Latest news with #BuffaloSabres'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
All HUT Fantasy Hockey Updates In NHL 25 Through Apr. 27
Sabres' Off-Season Must Radically Shake Up Team Culture The Buffalo Sabres' off-season has many priorities, includng getting the team's seven RFAs signed to contract extensions. But the overarching change for the franchise is clear: there has to be an extensive culture change, one that charts a new course for an organization that has flailed often as it tries to end what is now a 14-year stretch without any Stanley Cup playoff action. 3:35 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
New York Times
06-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Sabres thoughts: Noah Ostlund's debut, Tage Thompson scores 40th and more
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rochester Americans coach Michael Leone has come to expect that Noah Ostlund will be at the rink hours before practice is scheduled to start. That's the reputation the Buffalo Sabres' 2022 first-round pick has developed among the coaching staff during his first year in North America. The 20-year-old spent two seasons in Sweden before coming to the AHL, and he already has the habits of a pro. He's regularly watching video and going through an extensive off-rice routine to get his body ready for practice. Advertisement 'He practices like his life depends on it,' Leone said this week before Ostlund got called up to make his NHL debut in the Buffalo Sabres' 3-2 shootout win against the Lightning on Saturday. Ostlund smiled when asked where that work ethic comes from. 'I don't see it as work,' Ostlund said after practice Friday. 'I just love hockey and want to get as good as possible.' So far, so good. Ostlund was recently named the AHL rookie of the month. He has 36 points in 44 games for the Amerks this season after starting the year with one point in his first 11 games. Ostlund was battling through a hand injury that required surgery. Amerks assistant coach Vinny Prospal said, 'He came back a totally different player.' When Ostlund first came over from Europe, the coaching staff talked about whether he would start at wing or center. When Jiri Kulich got called up to the AHL, Ostlund got an opportunity to center Rochester's top line and hasn't looked back. He has 14 goals since the AHL's All-Star break, and the Amerks have 58 percent of the goals when he's on the ice at even strength. 'He's a relentless worker,' Leone said. 'He's an every-dayer. He's a quiet leader with the group. He's playing 1C in the AHL and the consistency, he's got 14 goals since the All-Star break and it's his play away from the puck that stands out. He's a winning hockey player. He's everything you want.' Prospal echoed that, calling Ostlund 'a coach's dream' because of the way he works and brings others along with him. The Amerks use him on the power play and penalty kill. He has three short-handed goals. Coming out of the draft, Ostlund was lauded for his skating, 200-foot game and playmaking. None of that has changed, but Ostlund also has put work in on his shooting. He has 19 goals in the AHL this season. If there's a knock on him at this point, it's that he's dealt with injuries the last few years. He's listed at 5-foot-11 and 171 pounds. Coaches see a player who doesn't use size as an impediment. Advertisement 'The amount of hits he takes to make plays in hard areas, you would think he's 6-2, 6-3,' Leone said. 'He's fearless.' Added Prospal: 'I know everybody is saying, 'Oh is he strong enough?' He's proving every freaking game that he is a good enough player to go around it. The strength and the finish of his growth and development, it will come … He's not afraid to go into the corner to take a hit and make a play. You don't often see it with young prospects that they would be willing to play that complete game. Noah is a complete hockey player. All he needs is time to develop.' This call-up gives Ostlund a chance to get a taste of the NHL. In his debut, Ostlund got just 8:37 of ice time, 2:04 of which came on the power play as part of Buffalo's second unit. Ostlund played on the fourth line between Beck Malenstyn and Sam Lafferty, mostly because Ruff didn't want to disrupt the other three lines that have been playing well. Ostlund took a tripping penalty but was engaged in puck battles throughout the game. He still has to develop more in Rochester. He'll get to be one of the key players during the Amerks' playoff run and will likely be back there next season. Ruff said he would have liked to have gotten Ostlund more ice time in his debut, but the Lightning were shortening their bench and the Sabres followed suit. He thought Ostlund made smart plays in the defensive zone. 'He's going to play some hockey for us and I thought that was a good start,' Ruff said. 'A win in his first NHL game.' 1. Tage Thompson hit the 40-goal mark for the second time in his career with a powerful wrist shot from the slot. He leads the league with 30 five-on-five goals and he's second in the NHL in goals since the 4 Nations tournament. 'I thought he was dominant tonight,' Ruff said. TAGE THOMPSON HITS 40 GOALS ⚔️#LetsGoBuffalo — Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 6, 2025 It's worth pointing out that Thompson has done this with a few different linemates throughout the year. Ruff shifted Thompson to the wing, and it seems clear that's benefited Thompson. Lately, he's been playing with Zach Benson and Jiri Kulich, two of the youngest players on Buffalo's roster. And still, Thompson is producing the way he is. Thompson was quick to credit Benson, who forced a turnover and got the assist on Thompson's goal. Advertisement 'His tenacity on the puck, he's a little rat,' Thompson said. 'I love the way he plays. He's hard working, moves his feet. It doesn't matter the size of the guy he's going against, he's going to come out with the puck. For me when I'm playing with him I just try to put it in areas where he's going to get it. I think you see that on that goal. Place the puck in the corner, he goes in there, strips and makes a great play to get it to the slot. He's got some really good hands and vision. Pair that with his work ethic and he's a lot of fun to play with. 2. Jason Zucker got his 20th goal of the season and added to his team lead in power-play goals. Once again, Zucker scored right at the front of the net, grabbing a loose puck and quickly depositing it into the back of the net. The Sabres could use another player with Zucker's net-front skills in their forward group next season. 3. James Reimer now has wins in six straight starts. He made some key saves throughout the game and stood tall in the shootout. Zucker joked that the 37-year-old goalie is 'about to turn to dust with how old he is.' 'He's a heck of a guy,' Zucker said. 'He's a hell of a teammate and had an amazing career. He's showing why right now.' Reimer told me after practice Friday that he's going to sit down with his family after the season and discuss what the future holds. His kids are getting older, so he thinks whatever he decides needs to be a family decision, especially considering how much he's moved around the last few seasons. But Reimer certainly has looked like someone who has something left in the tank the last couple of weeks. 'There's the strictly hockey side of it, the family side of it, the whole life part of it,' Reimer said. 'I'm just enjoying these last couple of weeks here and then when the season is over, we'll take some time as a family, see where we're at and go from there.' 4. Josh Norris skated on his own on Friday, but Ruff still didn't commit to a timetable for his return from a mid-body injury. At this point, there are seven games left in the season, so the Sabres are running out of time to get him back into game action. The same goes for Jordan Greenway, who also hasn't practiced with the team since leaving Buffalo's March 23 game against Winnipeg with a lower-body injury. Ruff said he would like to get them both back in, but time will tell. Tyson Kozak, meanwhile, is dealing with a hip injury and is week-to-week. He's unlikely to play for the Sabres again this season but should be able to play for the Amerks in the AHL playoffs.
New York Times
15-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Sabres thoughts: Why Rasmus Dahlin thinks Buffalo looks like ‘a real team' now
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres' season has been a miserable slog, but their home win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon gave just over 16,000 fans in Buffalo a rare reason to go home satisfied. With 2:33 to play in the third period, it looked like Jack Eichel was going to spoil an otherwise strong game from the Sabres. The home fans booed the former Sabre every time he got the puck throughout the game, and those boos got even louder when he tapped home a rebound to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead. Eichel skated toward the boards and raised his hands to the crowd in celebration. Advertisement Then shortly after that, Tomas Hertl tried to help Eichel rub it in further. Skating down ice with Buffalo's goalie pulled, Hertl had a look at the open net. He passed up the backhand shot and tried to dish the puck back to Eichel. Peyton Krebs was backchecking hard for the Sabres and dove to knock the pass away, giving the Sabres possession. That gave the Sabres one last shot to tie the game late. And a lot of little things needed to go right for that to happen. First, Ryan McLeod won a faceoff against Eichel. Then Tage Thompson and Bo Byram needed to make a play to keep the puck in the offensive zone. And finally, Alex Tuch set a perfect screen to block Adin Hill's vision so Rasmus Dahlin's one-timer blew right by him. 'I just think a total lack of respect,' Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said about his team's performance. 'That's probably most of the night. But the way it kind of ended sums that up. 'I'd like to see him shoot the puck into the net and end the game. I think the whole team would like to see that.' Hertl gave the Sabres a break, but they still needed to do something about it. The way this season has gone, the Sabres have too often folded at any sign of adversity. This time, they answered. Dahlin's goal sent the game to overtime, and the Sabres won in a shootout on a decisive goal from Tuch. 'Unbelievable,' Dahlin said of the team's response to Eichel's late goal. 'We want to do something good here.' RASMUS DAHLIN TIED THE GAME WITH 13 SECONDS LEFT — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 15, 2025 There hasn't been much good about this Sabres season. They are in last place in the Eastern Conference and trending toward a bottom five finish in the NHL standings. Their inconsistency has been mind-boggling. They're 2-6-1 in their last 10 games, and those wins have come against the Oilers and Golden Knights, two legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Advertisement 'It seems like we play a lot better against the good teams in this league,' McLeod said. 'I don't know if we take our foot off the gas or think it's going to be an easy night against the teams who aren't as high up in the standings. I think if we go in with the mindset that we're playing a Vegas or an Edmonton every night, it's going to do us better than thinking it's going to be a point night or an easy night. These are building blocks for us.' The obvious caveat is that late-season success doesn't always carry over into the following October. Sabres fans don't need a reminder of that after the last few seasons. A few impressive wins aren't going to change a lot of minds in Western New York when this season ends without the playoffs for the 14th straight season. But this team can't go through the motions, either. There have been signs they aren't going to do that. One came against the Red Wings on Wednesday when Thompson jumped in to defend Josh Norris and then other Sabres joined the fight. That same game, Alex Tuch fought after Jacob Bryson took a hit to the head. On Saturday, Jiri Kulich was on the receiving end of a hit to the head from Brett Howden, and Krebs immediately dropped the gloves. A few minutes later, Jordan Greenway fought Keegan Kolesar. 'That is what we need every response, every instance,' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. 'It was missing earlier in the year, the Devil game. That's an automatic in and love what Krebs did.' Dahlin said the Sabres have had a lot of recent talks as a team about how they want to play the remainder of the season. He said there's a 'different vibe' around the team right now. 'Guys are stepping up and being really good leaders,' Dahlin said. 'Guys want to be here. We want to make a difference. A lot of things you guys don't see.' Advertisement Consistency within games and throughout a season has eluded the Sabres. But if they can at least use the final month of the season to become a more tight-knit group on the ice, that would be a step in the right direction. 'You clearly see we're a bit of a different team now with Krebs today, Greener,' Dahlin said. 'We're stepping up for each other, and now we look like a real team now. This is a start of something good, I think.' 1. Ruff is starting to put a lot of faith in McLeod. Not only does McLeod get the prime matchup minutes against top players on the other team, but he's now getting power-play time for the Sabres. On Saturday, he made a play on the power play to force Alex Pietrangelo into a careless pass up the middle of the ice. Jason Zucker picked it off and scored. McLeod also had a goal of his own against Vegas and finished the game with 22:08 of ice time. He now has 36 points, easily a career high, and is plus-10 through 62 games. 2. For the second straight game, Zach Benson made a noticeable impact in a top-six role. He played alongside McLeod and Zucker, and the Sabres had 73-percent of the scoring chances when Benson was on the ice at five-on-five. On Wednesday against the Red Wings, Benson got an audition on the top line with JJ Peterka out with a lower body injury. He had an impressive assist with a no-look pass to Norris and then later scored a goal on the power play. Benson has been praised since he entered the league for his play away from the puck, his tenacity on the forecheck and the fact that he's rarely out of position. It's easy to forget he was a prolific scorer in junior, because the 19-year-old has been stuck in a bottom-six role for most of the year. You could argue he shouldn't have been in the NHL so soon, but Benson has the confidence and mental makeup to withstand learning on the fly at the top level. He brings a different skill set to those lines because of the way he forechecks, retrieves pucks and has the vision and quickness to make plays down low. He's not the fastest player and doesn't have an overpowering shot, but the Sabres have plenty of shooters in the top six. Mixing and matching skill sets is important. Benson should continue to get looks with high-end offensive linemates so the Sabres can get a gauge of his potential in that role. 3. The Sabres are giving Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen a massive workload this season. He has 49 games played. Only Connor Hellebuyck and Andrei Vasilevskiy have played more. That might be negatively impacting his performance. This week, he was rock solid against the Oilers and Golden Knights but then had a rough outing against the Red Wings allowing seven goals on 29 shots. He's allowed five goals or more in three of his last six starts. At the very least, the Sabres are going to learn what Luukkonen looks like late in the season with this type of workload. Luukkonen hasn't been nearly as consistent this season, and his backup, James Reimer, is on a one-year contract. Devon Levi is having a terrific season in Rochester and looks ready to make the jump to the NHL next season. But a Luukkonen-Levi tandem is a risky proposition for the Sabres. 4. Norris was out of the lineup on Saturday because of what Ruff described as a mid-body injury. Ruff said it wasn't anything that happened against the Red Wings, it was an injury he's been dealing with. Advertisement Peterka missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury, but Ruff expects him to join the team for the road trip next week. Kulich didn't finish the game against the Golden Knights after taking a hit to the head. Ruff said he seemed ok after the game, but the team will need to see how he responds tomorrow to know what his timeline for a return is. Jacob Bernard-Docker, acquired from Ottawa in the Dylan Cozens trade, got his immigration situation settled and joined the team for practice Friday. Ruff said there's a chance he'll work him into the lineup during the road trip.
New York Times
29-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why Sabres sent down Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Tage Thompson dominant at wing: Takeaways
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A few days before the Buffalo Sabres' season started in Prague, I was talking to Dylan Cozens about their newly assembled fourth line. General manager Kevyn Adams brought in Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel to help establish a fast and physical identity in the bottom six. New coach Lindy Ruff compared the group to a running game in football, capable of wearing down teams with a consistent forecheck. Advertisement Expectations were so high that Cozens had this to say: 'I've loved watching those guys play. They all just fly up and down the ice and blow guys up. They really have an identity. It's awesome to watch, and I can't wait to see them play against real NHL teams here and just roll over them. They all love what they do, and it's going to be so fun to watch them roll over guys, buzz up and down the ice and be hard to play against. I would not want to play against them.' That never came to fruition. Monday, the Sabres waived Aube-Kubel, who played only 19 of Buffalo's first 49 games and had only one goal and one assist. Aube-Kubel played just over five minutes in his first game with the Sabres before suffering a knee injury that kept him out for weeks. He came back earlier than the Sabres expected but wasn't quite himself. 'Admittedly, he said to me that he felt good but didn't feel he skated as well as he did,' Ruff said Tuesday. 'I thought through camp he really skated well. But coming back, it just didn't seem like he was catching any traction.' Aube-Kubel, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract in the summer, ended up out of the lineup as a healthy scratch even once the injury had fully healed. Ruff said the recent play of Jiri Kulich made the Sabres want to keep him on the roster. Jordan Greenway is also getting closer to returning from his injury. And Tyson Kozak played well enough during his most recent call-up that the Sabres wanted to get him back in the NHL. This isn't an ideal outcome, but the injury is a bit of bad luck that's tough to ignore. Part of what Aube-Kubel was supposed to bring to the table was speed. He showed it in training camp and the preseason, but he was playing with a knee brace when he returned from injury. The same juice he had in September never fully returned. He had some encouraging moments but wasn't consistent enough. Advertisement Aube-Kubel passed through waivers and will now play in Rochester. Lafferty has also struggled to make an impact. He's signed for another season after this one at $2 million, and he too missed time with an injury earlier this season. But Tuesday, Ruff put Kozak back in the lineup and scratched Lafferty. This isn't the vision the Sabres had for the fourth line at the start of the season, and it's one of many reasons they haven't been able to climb out of the basement in the Eastern Conference. 1. Tage Thompson's hat trick was the highlight of the Sabres' 7-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Thompson is up to 25 goals and 44 points in 45 games this season. While that's still off his 97-point pace from two seasons ago, it's a welcome sight to see him dominate a game like this. He has more than carried his weight despite the team's struggles. Moving to wing while Kulich centers the top line has helped take some of the defensive responsibility off his plate while he has played through an injury. But it could be a permanent change. 'Playing center, it's a bigger responsibility,' Ruff said. 'He's coming up the ice a little later. And when I look at what he was generating, and now what he's generating just playing the wing and letting (Kulich) do the work, it only makes sense just to leave him there. And the fact that he got three tonight should help me talk him into it.' Thompson said his main focus has been being adaptable regardless of the position he's playing or the linemates he's had. He has adapted well to playing on a line with Kulich and JJ Peterka, who had a hat trick of his own against the Bruins. One of Peterka's goals was an empty-netter, but the other two were for the highlight reel. His first goal came on a perfect wrist shot off the rush. On his second goal, he split a pair of defensemen and beat Jeremy Swayman while making an off-balance shot. Thompson and Peterka became the first Sabres teammates to score hat tricks in the same game since Drew Stafford and Derek Roy against the Atlanta Thrashers on Jan. 18, 2008. Advertisement 2. Given the work Kulich has done at five-on-five, it seems like only a matter of time before he gets a promotion to the Sabres' top power-play unit. Kulich has been working on the second unit, but Buffalo's top power play hasn't been impressive. Kulich's shot made him a dominant player with the man advantage in the AHL. Ruff said he has already seen him adjust to needing to score from different spots on the ice. That showed when he scored just after a power play expired against the Edmonton Oilers over the weekend. Ruff thinks the other players on that unit could look for Kulich more because he's getting open. Putting him in Jack Quinn's place on the first unit could help that group. 3. The St. Louis Blues waived Brandon Saad on Tuesday, and he could appeal to the Sabres. The 32-year-old is under contract through next season with a $4.5 million cap hit. That's a lot for a player who has taken a step back this season, but he brings a hard-nosed playing style the Sabres could use more of. He has also won two Stanley Cups, and his experience would be a welcome addition. The Sabres have enough cap space to take a chance on him. (Top photo of Tage Thompson's hat trick: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
