Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans! It’s another game day, as the Sabres are in Ottawa to face the Senators this evening as they continue their road trip, returning home next Saturday.
To kick things off on this Friday morning, here’s some news and notes from around the hockey world to get you going:
The Buffalo Sabres may be reviewing a check that was thrown in Wednesday’s Rochester Americans game. Darren Archibald threw a check on Amerks defenseman Jake McCabe, who was knocked out of the game and eventually taken to the hospital as a precaution.
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- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects
McCabe’s status is uncertain going forward, though early reports say he may have suffered a concussion. He’s going to be out for a bit of time either way, leaving the Amerks thin on defense, with Mark Pysyk also out of the lineup.
Of course, the Amerks are also thin on forwards, with a number of players – including Mikhail Grigorenko, Philip Varone and Tim Schaller – up with the Buffalo Sabres. To help fill in, they’ve signed Michael Pelech to a tryout contract.
Pelech joins his brother, Matt, who has been with the Amerks since December. There’s also a third brother playing hockey — Adam, who suits up for the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
In more general NHL news, the ticket drive in Las Vegas has slowed down considerably — but the league isn’t worried about it. Like anything else, the ticket drive had a solid showing at the beginning but has slowed down recently. I think that’s to be expected, particularly in a market where hockey isn’t necessarily going to be the #1 draw.
From USA Today this morning, the NHL scoring race heats up as the top two contenders are… none other than Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
My thoughts: Wow, no way, really? I never would’ve thought that those two would be at the top of the league in scoring. Never in my wildest dreams.
Some other links for you to check out today:
- Bleacher Report re-ranks every NHL team’s prospect pool…. and not surprisingly, the Buffalo Sabres ranked at the top. As the piece from BR says, the Sabres have a lot of depth and talent in their prospect pool, from guys like Sam Reinhart to J.T. Compher and the now-injured McCabe.
- Former NHL head coach Marc Crawford has made headlines… on Deadspin.
- NHL.com ranks the five teams that did the best at this year’s trade deadline. Of course the Sabres, who traded away their best goaltender and one of their best forwards, didn’t make the list.
- Finally, the Florida Panthers are holding a fan contest to find a goaltender. No, seriously. (Okay, sort of. If you win, you get signed to a one-day contract and get to practice with the team. It’s still pretty neat!)
Finally, a little bit of self-promotion here, but the OJHL’s Buffalo Jr. Sabres host the Georgetown Raiders in game six of their first-round playoff series tonight. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at HARBORcenter, so if you’re looking for something fun to do tonight, come on down and support the team as they look to even up the series.
Next: Sabres Face Roster Overhaul
More from Sabre Noise
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects