WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition
Kevyn Adams is preparing like Buffalo will play Wednesday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Some quick updates from KeyBank Center, where the Sabres practiced this morning for the first time in eight days following a Christmas/COVID-19 break:
– The Sabres today had zero players added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. With coach Don Granato and five players having tested positive for the virus, assistant coach Matt Ellis led a session with 16 skaters and three goalie.
If Granato can’t coach Wednesday’s scheduled home game against the New ... Read the full article
Don Granato is in his first season as Buffalo’s permanent coach. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
On Sunday, following a six-day pause, the Buffalo Sabres planned to reconvene and practice. Still, given how COVID-19 has been decimating NHL teams, it felt like their return to the ice could be delayed.
Sure enough, barely two hours before their scheduled 3 p.m. session, the Sabres canceled it. About 90 minutes later, they announced coach Don Granato and forwards Dylan Cozens and Mark Jankowski have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol.
Right now, all three ... Read the full article
Don Granato briefly coached from a suite last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato and forwards Dylan Cozens and Mark Jankowski this afternoon entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. Right now, all three are asymptomatic, according to the team.
The Sabres now have one coach and five players in protocol. Wingers Zemgus Girgensons, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jeff Skinner were added last week.
The team this afternoon canceled a practice scheduled for 3 p.m.
Following a four-day Christmas/COVID-19 break, NHL teams can reconvene today for testing, ... Read the full article
Zemgus Girgensons entered COVID-19 protocol last week. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres this afternoon canceled a practice scheduled for 3 p.m.
Following a four-day Christmas/COVID-19 break, NHL teams can reconvene today for testing, practice and travel.
Right now, the Sabres have three players – wingers Zemgus Girgensons, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jeff Skinner – in the league’s COVID-19 protocol.
The Sabres possibly want to wait for test results before resuming practice.
Their next scheduled game is Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils at KeyBank ... Read the full article
Buffalo goalie prospect Devon Levi has compiled some eye-popping numbers at Northeastern. ©2021, Jim Pierce, Northeastern
It was in late August, the first day Northeastern could gather to prepare for its new season, when Mike Condon learned about the work ethic goalie Devon Levi possesses.
On that day, the team couldn’t skate yet. But Levi, one of the Buffalo Sabres’ top prospects, was hankering to face some shots. So the sophomore put on his full gear and went outside Matthews Arena in Boston into the late-summer heat.
“He was going out ... Read the full article
Anthony Beauvillier and the New York Islanders won’t be visiting Buffalo on Monday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Monday’s Buffalo Sabres game against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center has been postponed.
The NHL tonight pushed back its resumption of play one day so it could analyze testing data and determine teams’ readiness to compete coming out a four-day Christmas/COVID-19 break. The league wants to resume games Tuesday.
The Sabres’ next scheduled contest is Wednesday at home against the New Jersey Devils.
Casey Fitzgerald made his NHL debut for Buffalo against Pittsburgh, the team he grew up cheering for. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
For 22 anxious seconds Friday, Kerry Fitzgerald watched her son, Casey, a Buffalo Sabres defenseman, trade punches with Sam Lafferty.
Throughout the day, Kerry acknowledged she was a “nervous wreck” waiting for Casey, 24, to make his NHL debut at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. But after the puck dropped against the Penguins, she said it felt like watching any hockey game.
Then about five minutes into the second period, Casey took umbrage with ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner on Tuesday tested positive for COVID-19. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
After having three games postponed and one player enter the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, the Sabres wanted to practice one final time before beginning a four-day break.
“Really get the guys going before we lead into the break,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said on a Zoom call Tuesday.
Adams said doctors approved the plan. If the Sabres didn’t have any additional positive cases, they would skate Tuesday morning at LECOM Harborcenter.
But on Tuesday, two ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored a team-high 10 goals. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
General manager Kevyn Adams said center Tage Thompson, the Buffalo Sabres’ leading goal scorer this season, received “good news” after undergoing an MRI.
“Which we were thankful to hear,” Adams said on a Zoom call Tuesday.
Thompson, 24, missed Sunday’s practice with what Sabres coach Don Granato called “soreness.”
If Monday’s contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets hadn’t been postponed because of COVID-19 concerns, Adams said Thompson would’ve been a game-time decision. The Sabres’ ... Read the full article
Craig Anderson hasn’t played since Nov. 2. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Over the last six games, the Buffalo Sabres have received terrific goaltending, with rookie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and newcomer Malcolm Subban filling the void created by veteran Craig Anderson’s absence.
Still, the Sabres sorely need Anderson, who compiled a 4-2-0 record with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage while starting six of the first nine games this season.
The American, 40, hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury Nov. 2. On the ... Read the full article