WGR

'This is not ideal circumstances for Granato to come into and he doesn’t even know if he can practice on Saturday, “There would be an option to wait a day. I mean take a day to wait it out and I think we’re leaning that way.” Granato said he needs to meet with Kevyn Adams to decide what’s best for the organization.' … [Read more...] about New coach Don Granato got to work in his first practice with the Sabres

'NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes reports that the Sabres and Colorado Avalanche are closing in on a deal to send the Swedish netminder to Denver.' … [Read more...] about Report: Sabres are trading goaltender Jonas Johansson to Colorado

'Just hours after the firing on Wednesday, TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun shared a text conversation he had with the former Sabres head coach. When asked about his brief time in Buffalo, Krueger was nothing but class, as usual, in his response.' … [Read more...] about Krueger ‘loved every minute’ of tenure as head coach in Buffalo

'Unfortunately for Granato and the Sabres, the song remained the same. The blue and gold were defeated for the 13th-straight game as they were downed by the Bruins by a final score of 4-1. It was the first of these team's eight meetings in the shortened season.' … [Read more...] about Winless streak reaches a baker’s dozen for the Sabres

'The Sabres are horrendous with their execution in practice. It’s something that hasn’t been lost on Granato and he said, “We will be practicing differently and there will be quite a difference there because habits do go from practice to games.” The new head coach added, “We need to demand more, push harder and practice is another opportunity to do those things.”' … [Read more...] about Opinion: The Don Granato era has started in Buffalo

'New interim coach, same permanent results.' … [Read more...] about Opinion: Three observations: New coach doesn’t lead to spark from losing Sabres

'Ownership is the constant in all of this failure. That failure has, of course, led to all of this turnover. There are an awful lot of body bags stacked up outside. My sense is that with each failure, from Pat LaFontaine all the way to Ralph Krueger, the owners have trusted the people they hire a little bit less, and with that have become more involved in hockey decisions than … [Read more...] about Opinion: What now?

'With Granato shifting to become the interim head coach, director of player personnel Matt Ellis will step in behind the bench to serve as one of his interim assistant coaches. Meanwhile, player development coach and former NHL defenseman Dan Girardi will also step in behind the bench to replace Steve Smith.' … [Read more...] about Sabres fire Ralph Krueger as head coach

'I have never seen a team sloppier in practice than the Buffalo Sabres. Simple passes aren’t completed on a regular basis, and going offside during drills is a regular occurrence that is never corrected.' … [Read more...] about Kevyn Adams: Many reasons went into firing Ralph Krueger

'The Sabres had a response in the second period, as the team scored twice in a span of 57 seconds to tie and claim their first lead of the night. Tobias Rieder's fifth goal of the season evened the score, before Jeff Skinner turned the tides and made it 2-1 with his second of the campaign.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ winless streak reaches a dozen

'Skinner scored a nice goal and was feisty and getting under the other team’s skin. To me, that had been missing during his slump and it’s a big part of his game, to get the opponent to concentrate on getting him back and not him scoring.' … [Read more...] about Opinion: The good effort doesn’t matter. The Sabres still haven’t won in 12 games

'The Sabres were at the top of the league in power play percentage eleven games ago, but as of today, Buffalo has fallen to 9th in the NHL with a 26% conversion rate. The Sabres are 0-for-18 on the power play in their last eleven games.' … [Read more...] about Opinion: Three observations: Sabres show fight but push winless streak to twelve games

'Washington capped the scoring barrage at 6-0 when Alex Ovechkin scored his 717th-career goal, moving into a tie for sixth all-time with Boston Bruins legend Phil Esposito.' … [Read more...] about Winless streak hits 11 as Capitals drub Sabres

'There seem to be no answers for this team in the middle of their mid-season tailspin.' … [Read more...] about Opinion: Three Observations: Sabres lifeless in 6-0 loss to Capitals

'Krueger was very impressed with the third period even though they were outscored 2-0 because they out shot Washington 14-6. Krueger failed to take into account that Washington was in cruise control just waiting to hop on their plane to get out of town.' … [Read more...] about Opinion: The Sabres just keep getting worse as their winless streak hits 11 games