Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Instinctive game allows Sabres’ Tyler Ennis to showcase more offense and grit

BUFFALO – Tyler Ennis said he recently stopped thinking on the ice. That isn’t a bad thing, though. The slick Sabres center has just been playing more instinctively under interim coach Ted Nolan, allowing his natural talents to take over these past few months.

It’s showing on the score sheet. With an assist on Drew Stafford’s first-period goal in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ennis has four goals and 12 points in the ... Read the full article

Dan Bylsma: Ryan Miller’s play tonight won’t influence Olympic goaltending decision

BUFFALO – Tonight’s not an audition for Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, Dan Bylsma said. A spectacular performance won’t sway the Pittsburgh Penguins coach into starting the American at the upcoming Sochi Games.

“Oh, goodness, I don’t think so, either way,” Bylsma, Team USA’s Olympic coach, said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “Tonight’s not the only body of work from Ryan. He’s played really well this year. He’s played really well in some ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Myers likely out against Penguins

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers will likely miss tonight’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins after leaving Monday’s game early.

Myers (lower body) didn’t participate in the Sabres’ optional skate this morning. The 24-year-old could play Thursday in Ottawa, interim coach Ted Nolan said.

“It doesn’t look very good for tonight,” Nolan said inside the First Niagara Center. “Hopefully, he’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, a healthy scratch last game, will return. Center ... Read the full article

Goalie Ryan Miller knows his days with Sabres could be numbered

BUFFALO – Forget about the Olympics for a moment. Forget that Sabres goalie Ryan Miller will be playing in front of Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma tonight, a final chance to impress his bench boss at the upcoming Sochi Games.

Tonight could be Miller’s last appearance with the Sabres inside the First Niagara Center.

Rosters freeze 3 p.m. Friday for the NHL’s two-week Olympic break. The trade deadline hits one month from today.

Miller, an ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ted Nolan relieved Tyler Myers won’t be sidelined long

BUFFALO – Interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said defenseman Tyler Myers is day-to-day and “a lot better than we thought” after a lower-body injury forced him out of Monday’s 3-2 loss to Edmonton.

Myers could play tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins inside the First Niagara Center.

Naturally, Nolan, who said Myers “was moving around real good” Tuesday, is relieved

“Some guys get banged up,” he said. “But he looked like he was hurt (Monday) night.”... Read the full article

Sabres’ Zenon Konopka calls watching brain surgery ‘pretty intense’

BUFFALO – OK, so why was Zenon Konopka watching brain surgery this morning? The Sabres center tweeted a photo of himself wearing scrubs and a surgical mask and wrote, “Most interesting morning in a long time … Brain Surgery #unreal #frontrowseat #wow.”

Konopka’s charity of choice, Keith Primeau’s “Stop Concussions,” told him about the neurological department next to Buffalo General and Dr. Elad Levy, a world-renowned brain surgeon who’s also a hockey fan.

“He said ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan Miller hasn’t talked to management much about future

BUFFALO – Days before he heads to the Sochi Games and just one month from the NHL trade deadline, goalie Ryan Miller said today he hasn’t discussed his future much with the Sabres’ new regime.

“Still don’t know what to say,” Miller, an unrestricted free agent following the season, said inside the First Niagara Center. “There’s been a change here. There was a change here before. So it’s like waiting to see what the plan ... Read the full article

Sabres lose game to Oilers, defenseman Tyler Myers to injury

BUFFALO – Fittingly, a tilt between the NHL’s two worst teams started ominously for the bottom-feeding Sabres. Just 32 seconds in, Jeff Petry zoomed past Jamie McBain and beat goalie Jhonas Enroth easily on the Edmonton Oilers’ first shot.

But the Sabres settled down against the hapless Oilers and their porous defense, taking a 2-1 lead before the first period ended.

At times, the “Battle for the Basement” or the “Game of the Weak” – ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller wanted Team USA Olympic mask to resemble old one

BUFFALO – If Ryan Miller’s new Team USA Olympic mask for the upcoming Sochi Games looks familiar, it’s because the Sabres goalie kept the same theme he used in 2010.

“I thought it was a cool mask last time,” Miller told the Times Herald on Sunday. “I just want to update the colors. I want to do something more traditional red, white and blue. Last time it was like a little off blue-gray kind of ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno knows consistency must improve

BUFFALO – Marcus Foligno enters tonight’s tilt with just one goal in his last 17 games and six in 49 contests this season. The Sabres winger might even get relegated to the fourth line against the Edmonton Oilers.

Foligno has performed like a top power forward at times during his three-year career, using his 6-foot-3, 223-pound frame to create space and offense. Sabres fans remember his rollicking introduction to the NHL late in 2011-12. But ... Read the full article