Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Sabres prospect Brendan Guhle ready for NHL debut

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Brendan Guhle was warming up with his junior Prince George Cougars teammates Friday when his coach gave him some unexpected news.

“Told me I was traded to the Sabres,” a smiling Guhle, who was summoned to help the Sabres’ beleaguered blue line, said this morning prior to his NHL debut.

Actually, the Sabres recalled Guhle, their top defense prospect, on an emergency basis for this afternoon’s tilt against the Boston Bruins ... Read the full article

Sabres having fun, thinking playoffs again with Jack Eichel back

BUFFALO – It was Sunday morning, more than two days before center Jack Eichel finally returned from his 21-game absence, when coach Dan Bylsma first noticed a change in his Sabres, owners of the NHL’s worst offense.

Thanks to Eichel’s presence in practice, Bylsma said he saw “confidence and an excitement brewing about us being able to score goals and how we need to play.”

Never mind the Sabres had lost eight of their ... Read the full article

Sabres recall top defense prospect Brendan Guhle from junior

BUFFALO – In a surprising move, the Sabres dipped into junior hockey Friday and recalled Brendan Guhle, their top defense prospect, on an emergency basis to replace the injured Josh Gorges.

Guhle, 19, almost made the Sabres out of training camp the last two years. The 2015 second-round pick will likely make his NHL debut this afternoon against the Boston Bruins inside KeyBank Center.

Gorges blocked a shot in Thursday’s 4-3 win against the ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner ready to play

BUFFALO – Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, sidelined with a sore hip for Thursday’s 4-3 win against the New York Rangers, will start Saturday afternoon’s game against the Boston Bruins, coach Dan Bylsma said.

The Sabres returned goalie Linus Ullmark to the Rochester Americans earlier today.

Lehner was hurt early in Tuesday’s 5-4 win in Ottawa. Backup Anders Nilsson subbed for him Thursday.

In other news, defenseman Josh Gorges is questionable for the Bruins after blocking ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel’s heroics push Sabres past Rangers

BUFFALO – For the first time this season, energy filled the KeyBank Center all night. Jack Eichel, the Sabres’ dynamic young star, was making his long-awaited home debut Thursday, and the normally quiet building buzzed with excitement.

Eichel couldn’t generate much early against the New York Rangers. The second-year center had some skate issues, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

But by the second period, it looked like Eichel might bust loose.

“He showed some ... Read the full article

Wheatfield’s Adam Clendening patiently waiting for opportunity

BUFFALO – There are, of course, good and bad things about the nomadic hockey life Adam Clendening has experienced for three seasons, the New York Rangers defenseman said.

On one hand, the Wheatfield native has seen six NHL cities and met hundreds of teammates. On the other hand, five years into his pro career, Clendening, 24, has never lasted longer than 20 games in one spot.

“You always want to find a home and be ... Read the full article

Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey not worried about reaction from Sabres fans

BUFFALO – New York Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey isn’t sure how Sabres fans will react to him tonight.

“I’m not really worried about that,” Vesey said this afternoon inside KeyBank Center. “At the end of the day, I made one decision. It might’ve (ticked) some people off. It was never my intention.”

That decision, of course, was to pass on the signing with the Sabres, who acquired his rights June 20, and become an ... Read the full article

Wheatfield’s Adam Clendening settling in with Rangers

BUFFALO – There are, of course, good and bad things about the nomadic hockey life Adam Clendening has experienced for three seasons, the New York Rangers defenseman said.

“You always want to find a home and be ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner questionable to back up tonight

BUFFALO – Late in the morning skate, Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who’s nursing a sore hip and questionable to even dress for tonight’s game, left the ice first.

Did it mean he was ready to play? The first goalie off almost always starts.

No. The Sabres still aren’t sure if Lehner will back up goalie Anders Nilsson tonight against the New York Rangers.

“It feels 90 percent, it’s a little stiff still,” Lehner said ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly ends slump with helmetless goal

BUFFALO – In his eight-year NHL career, Ryan O’Reilly has scored 117 times, so the Sabres center has about every type of goal on his impressive resume.

But after O’Reilly recently lost his helmet in the thick of the action and nearly scored, he started thinking – or, perhaps more appropriately, daydreaming – about getting a goal and celebrating without, as hockey players say, his “bucket.”

“We talked about this like two weeks ago,” O’Reilly ... Read the full article