Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Mikhail Grigorenko set to rejoin Sabres, but for how long?

BUFFALO – Fresh off a five-goal, eight-point performance in seven games with Russia at the world junior championship, center Mikhail Grigorenko will be rejoining the Sabres soon.

But will the 19-year-old stick in the NHL or go somewhere else?

“He’s coming here for Pat (LaFontaine) and I to discuss,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said following practice today inside the First Niagara Center. “We’ll make that decision when he gets here.”

Nolan, however, acknowledged ... Read the full article

Watch: Sabres prospect Rasmus Ristolainen’s nifty overtime goal clinch world junior gold

At 6-foot-4 and 219 pounds, 19-year-old Buffalo Sabres prospect Rasmus Ristolainen isn’t your normal junior-age player.

Prior to the Sabres selecting him eighth overall in June, Ristolainen played two seasons in SM-liiga, a men’s league in his native Finland. Then the defenseman cracked the Sabres’ opening-night lineup this season, playing 19 NHL games before getting sent to Rochester in November.

In the preseason, before Ristolainen’s birthday, Sabres defenseman Mike Weber called him “an 18-year-old man.”... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Myers to have phone hearing for hit to Dainius Zubrus’ head

BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers will have a phone hearing Monday with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan for his illegal hit to Dainius Zubrus’ head, according to multiple reports.

At 7:02 into the third period in Saturday’s 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, the 6-foot-8 Myers hit Zubrus, who’s three inches shorter, high along the wall, earning a minor for an illegal check to the head.

Following the game, Myers said he had ... Read the full article

Matt D’Agostini’s first goal with Sabres helps eke out win against Devils

BUFFALO – Ted Nolan wanted 10 percent more from Matt D’Agostini. Prior to the Sabres’ 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the interim coach said the struggling winger, who hadn’t scored in 15 games with his new club, was getting opportunities.

“You got to go into those dirty areas,” Nolan said Saturday morning. “I think he had a number of outside shots. But outside shots ain’t getting in. So we got ... Read the full article

Zenon Konopka thrilled to be with Sabres following long travel day

BUFFALO – Zenon Konopka’s travel ordeal began Friday night shortly after his flight from Minnesota landed in New York. First, the center’s short flight here was delayed four hours. Then the airline canceled it.

“The tough part was they said they could get me in Sunday,” Konopka, a waiver acquisition, said Saturday prior to his Sabres a debut, a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils inside the First Niagara Center. “I said, ‘That’s not ... Read the full article

Zenon Konopka arrives in Buffalo late, excited to make Sabres debut

BUFFALO – Zenon Konopka’s travel ordeal began Friday night shortly after landing in New York from Minnesota. First, the center’s flight was delayed four hours. Then the airline canceled it.

“The tough part was they said they could get me in Sunday,” Konopka, who was claimed on waivers by the Sabres on Friday, said this morning after skating briefly inside the First Niagara Center. “I said, ‘That’s not going to work.’”

Konopka eventually switched ... Read the full article

Ted Nolan wants Sabres’ youngsters to learn from Zenon Konopka

BUFFALO – Zenon Konopka is joining the Sabres for more than his grittiness and faceoff prowess. In the 33-year-old center, they also possess a hardworking veteran the youngsters on the rebuilding team can learn from.

“Those type of guys are really good role models for the younger players,” interim coach Ted Nolan said Friday shortly after the Sabres plucked Konopka off waivers from the Minnesota Wild. “They last that long because they have that special ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller knew he had to earn spot on Team USA’s Olympic squad

BUFFALO – Ryan Miller knew what most Olympic observers knew. Despite nearly backstopping Team USA to an unlikely gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games, the Sabres goalie wasn’t a lock to represent his country again this year.

The 33-year-old has performed inconsistently at times during recent seasons. The Sabres, meanwhile, have become the NHL’s worst team.

“It’s something that I wanted to work hard for and get myself back in the picture,” said Miller, ... Read the full article

Sabres want gritty Zenon Konopka to be role model for youngsters

BUFFALO – Zenon Konopka isn’t joining the Sabres just for his grittiness and supreme faceoff skills. In the 33-year-old center, a ferocious fighter, the team also possesses a hardworking veteran the youngsters can look up to.

“Those type of guys are really good role models for the younger players,” interim coach Ted Nolan said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center shortly after the Sabres claimed Konopka on waivers. “They last that long because they ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres claim Zenon Konopka off waivers from Wild

BUFFALO – The Sabres have claimed gritty center Zenon Konopka off waivers from the Minnesota Wild, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Michael Russo.

The 33-year-old, a native of nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., is a rare mix of grit and skill, fighting regularly and annually ranking among the NHL’s faceoff leaders.

Konopka, 6-feet and 213 pounds, has 12 goals, 29 points, 1,049 penalty minutes and a minus-45 rating in 323 NHL games. He has one goal, ... Read the full article