Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Sabres’ Brayden McNabb to sit again, showcasing right attitude

BUFFALO – Attitude, Ted Nolan said, “is everything.”

“It’s like a flat tire,” the interim Sabres coach said this morning, “if you don’t change it, you ain’t going nowhere.”

Sabres defenseman Brayden McNabb’s great attitude about his one-day assignment to Rochester helped the 22-year-old compile one goal and three points in the Americans’ 6-1 win against the Utica Comets, Nolan said.

“He’s knows that he’s got a little ways to go before becoming a full-time ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko excited to represent Russia at world junior championship

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko knows he can’t develop properly sitting in the press box regularly.

“I need to play,” Grigorenko said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “Everybody understands this.”

Luckily, the Sabres’ new regime understands that, so the team’s letting the 19-year-old center play for Russian at the upcoming world junior championship in Sweden.

“I think it’s going to be great for me because I’m not getting enough ice time,” said ... Read the full article

Struggling Tyler Ennis refreshed by Sabres’ new regime

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan noticed a difference immediately after talking to Tyler Ennis. It looked like a huge weight had been lifted off the slick speedster, the interim Sabres coach said.

Nolan told the center to stop playing so robotically and start utilizing his natural instincts. The 24-year-old’s game possessed too much hesitancy when he replaced Ron Rolston on Nov. 13.

Ennis knows he’s at his best freewheeling around the ice.

“I think ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan wants Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to stay in Buffalo

BUFFALO – In Ted Nolan’s mind, franchise goalie Ryan Miller, an unrestricted free agent following the season, is more of a building block for the struggling Sabres than an asset.

“You build around him versus as a pawn to try to get something to make you better,” the interim coach said Wednesday. “You learn to deal with the now as a coach, and we got one of the better goaltenders in the world here. I’d ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko to represent Russia at world junior championship

BUFFALO – Center Mikhail Grigorenko will be leaving the Sabres on Sunday to play for his native Russia at the upcoming world junior championship.

The 19-year-old, a healthy scratch the last two games and five of the last eight under interim coach Ted Nolan, posted a message to a Facebook account this afternoon that read, “Flying to Russia Sunday with my brother Zadorov!”

That’s the Nikita Zadorov, the 18-year-old defenseman the Sabres recently sent back ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan on Sabres goalie Ryan Miller: ‘I’d like to build around him’

BUFFALO – In Ted Nolan’s mind, franchise goalie Ryan Miller, an unrestricted free agent following the season, is more of a building block for the Sabres than an asset.

“You build around him versus as a pawn to try to get something to make you better,” the interim coach said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “You learn to deal with the now as a coach, and we got one of ... Read the full article

Sabres send Brayden McNabb to Amerks for one game

BUFFALO – Defenseman Brayden McNabb, a healthy scratch the last two games, will play tonight for the Rochester Americans before returning to the Sabres.

Sitting long isn’t good for the 22-year-old, interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. The Amerks host the Utica Comets tonight.

“The greatest thing about having the Rochester Americans so close he can go down and play,” Nolan said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “He sat out ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno embracing lesser role, feels game improving

BUFFALO – Marcus Foligno said Ted Nolan could’ve easily demoted him to the fourth line without an explanation. But a straightforward, face-to-face chat accompanied the struggling young winger’s move.

“Marcus is a big, powerful forward,” the Sabres’ interim coach said Tuesday following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “I told him he was just big, he wasn’t powerful. He wasn’t hitting anybody. He wasn’t using his size to his advantage.”

So in slashing his minutes, ... Read the full article

Sabres could send Mikhail Grigorenko to play with Russians or to junior

BUFFALO – The Sabres are “discussing all possibilities” to find 19-year-old prospect Mikhail Grigorenko playing time, interim coach Ted Nolan said Tuesday.

That means the Sabres could loan the center, a healthy scratch the last two games, to Russia for the world junior championship later this month if he’s invited. He could also get sent back to the junior Quebec Remparts.

“We’re not 100 percent sure what we’re going to do,” Nolan said following practice ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Brian Flynn on how he avoided first NHL penalty: ‘I’m not that physical’

BUFFALO – The streak ended 4:57 into the third period of the Sabres’ 1-0 overtime loss Saturday.

In his 53^rd NHL game, forward Brian Flynn was whistled for hooking New Jersey’s Steve Bernier, his first NHL penalty.

How did Flynn, who takes a regular shift, avoid getting penalized until his second NHL season?

“I don’t know, probably because I’m not that physical,” Flynn said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “That’s how most ... Read the full article