Buffalo News

'“The best part about him is practice is the game for him,” Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton said after practice Tuesday in KeyBank Center. “When he laces them up, he’s playing the same way. … Even in summertime, it’s July and he’s almost high-sticking a guy. That’s just him. He’s always on. There’s not a little level. It’s not one, two, three, four, five. And when he’s on, … [Read more...] about How Peyton Krebs has earned Lindy Ruff’s trust since Sabres training camp began

'“Honestly, I think the decision (to miss the San Jose game) – I told them I was ready if they needed me,” Thompson explained. “That’s the decision they made. I would have liked to play, but I think it was smart, for sure, to take an extra few days, especially where our team was at. ... It was more about making sure I was ready to go and not returning too soon.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: Tage Thompson ready to return to lineup against Wild

'No idea what’s up with this: Buffalo is 7-1-0 against the Western Conference and only 4-8-1 against the East. The Sabres are taking advantage of a run of West teams on the schedule that continues with five of the next six games being home contests against West clubs (Minnesota, Vancouver, Colorado, Winnipeg and Utah).' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Points to ponder after Sabres’ golden sweep out West

'“I’m exhausted,” Tuch admitted, relaxing his shoulders while flashing a grin. “It’s exhausting, honestly. It really takes a lot for all 20 of us to come in. It’s 22 hours with travel, we get into the hotel at 2:30 last night, you’re sleeping as much as possible, you’re eating as much as you can, you’re taking a nap if you can. It’s a quick turnaround, honestly. … They took it … [Read more...] about Sabres complete California sweep with another comeback win: 5 takeaways from San Jose

'Barring some major pump in production over the final 60 games, Quinn has answered the question about whether he’s going to need a long-term, big-money deal going into next season. He’s not getting one and JJ Peterka probably is.' … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Sabres winger Jack Quinn insists he’s healthy. Now he just needs to score

'The Sabres (10-9-1) have won six of their last eight games and took over the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card playoff spot. They also moved above .500 after failing to do so twice last week, but they needed a comeback to prevent the Ducks (8-8-3) from playing the role of spoiler.' … [Read more...] about Jiri Kulich’s goal completes comeback, moves Sabres above .500: Takeaways from OT win

'Entering their game Friday against the Anaheim Ducks in Honda Center, the Sabres were tied for the NHL lead in goals by defensemen (13) and ranked fifth in points (50). Dahlin and his fellow blueliners accounted for 21.3% of Buffalo’s goals through 19 games, the fourth-highest mark in the league.' … [Read more...] about Sabres notes: Defense scoring a sign Buffalo’s offense is evolving

'“I think it means a lot to our team,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after his players totaled 10 shots on goal between the second and third periods. “That’s part of the growth. You’ve got to get comfortable in a game like that where it’s tight. … I thought our compete on the puck was where it needed to be to win a hockey game and there compete was high too. It was a hard game … [Read more...] about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s heroics help Sabres shut out Kings: Takeaways from a 1-0 win

'“I was actually telling him the other day how much his game has improved from Colorado,” Aube-Kubel, now Byram’s teammate on the Sabres, told The Buffalo News following practice Tuesday at Toyota Sports Performance Center. “You could see the potential there and the energy that he had there, but coming here and a few years later, it’s crazy how his role has evolved and how he … [Read more...] about Bowen Byram’s recent games show why the Sabres made the blockbuster trade

'“It’s one of those things if you really had to (play), you can, but you don’t want to make it worse, and that’s the biggest thing about it,” Luukkonen said after practice Monday in KeyBank Center. “You don’t want to miss a longer period of games. You kind of want to make sure to get it well and be back to 100 percent and not risk it.”' … [Read more...] about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen pumped to return to No. 1 slot in Sabres’ net

'Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will update the media on Tuch and Tage Thompson following the morning skate Wednesday. Their availability for the game with the Kings (10-6-3) will be determined by how they recover from practice.' … [Read more...] about Sabres practice report: Alex Tuch returns as Lindy Ruff shuffles lines

'The demotion of Levi is a twofold move: The primary point is he needs playing time and his development is stunted by being an NHL backup when the Amerks can absolutely make him their immediate starter. The other side of it is that, frankly, he just hasn’t looked like an NHL goalie enough of the time this season to merit staying.' … [Read more...] about Devon Levi’s return to Rochester, Isak Rosen’s return to NHL highlight a busy day on Sabres’ roster

'The Buffalo Sabres put up a classic nothingburger for most of the game Saturday night in Wells Fargo Center. Their 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers was borne out of too many trips to the penalty box, a lineup thinned by injuries and an offense that generated few quality scoring chances until a pair of window-dressing goals in the final 10 minutes.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Takeaways: Not much going on in bland loss in Philly

'The Sabres were simply taking heavy precautions in keeping Thompson out of the game against the Philadelphia Flyers. He skated fully and looked fine during the team's optional morning skate and all signs appear to have the team's No. 1 center returning when it opens its roadie Wednesday night in Los Angeles.' … [Read more...] about Tage Thompson takes Sabres’ morning skate, is confident he’ll return to lineup Wednesday

'Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams continued to be a hot topic at the GM meetings in Toronto, with several outlets pointing to Adams as one of the busiest talkers in the league. Out of those rumors has come some absurd chatter out of Vancouver about the Canucks trying to pry defenseman Bowen Byram from the Sabres; Adams is looking to improve his depth and not subtract from it, … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Brooks Orpik had the best seat and best results from Penguins-Capitals rivalry