing.

Right now, McLeod has scored one goal in each of the last three games entering tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars at ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Sam Lafferty trades in youngster status for veteran role

PITTSBURGH – This is new for Sam Lafferty. In his previous four stops, the versatile Sabres newcomer was always one of the younger guys. He played his first NHL game barely five years ago.

But these days, Lafferty, 29, looks around Buffalo’s dressing room and mostly sees younger faces. Only winger Jason Zucker, 32, is older than Lafferty, who’s six weeks older than defenseman Connor Clifton.

At an average age of just 25.3, the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jordan Greenway becoming big asset: ‘An incredibly smart player’

PITTSBURGH – Early in Saturday’s 5-2 win, Buffalo Sabres winger Jordan Greenway spotted 30-goal scorer Carter Verhaeghe on his radar and leveled him, knocking off his helmet before he fell to the ice.

Later in the first period against the Florida Panthers, Greenway grabbed a loose puck at the net and backhanded it under the crossbar, tying the game at 1.

Overall, he enjoyed perhaps the finest of his 88 outings with the Sabres, playing ... Read the full article