WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
November Edition
Buffalo prospect Jack Quinn has been a dominant force in Rochester. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Barely three months ago, when the Sabres informed prospect Jack Quinn he was being sent to the minors, he looked at general manager Kevyn Adams and coach Don Granato and told them he understood their decision.
Quinn’s words that day have stuck with Granato. Yes, Quinn, 20, was disappointed to be leaving. Still, he knew he had an opportunity in Rochester, where he had played 15 games for the Americans the previous season.... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored 12 goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Coach Don Granato knew it would happen again. COVID-19 has been clobbering the NHL, forcing hundreds of players into protocol over the past several weeks, including 11 Sabres.
“When’s it going to happen to the next guy the way it’s going around the league and around the world?” Granato said following Monday’s practice. “It happens today.”
On Monday, shortly after prospect Jack Quinn joined the Sabres, top center Tage Thompson, the team’s leading ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored a team-leading 12 goals. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres this morning placed Tage Thompson, their top center and leading goal scorer, in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
In addition to Thompson, forwards Peyton Krebs, Kyle Okposo and Alex Tuch are in protocol. Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald, who entered protocol last Monday, returned to practice this morning.
The Sabres this morning reassigned winger Jack Quinn from the Rochester Americans to the taxi squad. They will likely also need to recall another forward before ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn has enjoyed a dynamic rookie season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres this morning reassigned prospect Jack Quinn from the Rochester Americans to taxi squad.
Quinn, 20, could make his NHL debut Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The slick winger has enjoyed a dynamic rookie season, scoring 12 and 26 points in 20 AHL games.
Anders Bjork has scored four goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Over his first 44 games with the Sabres, winger Anders Bjork has struggled to maintain consistency, mostly showcasing flashes of his talent.
Bjork, 25, scored opening night before beginning a 10-game goalless stretch. After scoring in back-to-back contests, he endured a 12-game goal drought in which he was scratched twice.
Sabres coach Don Granato said Bjork must learn to regularly imprint his identity as a player – “His is speed and quickness,” he ... Read the full article
Jacob Bryson has missed four games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Of the seven defensemen the Sabres have kept all season, only two, Rasmus Dahlin and Mark Pysyk, have played more than 30 games.
Defensemen, of course, are often at a premium. The rugged nature of the position makes them susceptible to damage.
As injuries and COVID-19 cases recently mounted, Sabres coach Don Granato cobbled together a defense corps. He utilized two rookies, giving Casey Fitzgerald and Ethan Prow their first NHL action.
But ... Read the full article
Brett Murray has played 16 games for Buffalo this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – The Sabres on Friday assigned forwards Brett Murray and Ryan MacInnis and defenseman Ethan Prow to the Rochester Americans.
The Sabres don’t play again until Tuesday, while the Amerks hosted the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday and play a road game against the Syracuse Crunch tonight.
All three played for the Amerks on Friday.
Murray, 23, had made 15 straight appearances with the Sabres. Overall this season, he has played 16 NHL games, ... Read the full article
Rick Jeanneret has called Sabres games for 51 seasons. ©2022, Dan Hickling
Legendary play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret will become the 10th member of the Buffalo Sabres organization to be honored with a banner in the KeyBank Center rafters.
The Sabres this afternoon announced Jeanneret, who’s in his 51st and final season calling games, will have a banner bearing his name raised before the April 1 game against the Nashville Predators.
As part of what the team has named “RJ Night,” tributes will also be given and the ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner scored his 11th goal this season on Thursday. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks was just the Sabres’ fourth game in 20 days. Right now, they have six players sidelined by COVID-19 and another five out injured.
They’re rusty, having lost the rhythm of a season that rarely let up before COVID started wreaking havoc on the schedule again. And the rebuilding team was fielding one of the NHL’s weaker lineups before injuries and illness started decimating it.
The ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin leads Buffalo in ice time this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – At the end of Thursday’s mistake-riddled first period, with the Sabres trailing the San Jose Sharks 3-0, coach Don Granato told his players to watch the way defenseman Rasmus Dahlin plays.
“Absolutely amazing,” Granato said of Dahlin following the Sabres’ 3-2 loss inside KeyBank Center. “Something that goes wrong, he elevates.”
The rest of the team did not elevate after a slew of early mistakes, and the Sabres found themselves in a huge ... Read the full article