WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Nick Deslauriers has played three positions. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – After playing center for the first time in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss, defenseman-turned-winger Nick Deslauriers is ready to tackle another position for the Sabres.
“I’m waiting to see if I need to stack the pads in practice soon, just to have that on my resume,” the versatile Deslauriers joked this morning inside KeyBank Center. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad to be like that.”
Deslauriers became a winger in 2013-14 after starting his ... Read the full article
Josh Gorges has been battling an odd hip problem. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The badgering has finally stopped. Josh Gorges is healthy, ready to return from a hip injury that cost him the last 12 games. So Sabres coach Dan Bylsma can walk by the defenseman again without getting an earful.
“Josh has been one miserable guy to be around,” Bylsma, who has called Gorges “crusty,” said this morning inside KeyBank Center. “I don’t walk by him without him saying he’s ready to play, and that ... Read the full article
Jake McCabe (29) missed five games. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – For weeks, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said, defenseman Josh Gorges “has been one miserable guy to be around.”
“I don’t walk by him without him saying he’s ready to play, and that was about 15 days ago,” Bylsma said this morning inside KeyBank Center.
Gorges, out the last 12 games with a hip injury, can finally stop badgering Bylsma. He will return tonight against the Ottawa Senators. So will defenseman Jake McCabe, ... Read the full article
Justin Falk has bounced around the NHL for years. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – On Wednesday, after almost three months of commuting back and forth to Rochester, Sabres defenseman Justin Falk moved his family into an extended-stay hotel here.
For Falk, who has shuttled between the NHL and minors for years, having his wife and two children close by, of course, offers some comfort.
“That helps … just to have a little sense of feeling at home,” said Falk, who said he sometimes made the 75-mile drive ... Read the full article
Rasmus Ristolainen (55) tries to block a shot Thursday against the New York Rangers. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The scoreboard read zero goals, but in reality, the Sabres could’ve had five or six by late in the third period of Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers.
The Sabres, studs at home in recent weeks, zoomed around Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist all night, generating chance after chance. But with six minutes left in regulation and their shot total approaching 40, the Sabres hadn’t scored yet.
Finally, Sabres defenseman Cody ... Read the full article
Dmitry Kulikov was injured in the preseason. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – These days, Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, a young veteran at just 26 years old, said he feels like an old man when he wakes up.
A lower-back bruise has been dogging the Russian for four months, forcing him out of the lineup three times and costing him 26 games.
Kulikov has dealt with the pain through a daily treatment regimen, and Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss against New York Rangers was his fourth ... Read the full article
Dmitry Kulikov has played 23 games this season. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – These days, Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, a young veteran at just 26 years old, said he feels like an old man when he wakes up.
A lower-back bruise has been dogging the Russian for four months, forcing him out of the lineup three times and costing him 26 games.
Kulikov has dealt with the pain through a daily treatment regimen, and tonight’s tilt against New York Rangers will be his fourth straight ... Read the full article
Nick Deslauriers (44) battles Florida’s Jason Demers on Oct. 29. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Nick Deslauriers, center? Believe it. For tonight at least, the defenseman-turned-winger will pivot the Sabres’ fourth line against the New York Rangers.
To make room for Deslauriers, a healthy scratch the last two games, center Cal O’Reilly will sit.
Update: O’Reilly is on waivers, according to reports.
Deslauriers, Bylsma said, has never played center before. Still, he’s “comfortable down low, comfortable going back for pucks,” Bylsma said this morning inside KeyBank Center.... Read the full article
Anders Nilsson tries to stop the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider on Dec. 1. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Very quietly, after years of ineptitude on home ice, the Sabres have recently morphed into a strong team at KeyBank Center, winning four straight games.
Of course, four consecutive home victories isn’t overly impressive. But for the Sabres, who haven’t finished above .500 at home since 2012-13, the streak represents progress.
It also gives them some hope. With each loss, their slim playoff chances decrease. But tonight’s tilt against the New York Rangers ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis (63) tries to check Montreal’s Alexander Radulov on Tuesday. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Flush it. Forget about it. Just get rid of it.
“Obviously, last night’s game we have to throw out the window because it was horrendous,” winger Marcus Foligno said about Tuesday’s wretched 5-2 road loss to the Montreal Canadiens, arguably the Sabres’ worst setback all season.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma added: “We got beat badly.”
No kidding. The Canadiens led 5-0 before the Sabres scored two late goals. The game, by any measure, ... Read the full article
