Buffalo News

'The Sabres were pretty deliberate through overtime against the vaunted Anaheim attack, drawing boos from the crowd at a couple points. The Ducks are super talented but were somehow only 2-8 in OT this season. Still, the Sabres seemed content to be patient and then go for quick bursts from Jack Eichel an others.' … [Read more...] about Ten rounds later, Sabres finally enjoy shootout win

'"What was amazing was that I hadn't seen a lot of these guys and time stood still," May said. "You walked in the building and it was like walking in the locker room again even though it was just going inside. All the hugs and how-ya-doings. It was like we had still been together."' … [Read more...] about ’07 Cup reunion with Ducks rekindles May’s memories

'The Sabres improved to 2-6 in shootouts this year and backup goalie Nilsson has won both of them. He beat Pittsburgh Nov. 17 in Buffalo.' … [Read more...] about Quick Hits: Sabres 2, Ducks 1 (SO)

'The Kings crowned the Sabres on the shot counter, 15-2, in the first period and the Sabres still had just six shots on goal with the game 35 1/2 minutes old before finally creating some offensive push.' … [Read more...] about Kings crown Sabres but Lehner gets his say

'The Sabres never figured they would be near the bottom of the NHL in possession numbers this year but that's where they are. They entered their game against the Los Angeles Kings ranked 29th in Corsi percentage in 5-on-5 play at 46.9 percent. Only Arizona was worse at 45.8. The Kings, meanwhile, led the league at 55.25.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: By lots of metrics, shot numbers are ugly

'Buffalo's last goal here was scored by former captain Craig Rivet during the third period of a shootout loss in 2010. Total time without a Sabres goal in the building: 263 minutes, 53 seconds.' … [Read more...] about Quick Hits: Kings 2, Sabres 0

'"One thing Jack has done really well is respond in the game to different situations," Bylsma said. "Whether it's a mistake or turnover or a power play that hasn't gone well, I think he's done a remarkable job lately playing that way. The last stretch of games, he's been the guy with the go-after it attitude and the keep-playing attitude. That's what I've liked about Jack the … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: With game out of reach, Bylsma sat Eichel’s line

'"That one hurts a lot," a somber Eichel said after his own-goal late in the second period put the San Jose Sharks ahead for good in a 4-1 win over Buffalo in SAP Center. "It's obviously not something that's normal. It stinks. It was the turning point of the game. They get a goal at the end of the second period and all of sudden they're leading going into the third."' … [Read more...] about Eichel’s bad-luck bounce turns tide against Sabres

'Ristolainen, however, remains a bit of a conundrum to the analytics community. It's not hard to find Web sites lambasting his play because his Corsi rating is hovering around 43 percent for the season, meaning opponents have 57 percent of all shot attempts when he's on the ice. And he's still carrying a minus-7 rating, although a good chunk of that came during his career-worst … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Points, minutes keep piling up for Ristolainen

'Michael Haley was credited with the winning goal, which came with 49.4 seconds left in the second period. Cody Franson had the puck behind the Buffalo net and tried a backhand pass to Eichel, standing just in front of Robin Lehner. The puck ticked off Eichel's skate, went through Lehner's legs, hit the goalpost and went into the net.' … [Read more...] about Quick Hits: Sharks 4, Sabres 1

'"It was definitely a little bit of a learning curve for me last year, no doubt," Eichel told The News after practice Monday in SAP Center. "Now I'm playing with more confidence. You're a year older, playing better and feeling better about my game. To me, I'm not even close to the player I was a year ago. I feel like I'm almost a completely different player. I'm looking forward … [Read more...] about Eichel looks for more success as he goes West

'The teams meet again here Tuesday in SAP Center, where the Sabres have won five straight -- and have either blanked the Sharks or held them to one goal in four of the games. But after the last meeting, you have to figure the defending Western Conference champions are going to try to come out blazing.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Notebook: Reeling in Sharks has been easy fishing

'“As I said, it goes up and down, especially – I don’t know if ‘young team’ is the right word, but ‘not-matured team’ yet,” Lehner said. “We have a long way left to go. We have some really big bright spots in our game, some good players, but you’ve got to find a way to be better at all things in all areas.”' … [Read more...] about Lehner continues to embrace his time in Sabres’ net

'“It energized our team. Not just the play, not just the goal, but the play from him.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres, Deslauriers fight back for surprising victory

'You hear scuttlebutt that others in the room aren't that enthralled with Bylsma and they're big names. But if you fire Bylsma based on that, you let the inmates run the asylum. The last thing Murray should want is to create a situation where Eichel or any other young star is tagged a coach-killer before even playing a single playoff game.' … [Read more...] about Mike Harrington: Players don’t deserve say on Bylsma