Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Sabres’ Mike Weber ready to return from benching: ‘It was extremely tough’

BUFFALO – Following an embarrassing 5-0 loss one week ago in Pittsburgh, defenseman Mike Weber passionately called for more anger and intensity from the reeling Sabres.

The gritty Weber sat out the next night, the first of three straight healthy scratches. The 26-year-old, an emotional presence, hadn’t missed a game since Dec. 10.

“It was extremely tough,” Weber said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “So I still don’t really understand what was going ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis says frustration made him tap official

BUFFALO – After time expired Friday in the Sabres’ 3-2 loss to Edmonton, center Tyler Ennis skated over to linesman Derek Nansen and tapped the official with his stick.

Nansen immediately gave Ennis a game misconduct.

Why did the normally mild-mannered Ennis touch an official?

“I was a little frustrated,” he said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “I just went to go talk to the linesman and tap him on the bum ... Read the full article

Sabres allow 52 shots, fall to hapless Oilers

BUFFALO – Fifteen games into another trying season, goaltending has been the Sabres’ only constant each night.

Despite some wretched efforts and an anemic offense on pace to be the worst in NHL history, Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth have kept the Sabres in almost every contest, stopping a barrage of shots.

On Friday, the Sabres laid another egg, allowing the hapless Edmonton Oilers to pump a season-high 52 shots on Neuvirth.

“Fifty-two, that’s crazy,” ... Read the full article

Legendary Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret says he’s cancer-free

BUFFALO – Legendary Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret told the team’s pregame show Friday he’s cancer-free.

The Sabres announced in July that Jeanneret was battling throat cancer.

The NHL’s longest-tenured broadcaster underwent a CAT scan Tuesday and received a call Wednesday saying everything was OK, he said.

“That means for the moment I’m cancer-free,” Jeanneret said.

Jeanneret, who described the last five months as “tough,” thanked his family and the medical staff that treated him.... Read the full article

Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta experiencing vision problems from injury

BUFFALO – After a puck “broke a bunch of things” in Patrick Kaleta’s face Sept. 28, doctors cut through the bottom part of his eyelid to repair him, the Sabres winger said.

“They have to cut through all those muscles, so it’s almost like my muscles get tired out a bit,” Kaleta said prior to Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers inside the First Niagara Center.

So the oft-injured agitator has been experiencing vision ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta having vision trouble following injury

BUFFALO – After a puck “broke a bunch of things” in Patrick Kaleta’s face Sept. 28, doctors cut through the bottom part of his eyelid to repair him, the Sabres winger said.

“They have to cut through all those muscles, so it’s almost like my muscles get tired out a bit,” Kaleta said Thursday inside the First Niagara Center.

So the oft-injured agitator has been experiencing vision problems on the ice. He still hasn’t been ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Michal Neuvirth earns third straight start

BUFFALO – When the Sabres ended their skate this morning, goalie Michal Neuvirth, not Jhonas Enroth, went off the ice first, meaning Neuvirth will start tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

Sabres coach Ted Nolan said Thursday Enroth would start.

Why the change?

“Oh, I thought I said Neuvy was going to start,” Nolan said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.

Then Nolan smiled.

“Just to confuse the other team,” he joked.

Tonight will ... Read the full article

Sabres goalies Jhonas Enroth, Michal Neuvirth still battling for No. 1 job

BUFFALO – They are both 26 years old, young NHL veterans competing to become the Sabres’ starting goalie.

Right now, Michal Neuvirth, having started five of the last eight games, including the past two, has the upper hand. The Czech struggled badly during the preseason, then watched as Jhonas Enroth earned five of the first six nods.

But Neuvirth has rebounded recently, posting a .957 save percentage in his last two appearances.

Meanwhile, Enroth, tonight’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ted Nolan on shootouts: ‘You should have one winner’

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan refers to the shootout as a “skills competition.” So, the Sabres coach doesn’t like it then?

“Ehhh, I’m not a big fan of it,” Nolan said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “But it’s entertaining for the fans. The game, I like to declare a winner. It’s kind of like horseshoes or grenades, everything’s close, everybody’s fair. But I think in a game you should have one winner.”

The Sabres ... Read the full article

Sabres give strong effort, fall to Canadiens in shootout

BUFFALO – Let’s say it was a busy day at work Wednesday, and when you sat down to watch the Sabres play the Montreal Canadiens, you dozed off until, oh, about 9:30 p.m.

You wouldn’t have missed anything notable.

The Sabres’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens before 17,837 fans inside the First Niagara Center was a real snoozer for 40 minutes.

Still, that’s the kind of effort the Sabres, 2-2-2 in their last ... Read the full article