Sportsnet

'“It’s a tough situation with the ankle and the long season. You have to be fully committed to going to a tournament like that because it’s so long. We’ll see,” Eichel said Monday.' … [Read more...] about Jack Eichel unlikely to play for Team USA at world championship

'“It’s been a little bit. I think I’ve been kinda gripping my stick a little, maybe trying to make the cute play. I thought I just worked tonight. That’s the attitude I came in with: Just work hard. Take care of our own end. Compete. Battle. I thought I was rewarded early, and when that happens, it gets your game going a little bit, right?”' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Eichel ends goal-less streak, Leafs’ win streak

'"You watch his little plays, his shiftiness, the way he moves with the puck. Those little plays are definitely way beyond most guys’ [ability]," O’Rielly said. "Hopefully I get to play with him."' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Casey Mittelstadt ‘can make an impact right away’

'Despite playing only 55 games this season, Eichel still leads the Sabres in goals (22), assists (31) and points (53).' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Eichel returns to practice for first time since ankle injury

'“I feel disappointed in myself,” O’Reilly had said beforehand. “I thought I would have had more of an impact than I’ve had. It’s funny, you look at the Leafs, and how they’ve rebuilt and they’re a team that’s established and then they’re contending. That’s kind of, I think, where we were hoping to be – kind of in that scenario."' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ win over Leafs rare bright spot in dismal season

'In 196 games with the Sabres, Kane scored 68 goals, 50 assists, had 261 penalty minutes and a minus-45 rating.' … [Read more...] about Sabres trade forward Evander Kane to Sharks

'It’s not surprising that Kane is able to exert that kind of impact when you look at the type of player he is: a fast power forward who shoots as often as he possibly can. Since the 2010-11 season, only seven NHLers have put more than his 1,842 shots on net.' … [Read more...] about Why Evander Kane could be a key addition at the NHL trade deadline

'We spent the day Monday talking to people close to the Sabres. It’s a laundry list of issues, but hey, it’s never one or two things that digs a hole the depth of the one this franchise finds itself in.' … [Read more...] about Laundry list of issues are keeping Sabres in NHL basement again

'A first round pick? Maybe, but not in the top 10. A top prospect? Perhaps, but no more. a package something like Pittsburgh gave up for Phil Kessel (basically prospect Kasperi Kapanen, a late first rounder and a third rounder)? That sounds about right, although it doesn’t take into account the enormous cap savings the Maple Leafs got out of that deal, which is really what they … [Read more...] about The Buffalo Sabres’ problem with shopping Evander Kane

'A seventh straight season without a post-season game seems almost a certainty, with the Sabres on pace for just 55 points. For reference, the team finished 2014-15 with 54 points in a not-quite-hidden attempt at winning the Connor McDavid lottery.' … [Read more...] about Sabres coach Phil Housley: ‘There’s a lot of cheat in our game’

'The mask is much more modern than the one Lehner was skating around with before practice on Thursday.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Lehner pays tribute to Hasek with Winter Classic mask

'“The sense is that Buffalo feels that Kane is a better player than both those players, so they’re going to be aiming higher,” said Friedman. “I don’t think they’re going to be getting a franchise defenceman for him, but I think that’s the idea of what they want to be, and Kane is having a great year.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres open for business, is Evander Kane on the block?

'“The severity of the momentum is too much. We get deflated as a team or they score a goal,” Eichel explains. “We have to find a way to ride it out when the momentum swings and the other team’s pressing and we’re on our heels. We have to figure out a way to bend but not break.”' … [Read more...] about Struggling Oilers, Sabres search for answers to right sinking ships

'Buffalo is a one-line team with a struggling goaltender. Sure, injuries have played a part — Rasmus Ristolainen was the league leader in time on ice when he went down to injury — but it’s not as though the Sabres were showing signs of improvement when it took them six games to earn their first win of the season. Since the tank season they’ve added Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo, … [Read more...] about Atrocious Sabres a reminder tanking guarantees nothing

'Although it’s superficially easy to build a case that Eichel has been a disappointment this season, anything more than a cursory examination reveals that for the rubbish it is. He’s an awfully good player, and by and large he’s doing good things in a difficult situation. Buffalo’s problem isn’t that Eichel isn’t doing enough; it’s that they don’t have enough players like him.' … [Read more...] about There’s nothing wrong with Jack Eichel