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Dan Bylsma

Snapshots: Ristolainen, Sobotka, Monsters

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Not known for a dirty or over-the-line style, Rasmus Ristolainen nevertheless was ejected from last night’s Buffalo Sabres-Pittsburgh Penguins game after delivering a bone-crushing open ice hit on Jake Guentzel without the Penguins’ forward ever touching the puck. Ristolainen had decided to hit him before the pass was deflected, and carried through the check likely not realizing it had changed direction.

Guentzel was bloodied, and lost his footing when he tried to stand up. He wouldn’t return to the game, and was immediately diagnosed with a concussion. John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that Ristolainen may face further discipline from the league, but his head coach doesn’t think he should. “I don’t like the fact that he got ejected,” coach Dan Bylsma told Vogl, saying that his defenseman was committed to the hit, and unfortunately the puck didn’t get there. The Buffalo defender will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety tomorrow afternoon.

Okposo Out 7 – 10 Days WIth Upper-Body Injury

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Buffalo’s dwindling postseason chances have taken yet another hit with news that top-six forward Kyle Okposo would miss seven-to-10 days with a rib injury, as Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma told a pool of reporters covering the team this morning. Joe Yerdon of NHL.com adds that Bylsma compared Okposo’s injury to the one teammate Evander Kane suffered earlier this season.

Okposo, in the first season of a seven-year, $42MM contract he inked with the Sabres this past summer, leads Buffalo in scoring with 43 points. His 19 goals rank second on the squad.

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News joined Yerdon among the reporters this morning in attendance for Bylsma’s statement and adds that in Okposo’s place, Nicolas Deslauriers draws into the lineup. As Harrington notes in his tweet, the Sabres have already utilized two of the four minor league recalls the team is allowed to make after the trade deadline and that for the time being the club has elected not to spend another. Recalls are allowed on an emergency basis when a team either doesn’t have enough healthy skaters to ice a full lineup or need a second netminder for a short stretch. Those recalls do not count against the limit of four.

The loss of Okposo, even if just for a week, dampens Buffalo’s already long odds of making the playoffs. Currently the team is five points out of the final wild card spot in the East and with Jack Eichel healthy and contributing at a high level, the Sabres could still make a late charge but the task is more difficult with Okposo sidelined.

 

Cody Franson Out 2-3 Weeks With Foot Injury

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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Cody Franson is set to miss some time after taking a shot to the foot in the team’s Thursday night contest against the Anaheim Ducks. Franson was seen in a walking boot yesterday and, when asked for an update today by the Buffalo News’ John Vogel, coach Dan Bylsma informed him that a bone bruise in the foot would keep the big blue liner out two to three weeks.

The injury is a double-whammy for the Sabres. Going into tonight’s game, Buffalo trails the Boston Bruins by eight points with three games in hand for the final playoff spot in the division and had a chance to gain ground on the division rival Toronto Maple Leafs with a win. Not only does Frason’s injury hurt their chances against Toronto, but it substantially weakens their defense in all nine of their remaining games this month. The other side of the injury, as Vogel notes, is that Franson may not return prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1st, and even if he does, his trade value will certainly be affected. With Franson out, the Sabres have an even greater chance of falling further out of the postseason race and becoming sellers, but Franson is also one of their top trade chips. There are wide-ranging views of Franson’s NHL value, but a market would have surely developed for his service, as was discussed in his recent Trade Candidates profile. That market is less firm following this injury news.

Franson has three goals and 13 assists in 51 games this season for Buffalo. In the second year of this two-year deal that took all summer to sign in 2015, Franson has continued to disappoint as a Sabre. Franson remains a solid defensive player, but was also a major point-producer early in his career with the Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs; Franson has not met those lofty expectations in Buffalo. A large part of his struggle has been the team’s unwillingness to give him major ice time on the power play, where historically he has been most dangerous. Franson needs a new home where he can rediscover his offensive game and be put to better use and the Sabres were very unlikely to give him an extension anyway. A deadline trade seemed very likely, but now becomes a question mark as March 1st approaches.

O’Reilly Returns To Lineup For Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres will welcome center Ryan O’Reilly back to the lineup tonight with the team in Chicago to face the Blackhawks, according to Mike Harrington of  The Buffalo News. O’Reilly last played on December 23rd and has missed the last four games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on December 27th. He was expected at the time to need 10 – 14 days to recover and it appears as if O’Reilly’s return comes slightly ahead of schedule.

O’Reilly currently ranks fourth on the Sabres in scoring with 17 points and his return couldn’t have come at a better time given the recent loss of Johan Larsson for the season. Head coach Dan Bylsma can use O’Reilly against the opposition’s top lines, thus freeing Jack Eichel to match-up against lesser competition.

Buffalo acquired O’Reilly from Colorado prior to the start of the 2015-16 season in a blockbuster deal that also brought forward Jamie McGinn to the Sabres. The Avalanche received Mikhail Grigorenko and defenseman Nikita Zadorov along with prospect J.T. Compher and a 2015 second-round pick in return. O’Reilly led the team in scoring last season with 60 points and posted the second 20-goal season of his seven-year career.

The Sabres went 2 – 2 – 0 in O’Reilly’s absence, sandwiching back-to-back, home-and-home losses to Boston with road wins over Detroit and the New York Rangers. They are tied for last in the Eastern Conference with the New York Islanders and trail the Bruins by eight points for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres Struggles, Red Wings, Senators

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The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington opines that the Sabres need to turn things around fast during a season that was supposed to be more successful. Harrington wonders if head coach Dan Bylsma is heading down “Ryan Road,” a nod to the embattled Buffalo Bills head coach, Rex Ryan. From Harrington:

Lately, it seems as if Bylsma has lost his mind. It’s to the point where it’s now an open discussion among Sabres fans if Bylsma, in just the second year of a five-year contract, should be heading down Ryan Road to the unemployment line too if his team continues to implode.

From there, Harrington lists a number of Byslma missteps which include everything from benching Jack Eichel on the power play to a philosophy that doesn’t seem to benefit the team, and instead, makes them less sure of what they’re doing. He also lays blame at the feet of general manager Tim Murray, imploring him to make a trade for a defenseman desperately needed by the team.

Not letting anyone off the hook, Harrington takes aim at ownership, wondering what their plan is after six years of no playoff appearances. He adds that it feels like nothing more than regrets for what they don’t have, and that the Sabres have played second fiddle to other teams when it comes to acquiring someone who can help Buffalo escape its recent culture of losing.

  • The Sabres head into Detroit to take on the other team jostling for the basement of the Atlantic. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Detroit needs to “chip away” at the deficit they face in the division and conference. Khan offers salvation in the way of listing three teams (Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, and eventual champ Pittsburgh) who were outside of the playoff hunt looking in last year at this time. But the Red Wings, fairly or unfairly, do not have the star power of a Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay. Khan believes that in order to ascend, the Wings must take advantage of beating the “bad” teams and Buffalo offers a chance to take advantage of this. The power play must also improve, as Detroit has the worst man advantage success rate in the league, and historically, it’s one of the worst during the entire salary cap era. Khan also thinks that help is on the way with Mike Green, Alexey Marchenko, Tyler Bertuzzi and Justin Abdelkader on the mend.
  • The Ottawa Citizen takes a look at the Senators by the numbers and finds that the team has a lot to be proud of as the new year approaches. The most compelling number? -1: the goal differential of a team in playoff position. It’s noted, however, that four others teams sitting in playoff spots are also sporting negative goal differentials, but those teams (Boston, Anaheim,  St. Louis,  and Calgary) are worse in that category than the Sens.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Matthews, Coreau

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The Sabres gave a performance worthy of Grinch-like proportions writes the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Approaching the holiday season, the Sabres gave their fans a performance akin to receiving coal at Christmas. Losing 3-1 to the Hurricanes Thursday evening, the Sabres were serenaded with boos from the home crowd at multiple points of the game Harrington reports.  More importantly, Harrington continues, are Jack Eichel’s struggles and how it has affected the team. Harrington talked to the young star after the game, who was “seething” with head coach Dan Bylsma’s decision to take away ice time. From Harrington:

Asked if he was surprised to not be on the ice, the 20-year-old said the time to discuss the topic was over.

“I think I just answered that. I’m not the coach,” he said. “Like I said, we had a lot of opportunities on the first power play. … I was on the second power play. I’m out there working hard. I think that’s all I really have to say about that.”

Bylsma was “unusually intense” during the morning skate, but his teaching apparently fell on deaf ears. Worse, Buffalo slipped into a tie with Detroit for last place in the Atlantic with the loss. Harrington writes that redemption could come in the way of beating the New York Islanders tonight.

Dec 22, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

  • Auston Matthews is set to play his first game in his home state tonight, and the excitement for his return is through the roof writes NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. From Arizona youth hockey teams to Matthews’ own parents, the entire state of Arizona has been waiting to see their homegrown son return to where many thought hockey would never last. Instead, the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft not only hails from the non-traditional hockey market of Arizona, he’s the face of the organization that many consider the epicenter of the hockey world. Matthews’ importance to the state of Arizona goes beyond just local pride. It’s the idea, Rosen continues, that Arizona finally has relevancy in hockey’s eyes.
  • Jared Coreau is set to start in net tonight for the Detroit Red Wings tweets MLive’s Brendan Savage. Head coach Jeff Blashill broke the news to Petr Mrazek, who has struggled to keep hold of the starting job in light of Jimmy Howard’s strong play. Savage adds that Blashill said he wants players to “want to be in” and though they may not agree, Savage tweets that Blashill declares that he has the final say. This season, Mrazek is 9-7-3 with an .899 save percentage. His struggles are one of many on the team this year that has landed the Red Wings in a tie for last place in the division.

Snapshots: Sabres, McDavid, Meier, Burakovsy

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The Buffalo Sabres will be getting back a defenseman soon.

NHL Buffalo correspondent Joe Yerdon reported that one Sabres coach Dan Bylsma expects one of Zach Bogosian or Taylor Fedun to travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Meanwhile, injured forward Tyler Ennis is skating on his own as he makes his way back from groin surgery. Bogosian and Ennis have been out since early November, while Fedun has been out since the beginning of December.

The Sabres host the New York Islanders on Friday night, so new Sabres winger Kyle Okposo will face his former team for the first time after nine years on Long Island/ Brooklyn. Okposo leads the Sabres in scoring with 21 points in 29 games, while his replacement on the Islanders, Andrew Ladd, has just seven points in that stretch. Okposo’s 21 points would rank second on the Islanders, behind only John Tavares.

  • Edmonton Oilers center and budding superstar Connor McDavid should win the Hart Trophy, argues Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy. Lambert took a look at the Oilers advanced stats with McDavid on the ice compared to when he’s not on the ice, and it isn’t pretty: when McDavid isn’t on the ice, the Oilers are in the bottom-half in every category for each stat for all teams from 2007-2016, but jump to mostly the top end (including some NHL bests) when McDavid is on the ice. Lambert compares McDavid’s affect to that of Taylor Hall’s tenure in Edmonton, in that the Oilers are awful without but the player is so strong that he lifts them to respectability. David Staples of the Edmonton Journal suggests that the Oilers need Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle to “twist the throttle harder” in order to boost their scoring numbers. Eberle has 23 points in 32 games but could have more, having missed some glorious opportunities while being set up by McDavid; Nugent-Hopkins has struggled with a 5.7% shooting percentage and 15 points in 32 game. More was expected from the pair of $6MM men to help mitigate the loss of Hall.
  • San Jose Sharks rookie Timo Meier will play his first NHL game on Friday night in Montreal, according to lineups posted by TSN 690’s Amanda Stein. Meier, who played junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has 15 points in 17 games in the AHL so far this season. He was the Sharks’ first pick, ninth overall, in the 2015 NHL draft.
  • The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that the Capitals have no timetable for getting Andre Burakovsky back into the lineup. Burakovsky was a healthy scratch in the Capital’s last game, a 4-2 win over the Islanders. He has just two goals and 10 points in 28 games this season.

Garrioch’s Latest: Coaches, Pouliot, Islanders, Canadiens, Hayes

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With Gerard Gallant being the first coach fired, talk has quickly swirled to who may the next to go.  Ottawa Sun columnist Bruce Garrioch reports in his latest Insider Trading column that several executives around the league believe that Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice and Buffalo bench boss Dan Bylsma are both on the hot seat.  The suggestion is that the Jets have played well enough that they should be firmly in a playoff spot instead of fighting for a Wild Card berth while the Sabres have underachieved even after factoring in the long list of injuries they’ve had to deal with.

Garrioch also provided some information about several players that are available on the trade market and what some teams are looking to acquire:

  • The Edmonton Oilers have held trade talks with a few teams regarding left winger Benoit Pouliot. He’s off to a slow start this season with just four goals and one assist in 23 games while also spending time as a healthy scratch.  The 30 year old has two years left after this with a cap hit and salary of $4MM.  Garrioch clarifies that GM Peter Chiarelli isn’t actively shopping Pouliot but he is trying to see if there is any interest in him throughout the league.
  • Islanders GM Garth Snow is looking for a top line winger to play alongside John Tavares. Long-time linemate Kyle Okposo signed in Buffalo back in July while Andrew Ladd has struggled considerably with New York so far.  Even though Tavares won’t be a free agent until July of 2018, Snow is aware that finding him another winger that he’s comfortable with would go a long way towards helping them re-sign him.  One winger who doesn’t appear to be the solution is Nikolay Kulemin, who the Islanders are actively shopping.
  • Philadelphia would like to trade defenseman Andrew MacDonald. However, with a cap hit of $5MM through 2019-20, that is a move that will be much easier said than done.  The 30 year old cleared waivers last season and almost undoubtedly would again if they tried to clear his contract through that route.
  • Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has been calling teams looking for a defenseman that could play alongside Shea Weber on their top pairing. Alexei Emelin is currently forming the other half of that duo but he’s better suited as a bottom pairing player.  Speculatively, the team would likely be looking for more of a mobile puck mover to go along with the physical Weber.
  • Boston “wouldn’t mind moving” right winger Jimmy Hayes. He has had a disastrous start to this season, scoring just a single goal in 22 games and is playing just over ten minutes per night, not exactly what they were hoping for when they dealt Reilly Smith for him back in July of 2015.  Hayes has a cap hit of $2.3MM through 2017-18 which may present some challenges to move considering his current struggles.

Atlantic Division Transactions/Injuries

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The Buffalo Sabres, already without two of their top defensemen, will now also be without veteran blue liner Josh Gorges for what head coach Dan Bylsma says will be “weeks,” tweets Joe Yerdon of NHL.com. Gorges suffered a non-displaced fracture in his foot and according to Yerdon was seen in a walking boot yesterday.

The Sabres have been without the services of Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov since early November, weakening a blue line not considered to be particularly deep to begin with. Bogosian has missed a month with a sprained MCL while Kulikov has been out for three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. However, Yerdon reports that Kulikov is now considered day-to-day, suggesting he could return to the lineup relatively soon.

The Sabres are calling Taylor Fedun questionable for tomorrow’s game and if he can’t go, the team will have to call up a defender from Rochester of the AHL. Speculatively, Casey Nelson, who already has made eight appearances for Buffalo  this season, could be the choice if a recall is necessarily.

(Buffalo Depth Cart – courtesy of Roster Resource)

  • The Florida Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Paul Thompson from Springfield of the AHL. Thompson leads Springfield in several offensive categories including: goals (six); assists (nine); points (15); power play goals (three) and; shots on goal (64). He has appeared in 20 contests so far this season for the Thunderbirds. Thompson, 28,  has just three NHL games of experience under his belt, all coming last season with New Jersey, and has yet to record a point. George Richards of the Miami Herald reports that Thompson’s recall was necessitated by an injury to Jonathan Marchessault last night in Ottawa.

Injury Updates: Chara, Boyle, Scandella, Connor, Eichel

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Zdeno Chara is day to day after the Bruins released a very short release on his status. Chara left the game after one shift in the second period, and bench boss Claude Julien reported that he knew nothing further about the injury. In the statement, the Bruins characterized the injury as lower body, while Mike Loftus tweets that the Bruins don’t expect Chara to play Thursday and that he’s “iffy” for Friday’s game. Chara is a +12 this season and has six points (1-5) in 19 games.

In other injury news:

  • Bryan Burns tweets that Tampa Bay center Brian Boyle is day-to-day with an upper body injury. Erik Eriendsson also tweets his day-to-day status and writes that he’ll be out for the game tonight. Boyle was also not at the morning skate.
  • The Minnesota Wild’s Marco Scandella is back in the lineup after missing the last 10 games. Mike Halford writes that Scandella has been skating for the past 10 days after suffering an ankle injury. He also writes that his Scandella’s return will bolster a blue line tasked with stopping the Jets’ Patrik Laine.
  • Speaking of the Jets, Kyle Connor has taken his non-contact jersey off in practice tweets Ken Wiebe. Connor has been out with an upper body injury since last week.
  • Jack Eichel might be back in 3-5 games tweets Mike Harrington. Head coach Dan Bylsma believes that “the end is near” for the Sabres being without their star center, though there is no expected timetable per Bylsma.

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