Buffalo News

'“It stinks. Plain and simple,” said winger Alex Tuch. “Honestly. There’s no sugarcoating. We’ve had multiple chances. If you can’t win more than three in a row, you’re probably not going to be in the playoffs.”' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: There’s no runway left for Sabres after disastrous start grounds them vs. Red Wings

'But here we are. Five games to go, starting Sunday in Detroit. And they matter. Teams around them are imploding. Friday’s 4-2 Buffalo win over Philadelphia dropped the Flyers to 0-4-2 in their last six heading into their game Saturday in Columbus. Washington is 0-4-1 in its last five. The Red Wings enter Sunday 1-3-2 in their last six.' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: In an utterly wacky season, there are five games left and the Sabres are still alive

'The Sabres have better personnel than the Wings and Senators, better prospects and have established this season they have far superior goaltending in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi. They might start next season just where they opened this one: As the team most projected to take a big jump. But how many chances will this core get?' … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: Which Atlantic Division rebuild is finally going to make a playoff breakthrough?

'"We’re a team that never gives up," said Dahlin. "We don’t listen to the outside noise. We’re a strong core in here. We will look at the result once the last game has been played. All we can do is play our best every game."' … [Read more...] about Observations: Jack Quinn sparks turnaround, Sabres beat Flyers to stay alive in race

'Luukkonen was named as the Sabres’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the members of the Buffalo chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and joined defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Alex Tuch as the three nominees for the Rick Martin Memorial Award presented annually by the club.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gets nominations for pair of awards

'“Honestly, he was a little off the radar once he moved to Salzburg,” said Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, a fellow German who has played against Peterka since they were teenagers. “He’s always had a really good shot. He’s always trusted his feet and his instincts. I think it was just a matter of time to grow into his body. He was never one of the taller guys, so he … [Read more...] about JJ Peterka’s path to NHL helped the Sabres winger become a ‘real scoring threat’

'Levi’s time in Rochester this season has been a major success story and a huge addition to his development portfolio. In 19 games, the 22-year-old has posted an 11-5-3 record with a 2.52 goals-against average and a stellar .927 save percentage.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Devon Levi loaned back to Amerks for AHL playoff push

'The Sabres were able to celebrate a big win for their teammate but have to be playing the what-if game about the season and their playoff hopes. Buffalo (36-35-5) has 77 points and is just five behind Washington for the final wild-card slot with six games left.' … [Read more...] about Observations: On Jeff Skinner’s big night, Sabres’ win over Caps could have meant much more

'“I don’t want us fixated on it,” Appert told The Buffalo News. “I don’t want us looking ahead. I don’t want us looking at out-of-town scoreboards because you don’t control that stuff. I believe when you start worrying about things out of your control, you stop taking care of things that are in your control. What’s in our control is how good we are today in practice, how … [Read more...] about Rochester Americans not looking to the playoffs yet with North Division undecided

'“It’s disappointing,” he lamented. “It’s one of those things where you’ve just got to keep working. I’m not going to change the past. You can look at different things, whether it’s my first year when we missed out by a point in Carolina, or last season when we were one win short. You can go back and look at what-ifs, but to me, it’s not productive. It’s not going to help you … [Read more...] about 1,000 games into NHL career, Jeff Skinner yearns to finally reach playoffs with Sabres

'The Sabres have yet to win four games in a row this season. They’ve allowed a league-worst 90 goals in the first period and own a negative-33 goal differential in the opening frame of games. Too often, they fall behind, then allow early deficits to snowball into ugly losses. They’re still learning that a simple approach is needed on nights when they’re fatigued or not playing … [Read more...] about As Sabres wrap another .500 month, their players shoulder blame for inconsistent ways

'At some point, Pegula really needs to send us some smoke signal that he gives a damn about what is going on here. We assume he does, but we can’t know for sure since we never hear from him or even see him in the building.' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: It’s just theater of the absurd watching the Sabres

'The Sabres (35-35-5) have lost five of their last eight games and went 0 for 6 on the power play against the Maple Leafs. Toronto (42-22-9) owns consecutive wins over Buffalo, but the two teams split the four-game series this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves in the loss.' … [Read more...] about Observations: Austin Matthews scores No. 60, Ilya Samsonov shuts out Sabres in Leafs win

'That said, what was the owner thinking with a contract extension to a coach coming off a 75-point season? Would love to ask him someday if he ever speaks to the media again. The only head coaches with their club longer than Granato are Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper, Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan, Colorado’s Jared Bednar, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour and Toronto’s Sheldon Keefe. I count … [Read more...] about Inside the NHL: There’s plenty still to be decided as season finally hits April

'"When he’s feeling it like that, I mean, he’s one of the best players in the world," Sabres winger Alex Tuch said of Thompson. "I feel like he’s dominant out there and he just takes over games and when you’re playing with a guy like that, I’m just trying to create as much room and space and get him the puck as much as possible."' … [Read more...] about Observations: Tage Thompson, Devon Levi spark Sabres in comeback win