March 31, 2013 - 11:15 PM
By John Vogl
Cody Hodgson has been at the front of the Sabres' centers all season -- until tonight's 2-0 loss to Boston. Coach Ron Rolston sent him to the fourth line between wingers Patrick Kaleta and John Scott.
Hear both discuss the move by clicking the audio files below.
Cody Hodgson
Ron Rolston
March 31, 2013 - 4:42 PM
By Jay Skurski
With Jordan Leopold sent to St. Louis on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres have to replace more than 21 minutes of ice time.
In their first game without the veteran defenseman, the beneficiaries were Tyler Myers and rookie Mark Pysyk.
Myers skated a game-high 28 minutes, 13 seconds in the shootout loss, while Pysyk was on the ice for 13:52 – a game after being a healthy scratch in Florida.
"It felt good," Myers said of the extended work. "It's whatever the coaches are going to decide how to play us. I think all the 'D' has been doing a really good job of adjusting to what has been given to them."
Myers didn't learn of Leopold's trade until arriving at First Niagara Center for the game.
Continue reading "Myers, Pysyk beneficiaries of Leopold trade" »
March 31, 2013 - 12:26 PM
By John Vogl
Thomas Vanek knows the Sabres are in position for a rebuild. He also knows he might not be part of it.
General Manager Darcy Regier has talked during the past two days of looking toward the future, which might leave the team's leading scorer as a trade target before Wednesday's deadline.
"Every year you think about that, but obviously this year probably more than any other year because of the position we’re in and one year left on my contract," Vanek, who will miss tonight's game against Boston with an upper-body injury, said in First Niagara Center. "Obviously, you think about it, but at the same time it’s part of the business. If it happens, it happens, and we’ll move on.
March 30, 2013 - 11:34 PM
By Mike Harrington
The Sabres fell to 4-4 in shootouts this year with Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals but it never should have got to that point. They had a 3-1 lead in the third period and were on a power play when Troy Brouwer scored a short-handed goal and then the Capitals tied it with 39 seconds left on Mike Green's goal.
Somehow Buffalo gained a point on the playoff "race" and is still just three points out with 13 games to play. It feels like it should be 13 points. Or 23. Or 33. But imagine if the Sabres had simply held their third-period leads -- or won the shootout -- in either of the last two games and were only one back. Bizarre.
Anyway, here's a quick tour of the locker room and be sure to read John Vogl's report on his exclusive postgame chat with Ryan Miller
Ron Rolston
Jhonas Enroth
Ville Leino
March 30, 2013 - 11:01 PM
By John Vogl
Ryan Miller is just as curious as anyone as to what Darcy Regier's plans are for the trade deadline.
Regier said tonight he is open to listening to trade offers for any and all Sabres players. The general manager added he wants to build around a group that will be in Buffalo on a multiyear basis.
Miller's contract -- and those of Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek -- expires at the end of next season, but the goaltender doesn't view Regier's comments as evidence of an immediate overhaul heading toward Wednesday's trade deadline.
Continue reading "Miller doesn't view Regier's comments as evidence of immediate Sabres overhaul" »
March 30, 2013 - 8:50 PM
By John Vogl
Ryan Miller wondered aloud this month whether veterans such as himself, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek were still the Buffalo Sabres’ core. Given the team’s struggles, the goaltender didn’t know whether management viewed a rebuild as its ideal course of action.
General Manager Darcy Regier gave his clearest indication to date he is contemplating franchise overhaul.
“Where our hockey club is right now we have to be open to listening to just about anything and everything, and I am listening,” Regier said tonight after trading Jordan Leopold to St. Louis. “We have to be open to everything, and I think the players recognize that as well.
March 30, 2013 - 7:11 PM
By Mike Harrington
Darcy Regier has just finished talking to the media about the Jordan Leopold trade and about the trade deadline in general. Pretty interesting comments -- especially where he says he has talked to all 30 NHL general managers and is listening about any and every player in the Sabres organization. He also acknowledged it will be tough to keep all of his big-money players with the cap going down next year.
Translation: At least one of Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville or Thomas Vanek will likely be an ex-Sabre by 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Click the audio file below.
Darcy Regier
March 30, 2013 - 4:07 PM
By John Vogl
The Sabres' stockpiling of future assets has begun as Buffalo traded defenseman Jordan Leopold to the St. Louis Blues this afternoon for a second-round pick and conditional fifth-round selection in this year's draft.
Reports indicate the fifth-round pick becomes a fourth-rounder if the Blues win a playoff series.
The 32-year-old Leopold is in the final year of a three-year, $9 million deal with the Sabres and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Continue reading "Sabres trade Leopold to St. Louis for two 2013 draft picks" »
March 30, 2013 - 3:43 PM
By Mike Harrington
Jarome Iginla got his visa troubles worked out and made his debut for the Penguins today, so that will take some of the circus atmosphere away from the Sabres' visit to Consol Energy Center Tuesday night. But only some.
The Penguins beat the Islanders, 2-0, to win their 15th straight game and pull within two of the NHL record they set in 1993 -- but they lost Sidney Crosby after he was drilled in the mouth early in the first period.
Crosby appeared to take a Brooks Orpik slapshot flush in the mouth and the impact knocked him clear off his feet. He made it to the locker room on his own power but did not return to the game. Postgame update: Coach Dan Bylsma said Crosby lost some teeth and went to a hospital for "oral surgery". There is no word on his status for Tuesday.
Crosby is leading the NHL in scoring with 56 points and came into today 10 ahead of Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos. The Penguins' 15 wins in a row are tied for the second-most in NHL history with a 15-gamer the Islanders put together in 1982 when they were in the midst of their four straight Stanley Cup runs.
March 30, 2013 - 3:00 PM
By Mike Harrington
The Sabres' woeful power play has been a major talking point all season but they've scored in five of the last six games and improvement is readily apparent. The penalty kill, however, has taken a huge step backwards at the same time.
Heading into tonight's game against Washington, the Sabres are 27th in the NHL on the PK at 77 percent (Hmmm. A 30th-ranked power play and a 27th-ranked PK unit. That might account for being a non-playoff team). Even worse, Buffalo is 29th on the PK at home at 73.9 percent.
The Capitals, meanwhile, are second in the NHL on the power play at 24.1 percent and tied for second on the road at 22.8. Alexander Ovechkin leads the league in PP goals, with 10 of his 16 coming on man-advantage situations.
Ovechkin has tallied 19 goals and 12 assists in 29 career games against Buffalo, including two goals in two games this season. He's also coming off NHL First Star of the Week honors after piling up five goals and eight points in four games ending Sunday. And he's on a six-game point streak (6g, 4a)
Buffalo has allowed a power goal in four straight games, including two in Thursday's shootout loss in Florida. In that stretch, the Sabres have killed just 11 of 17 penalties. Under interim coach Ron Rolston, they've killed just 49 of 67, a 73.1 percent clip that would put them last in the NHL if it was their season total (Florida is currently last at 74.1).
Continue reading "Red-hot Ovechkin big test for struggling penalty killers" »
March 30, 2013 - 11:52 AM
By Mike Harrington
Lineup notes first from Ron Rolston after today's optional morning skate: Thomas Vanek will not play tonight against Washington but did take the morning skate and looked a little better, so it's possible he could play tomorrow against Boston. John Scott and Mark Pysyk will be healthy scratches, with Brian Flynn back in the lineup tonight after sitting out Thursday's shootout loss at Florida.
Jhonas Enroth will be in goal, looking for his third straight win. Enroth is 2-0-1 in three starts under Rolston, posting a 1.66 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. He's stopped 64 of 67 shots in the last two, wins over the New York Rangers and Montreal.
The numbers alone say Enroth's confidence is dramatically rising, especially in the wake of snapping his 16-month winless skid March 12 against the Rangers.
March 29, 2013 - 6:36 PM
By John Vogl
Oft-used terms around the NHL trade deadline include "sellers" and "rebuild." They normally are used for struggling teams.
They can apply to the Buffalo Sabres based on General Manager Darcy Regier's mind-set heading toward Wednesday's deadline.
March 29, 2013 - 2:17 PM
It was as if the Sabres had just spent a week in Siberia rather than Florida with how cold the atmosphere was today following practice.
Jason Pominville said talk about Wednesday's trade deadline doesn't bother him, then the captain clearly became agitated while discussing rumors. Ryan Miller said he's frustrated by Buffalo's repeated mistakes that have contributed to the team's 12th-place standing. Robyn Regehr questioned the way some players prepare for games.
All in all, it's not a happy time in Sabreland.
"I think we’re frustrated," Miller said in Northtown Center in Amherst. "I’m frustrated, as you can see. I would hope they all feel the same way I do. I don’t know, you’re going to have to ask them."
So what's eating Miller?
"Just we aren’t consistently playing to where we need to be, myself included," the goaltender said. "Every night there’s something else going on where you just look back and there’s mistakes; in my end, reads that need to be better. It’s just night after night. We’ve got to clean it up and be consistent."
The Sabres have back-to-back chances to clean it up or fall further behind. They host 11th-place Washington on Saturday in First Niagara Center and welcome fourth-place Boston on Sunday.
With the trade deadline looming, it could be the last games in Buffalo for several players.
"You hear your name, and I think you hear your name from people that want more followers on Twitter, will come out and say different things," Pominville said. "You hear your name here and there, but where are those things really coming from?
"I think we’ve just got to worry about playing. There’s going to be rumors every year. It’s the way it is. It’s the nature of the sport. It is what it is. We’ve just got to worry about what we have to do."
Pominville, who has a year left on his contract, has been mentioned in potential deals for the first time in his career. He's obviously not happy about it despite holding a modified no-trade clause in which he could name eight teams he won't accept a trade to.
"It doesn’t affect me at all," he said while clearly affected. "I just answered the question. It makes no sense to me right now. Again, I have a contract that has a clause in it, and I haven’t been asked anything. I’m not worried about it. I’ve just got to go out there and play. If something happens, then I’ll worry about it. Right now it’s just trying to win games."
The Sabres will have to beat Washington without Thomas Vanek. The left winger, who has an upper-body injury, missed practiced and is doubtful for Saturday.
To hear Pominville discuss rumors, click the audio file below.
March 29, 2013 - 10:27 AM
By John Vogl
The Sabres have been looking to add centers during the past year, and it appears they've added another.
The team has signed college free agent Tim Schaller, according to congratulatory tweets sent by several Providence teammates. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder senior was named Best Defensive Forward in Hockey East Association this season.
Schaller, 22, had eight goals and 23 points in 38 games for the Friars. He won 56 percent of his faceoffs and served as an alternate captain.
Schaller has participated in development camps for the Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks. It's expected he will report to the Rochester Americans for the remainder of this season. The Sabres have not announced the signing.
March 28, 2013 - 11:34 PM
By Mike Harrington
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Sabres had 40 shots on goal and scored four goals and couldn't beat the NHL's worst team. Pretty symbolic of their season. A 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers left Buffalo with just one point in two games down South. Hard to believe this outfit is just four points out of a playoff spot.
Going around the room.
Ron Rolston
Drew Stafford
Jason Pominville
Ryan Miller
March 28, 2013 - 6:03 PM
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Empty arenas (above) and early edition stories get me poring through game notes so you get some extras prior to tonight's 7:30 start. Cheap plug: Be sure to come back for the live blog around faceoff time. Numbers to watch:
---Minus-39: The Panthers' NHL-worst goal differential. No one else is worse than minus-22.
---2: The number of Los Angeles Kings scouts listed on the press box roster, including assistant GM Ron Hextall (yep, the fighting ex-Flyers goalie). Bet they're watching more Sabres than Panthers.
---3: Number of goals the Panthers scored in losing the last three games. Of course, Tampa was on a three-game skid Tuesday and we know how that turned out.
March 28, 2013 - 12:43 PM
By Mike Harrington
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Sabres have a long bus ride back to Fort Lauderdale so they had a quick pregame skate and exited BB&T Center without giving too many clues to tonight's lineup.
"We're confusing people right now," said a smirking interim coach Ron Rolston. "We came in, it was Blitzkrieg. We came in, quick pregame, so you have to wait for the lineup there."
Continue reading "Brennan to skate for Panthers against Sabres' 'Blitzkrieg'" »
March 28, 2013 - 8:10 AM
By Mike Harrington
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Went to bed and Jarome Iginla was headed to the Bruins. Got up and he's a member of the Penguins, likely reuniting his Olympic line with Sidney Crosby
Say what?
It all went down about 1:30 a.m. ET when the rumored deal to Boston was trumped by Calgary's announcement that their franchise player was going to Pittsburgh for the Pens' first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and the rights to unsigned draft choices Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski. Doesn't seem like much of a haul for the franchise player, does it?
So now the Penguins have added Douglas Murray, Brendan Morrow and Iginla to a team that's on a 13-game winning streak. Amazing.
Quick thoughts:
1. With the Penguins going crazy, won't other teams want to look at big names like ..... Thomas Vanek or Jason Pominville?
2. Still want the Sabres to finish eighth and sneak into the playoffs? How long will that first-rounder with Pittsburgh last? Yikes.
March 27, 2013 - 8:18 PM
By Mike Harrington
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Calgary Flames have taken the mega-unusual step of issuing a release stating that Jarome Iginla is going to be a healthy scratch for tonight's game against Colorado. That can only mean the long-awaited deal for their iconic franchise player must be close and the Flames don't want to risk an injury derailing the move.
This CBC column posted earlier today traces Iginla's lineage in Calgary all the way back to Kent Nilsson in 1979, the first year the franchise moved from Atlanta. The Puck Daddy blog on Yahoo Sports is one of many places saying Iginla's likely landing spot is Boston. The Bruins, remember, are in Buffalo Sunday night.
March 27, 2013 - 6:48 PM
By John Vogl
For decades, the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and its members have strived to deliver timely, accurate and interesting news about the sport of hockey. The PHWA has chapters in all 30 NHL cities, including Buffalo, and has 285 members this season. The Buffalo chapter has 15.
As the PHWA name implies, it's open to professional hockey writers, people who derive all or a portion of their income from the coverage of hockey. The group includes reporters, magazine and Website owners, columnists and bloggers.
John Vogl has been covering the Sabres since 2002-03, an era that has included playoff runs, last-place finishes and three ownership changes. The award-winning writer is the Buffalo chapter chairman for the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
@BuffNewsVogl | jvogl@buffnews.com
Mike Harrington, a Canisius College graduate who began his career as a News reporter in 1987, is in his sixth season covering the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and can vouch that exposed flesh freezes instantly when walking in downtown Winnipeg in January.
