April 15, 2013 - 12:40 PM
By Mike Harrington
The Sabres are off today and will return to practice Tuesday morning before heading to Boston for Wednesday night's game against the Bruins.
Interim coach Ron Rolston has a very interesting decision on his hands when it comes to his goaltending. Jhonas Enroth pitched a shutout Saturday against the Flyers and came back Sunday to backstop the 3-1 win over Tampa Bay.
Enroth is red-hot right now -- 4-0-1 in his last five starts with a 1.37 goals-against average and .958 save percentage. The Sabres basically have to win their last five games to have any shot of the playoffs, so how do you take him out now?
Continue reading "Enroth giving Sabres good dilemma in goal" »
By John Vogl
MONTREAL -- Ryan Miller is the Sabres' No. 1 goaltender. There's no question about that.
There was a question of whether he'd start tonight against Montreal, though. Miller has been struggling, while backup Jhonas Enroth was stellar in a 3-2 overtime win Tuesday against the Canadiens. Folks were eager to see which netminder would leave the morning skate in Bell Centre first, which is typically the signal for that night's starter.
Miller left first and will play for the second straight game. Interim coach Ron Rolston said he gave no thought to going back to Enroth.
Continue reading "Sabres stick with Miller in net despite his struggles, Enroth's surge" »
March 19, 2013 - 12:00 PM
By Mike Harrington
MONTREAL -- Quick notes from the end of the Sabres' morning skate:
---Interim coach Ron Rolston said after Sunday's game he might break up the top line and he made good on the thought today. Thomas Vanek has been dropped to the second trio and replaced by Steve Ott. Patrick Kaleta is also back in after missing six games, five on his suspension and Sunday's as a healthy scratch.
The lines were Ott-Hodgson-Pominville, Vanek-Ennis-Leino, Foligno-Porter-Flynn, Hecht-Stafford-Kaleta. The scratches are Gerbe and Scott.
---Jhonas Enroth will be in goal in place of Ryan Miller. He's 2-0 in three games against the Habs in his career with a 2.42 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
More to come, with audio.
March 12, 2013 - 11:17 AM
By Mike Harrington
The Sabres had plenty of roster moves to make in advance of tonight's game against the New York Rangers but interim coach Ron Rolston surprised the media during his morning briefing with another one: Jhonas Enroth will start in goal for the Sabres tonight because Ryan Miller has a sinus infection.
Miller will serve as backup and he's expected to be fine for the weekend; the Sabres are off until Ottawa is here Saturday. Enroth, of course, came within 6 1/2 minutes of a shutout Thursday in New Jersey before leaving with coffee-induced cramps.
"We sealed the coffee lids," Rolston joked.
What's no joke is the coach wants to see the backup -- who remains winless since Nov. 26, 2011 -- try to put together a second straight solid game.
Continue reading "Miller out with sinus infection; Enroth to start against Rangers" »
By Mike Harrington
It was past 3 a.m. when most of the Sabres hit their beds after the flight home from Florida, so they delayed practice today into the afternoon and it was a short, 25-minute affair at the Northtown Center at Amherst. A few players stayed on an extra half-hour or so working, largely because there's no morning skate before tomorrow's 3 p.m. game against New Jersey in First Niagara Center.
Thomas Vanek was the only missing healthy player, with interim coach Ron Rolston said it was simply another maintenance day. Jordan Leopold was back at practice, skating on the extra defense pair with T.J. Brennan. Winger Ville Leino, who has not played this year due to his bad hip, skated hard on his own for nearly 40 minutes prior to practice and then skated in a limited role with his teammates for the first time in a full practice session since Jan. 18.
"Rehab has been good lately, I've been skating the last five days pretty hard and I was going pretty hard today," Leino said. "I felt pretty good. If it's not too sore the next two days, I'll be pretty close to being able to play."
Leino needs to practice fully to get back in the lineup but he said it's possible he could be playing by late next week, perhaps next Thursday in New Jersey or by the March 10 game at his old stomping ground in Philadelphia.
Continue reading "Leino close in return from injury, Enroth close in return from oblivion to crease" »
February 5, 2013 - 1:20 PM
By John Vogl
OTTAWA – Jhonas Enroth is getting another chance to do something he hasn’t done in 15 months: win.
The Sabres’ backup goaltender will get the start tonight in Ottawa against the Senators. Enroth is 0-1 this season and hasn’t won since Nov. 26, 2011. He finished last year on an 0-9-2 skid and suffered a 6-3 loss in Carolina in his only start this year.
Continue reading "Enroth to start in goal for Sabres against Senators; Ehrhoff out with injury" »
