Sabres Edge

The Boston Marathon memorial ribbon is on the scoreboard and the ice during a moment of silence Wednesday in TD Garden. (Getty Images)

The Sabres got a huge win last night in Boston and are still alive in the playoff race with the New York Rangers coming to town Friday (after hosting the Florida Panthers tonight in Madison Square Garden).

The team had a brief, 20-minute workout today in Amherst and will fully turn to the Rangers in video sessions and their pregame skate Friday morning. But it was basically impossible today to not reflect on last night's emotional shootout win over the Bruins, an event that is the talk of the nation and far transcends sports in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

"It was probably the most emotional game I've ever been a part of for so many reasons," said Steve Ott. "The way the Boston fans and community with what they've been going through, it's obviously been a horrific 2-3 days now. For them to come out there and cheer and put some smiles on their faces for a couple hours is the least we could do to try to battle for the fans and show the pride of both teams."

"I had chills just looking around," Lynnfield, Mass., native Brian Flynn said of the fans-led national anthem. "I don't think there was one person in the stands that wasn't singing."

Added interim coach Ron Rolston: "It was an amazing night. It was a great tribute for the people of Boston. I know for our guys and certainly the staff, it was really a great event to be part of."

Click below to hear audio from Ott, Flynn and Rolston. Plenty of talk about the Boston game and some about the keys to the Sabres somehow staying alive in the playoff race in the face of all their deals at the trade deadline and their injuries.

Steve Ott

Brian Flynn

Ron Rolston

By Mike Harrington

As you would imagine, some pretty raw emotions in the Sabres' locker room early this afternoon as they got set to head to Boston for Wednesday night's game against the Bruins, which will be the first in the city since Monday's bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Rookie defenseman Chad Ruhwedel was playing last week for Frozen Four team Mass-Lowell, a 30-minute commuter train ride away from downtown, and was shaking his head that he could have been at the site of the blasts had he not signed his pro contract and come to Buffalo on Saturday.

"It was just heartbreaking to see that," Ruhwedel said. "The Boston Marathon is huge. Marathon Monday is huge. People go out having fun all day long. It's a good time all day. For something like that to happen is devastating.

"If I didn't have this great opportunity, I'd probably would have been down there hanging out with my team. It hit me like that. I would have been somewhere in the vicinity."

Ruhwedel said he talked to friends, teammates and family members and everyone is OK in the wake of the blast. He said his teammates didn't see the actual explosions but were close by in the area when they happened on Boylston Street at 2:50 p.m.

Winger Nathan Gerbe, a former Hobey Baker runner-up at Boston College, had a look of similar shock.

"You know exactly where it is. I've walked past there I couldn't even tell you how many times," Gerbe said. "At times for yourself, you thank God for keeping you safe. But something like this happening is embarrassing for our world to affect innocent people and innocent children. Sad."

Gerbe said he's likely to just stay inside the Sabres' hotel the next couple days and not wander around Boston like he normally does.

"I think you're a little worried going into the city obviously," he said. "They don't know exactly why and how and who. You don't know the rhyme or reasons around it. Going into the city, I'm a little nervous and a little cautious I guess. I don't know if I'm going to go out walking around in the city or not. I'm probably just going to stay in the hotel and chill."

Steve Ott, who has a 5-year-old daughter, said he was touched deeply by the death of 8-year-old Martin Richard in the blast.

"It's horrific. Obviously life doesn't make sense sometimes," Ott said. "... The stories that are coming out of that incident are just horrible."

The Sabres figure to enter an emotionally charged atmosphere Wednesday in TD Garden, with the eyes of the nation likely to be on pregame ceremonies.

"It's going to be a little bit overwhelming to start the game with heavy hearts just as people," Ott said. "It's extremely disheartening to hear and see. ... I'm sure there will be a lot of mixed emotions. ... Everyone is going to be playing with heavy hearts. It's going to be very touching to start the game."

Click below to hear audio from Gerbe, Ruhwedel and Ott.

Nathan Gerbe

Chad Ruhwedel

Steve Ott

By Mike Harrington

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The door to the Buffalo Sabres' dressing room opened early this afternoon at MTS Centre and the media swarmed Steve Ott. The horde that covers the Jets had already seen stories on TSN and other North American outlets linking our post from earlier today on Ott's explosive interview with WGR and there were other questions to be asked.

When most of the inquisitors were gone, I stayed and asked Ott for a few more thoughts. The biggest one he offered came when I asked him how worried he was about the fan booing saga becoming a factor in free agents or other players being willing to come to Buffalo.

"The reason why I care so much is because I have desire to be a Buffalo Sabre for a long time," Ott said. "I don't want to go anywhere. I've made that quite clear I want to be here for a long time. If I'm a UFA guy or trying to attract players, there's nothing better than coming into a building knowing, "Wow, this is a fun place to play.' And that's obviously concerning in the aspect of UFAs and trying
to attract the right players into the Buffalo Sabres."

Continue reading "Ott not worried about reaction back home, says he wants to be a Sabre 'for a long time'" »

By Mike Harrington

MONTREAL -- Thomas Vanek has two goals in the last 11 games, while Jason Pominville has two in his last 12 (and none in the last seven), so interim coach Ron Rolston is breaking up his top line for tonight's game in the Bell Centre.

Vanek will skate with Tyler Ennis and Ville Leino, while Steve Ott moves to the No. 1 unit with Pominville and Cody Hodgson. The line of Marcus Foligno-Kevin Porter-Brian Flynn stays intact while the fourth line will be Drew Stafford-Patrick Kaleta-Jochen Hecht.

"We're not winning as much as we want so obviously we're going to change things up but it doesn't matter," Vanek said. "Whoever you play with you try to make the best out of it. I've always said it doesn't matter who you play with, how much. You're a professional and you move on and deal with it.

Continue reading "Vanek and Ott switched as lines seek chemistry" »

By Mike Harrington

MONTREAL -- The Sabres have hugged it out and Patrick Kaleta is back in the lineup tonight at the Bell Centre.

That was the mood of the dressing room after today's pregame skate. Kaleta, suspended for five games and held out Sunday for another, was greeted by a swarm of Montreal media in the wake of Sunday's kerfluffle in Washington and said he had no issue with what Ryan Miller said after the game.

(The Sabres did not make Miller available to the media today even though Jhonas Enroth is starting; Miller, like many goalies, does not speak prior to games in which he is playing).

"He's like my brother, one of my best friends on the team," Kaleta said of Miller, his former road roommate. "Some things were misunderstood there but we're family. Our season hasn't gone the way we wanted it to go and everyone knows that. Our job is to come together as a team and go out there and battle."

Continue reading "After extra game out, Kaleta is back" »

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.

By John Vogl

While disappointment over the Sabres' 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh today was evident throughout the dressing room, there were wildly different views of the game.

Steve Ott, for example, was impressed with how the Sabres rallied from a 2-0 deficit and had a lead in the third period. Ryan Miller, in a profanity-filled chat, was furious the team blew that lead and got no points.

Continue reading "Sounds from the Sabres' dressing room following 4-3 loss to Penguins" »

Ryan Miller and Mike Weber combine to thwart Chris Neil. (Getty Images)

OTTAWA -- When you're judging quality of defeat, you know it's a bad season. That was the situation the Sabres were in after Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place. 

There was plenty of merit to the thought because it was a big improvement over the previous three games. The offense generated chances (but didn't get nearly enough traffic in front of Craig Anderson) and for a good 35 minutes, the defense wasn't running around in its own end and smartly moved the puck around. No issues with Ryan Miller either. 

Continue reading "Postgame audio: Miller, Ott and Foligno after another tough loss" »

Thomas Vanek is pumped after pulling the Sabres within 4-3. (Getty Images)

By Mike Harrington

It certainly helps to have the NHL's leading scorer but it's still hard to imagine the Sabres are third in the NHL in goals with 35. But that's the fact. Of course, being tied for last in goals-against with Washington (41) remains a huge issue.

Here's the latest numbers on Thomas Vanek's epic start to the season:

Continue reading "The latest Vanek attack (with postgame audio)" »

Mikhail Grigorenko has been a surprise in the faceoff circle. (Getty Images)

By Mike Harrington

BOSTON -- The Sabres have to be quicker on the draw. That's become plainly obvious this season. But it could really be a major issue tonight.

Buffalo enters the game last in the NHL in faceoff percentage at 42 percent -- and the Boston Bruins are No. 1 at 60.7 percent. There's been plenty of chatter on Twitter in recent days over how significant the Sabres' troubles in the circle really are. I say it's one key problem to the season (although I would list lack of secondary scoring and poor play along the blueline as bigger trouble spots).

(*I acknowledge a decent argument can be made that six games is a small sample size, although I remind you it's already 12.5 percent of the season. And it also can be pointed out that the numbers might even out a little bit as well because 42 percent is historically bad; the last-place team in the league has never been under 44 percent since 1998.).

Let's start by comparing the two teams' numbers. The NHL lists faceoffs in wins-losses format so a team or player that's, say, 20-25 has won 20 and lost 25 and is NOT 20 OUT OF 25 (Going 20-25 essentially means 20 of 45).

Continue reading "By the numbers: Faceoff follies could spell difference tonight" »

By Mike Harrington

BOSTON -- It's been nearly 15 months but Milan Lucic-Ryan Miller was still on the media's minds today in TD Garden in advance of tonight's Sabres-Bruins game. Boston reporters swarmed new Sabres Steve Ott and John Scott in the locker room after the team's 40-minute pregame skate and peppered Lindy Ruff with questions about the Sabres' new approach.

Was adding Ott and Scott a reaction to Lucic? "It was just overall team toughness, make us a grittier team," said a clearly agitated Ruff. "It had nothing to do with the Bruins."

"You try to win the puck battles and the territorial battles. We have to win a game. Not coming out of here with points is not being successful. In a short season we need points. We've answered the physcial challenge. We've been there for each other from day one in this. We play a gritty style, a hitting style. We have to win games."

Continue reading "Ruff wants two points from Bruins, not a pound of flesh" »