WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition
Jack Quinn has played 11 games with Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
In scoring his second goal as a pro, Buffalo Sabres prospect Jack Quinn showcased some of the slick skills that made him the eighth overall pick in 2020.
On Saturday, Quinn utilized his speed to beat a Syracuse Crunch defender down the right wing before his hard backhander from the edge of the slot cemented the Rochester Americans’ 5-3 road win.
But Quinn’s willingness to cut to the net and go to the so-called “dirty ... Read the full article
Taylor Hall will likely be traded before Monday’s deadline. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
In what are almost certainly his final days in Buffalo, winger Taylor Hall is still involved in all Sabres-related activities other than playing, interim coach Don Granato said.
So while Hall, 29, is still around the team, he will be scratched again for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils at KeyBank Center. The Sabres, of course, want to protect an asset as Monday’s trade deadline approaches.
They first scratched Hall, who is expected to ... Read the full article
Rasmus Asplund has scored four goals in only 10 games this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Rasmus Asplund said his first taste of the NHL last season exhausted him mentally. The Swede couldn’t let go of what transpired during games. He even had trouble falling asleep.
“I felt last year that I started off my first five games really good but then I got really tired mentally,” Asplund said on a Zoom call following Wednesday’s optional practice.
So in the offseason, Asplund, 23, began developing what he ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin created Tuesday’s winning power-play goal. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In the early days of the season, the Sabres’ potent power play carried them, accounting for a whopping 50% of their goals over the first 17 games.
But since that scorching start – the Sabres scored 19 times and converted an NHL-best 36.4% of their chances – they’ve been downright awful, mustering just two power-play goals in 38 tries in the last 21 outings.
That’s just 5.3%, the league’s worst number over that ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin has started looking like his old self. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Over the last week, Rasmus Dahlin has morphed into a dynamic defenseman again, shaking off three dreadful months to help ignite the Buffalo Sabres.
Dahlin, 20, enjoyed his best night this trying season in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils inside Prudential Center. After tying the game in the second period, he corralled a bouncing puck inside the blue line and deftly created center Casey Mittelstadt’s game-winning power-play goal 10:20 into the third.... Read the full article
Linus Weissback enjoyed a stellar senior season. ©2021, Dan Hickling
The Buffalo Sabres have signed winger Linus Weissbach, who just completed his senior season at Wisconsin, to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced this afternoon.
The contract kicks in next season. The Sabres drafted Weissbach, 22, in the seventh round in 2017, 192nd overall.
The 5-foot-8, 161-pound Weissbach registered 12 goals and 41 points in 31 games in 2020-21, numbers that ranked second on the Badgers behind winger Cole Caufield, who recently ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson made his NHL debut in 2017-18. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Tyce Thompson said he was speechless. Not only will the New Jersey Devils forward be making his NHL debut tonight, he gets to do it against his brother, Tage, a Buffalo Sabres winger.
“It’s the best way you could draw up a debut,” Tyce Thompson said on a Zoom call prior to tonight’s game. “To be able to play against my brother just makes it that much more special.”
Tyce Thompson, 21, signed his ... Read the full article
Taylor Hall could be traded soon. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall, who will likely be traded before Monday’s deadline, will be held out of tonight’s road game against the New Jersey Devils, interim coach Don Granato said.
The move makes sense. Why risk an asset to injury?
Hall, 29, can become an unrestricted free agent following the season. He has a no-movement clause in the one-year, $8 million contract he signed with the Sabres.... Read the full article
Arttu Ruotsalainen signed as a free agent with Buffalo in 2019. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Arttu Ruotsalainen’s pro experience belies his prospect status. The Sabres rookie played six seasons in Liiga, Finland’s top pro circuit. When he left Ilves earlier this season, he had scored a league-leading 16 goals in only 19 games.
Ruotsalainen, 23, arrived here for training camp barely three months ago close to a finished product. So it wasn’t surprising the center earned his first NHL recall after playing just 13 games with the Rochester ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has missed the last three games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – After the Sabres finished practicing today, center Dylan Cozens and defenseman Will Borgen jumped on the KeyBank Center ice and went through a rehab skate, a strong sign the rookies are progressing from their injuries.
“We need the information on how they responded on the ice before we can go to the next step there,” interim Sabres coach Don Granato said on a Zoom call. “But clearly, they’re closer and closer.”
Granato said ... Read the full article