Alex Lyon compares his career as a professional hockey player to that of a cockroach.
Bear with the Buffalo Sabres goalie. He’s the cerebral type.
Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon makes a save in the second period against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 24 at KeyBank Center.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
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Noah Ostlund scored two goals to help the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers.
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Panthers goaltender Alex Lyon stops a shot by Sabres right winger Alex Tuch during the second period of the Panthers’ 2-1 win on April 4, 2023, in Sunrise, Fla.
Associated Press
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A waiver pickup from St. Louis at the end of training camp who was an ECHL player as recently as two years ago, Ellis is 3-1 with a 2.76 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in his first four career NHL games.
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Yale goalie Alex Lyon is shown during the first period of an NCAA game against Michigan Tech on Jan. 10, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz.
Rick Scuteri, AP file
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Benson has no goals and eight assists this season but was driving play on the top line along with Tage Thompson when he got hurt. The Sabres were 4-1-3 with Benson in the lineup and entered Wednesday 3-7-1 without him.
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Buffalo News writers Rachel Lenzi and Mike Harrington hop the boards for another Ice Time to discuss the Sabres’ difficult schedule ahead, their difficult luck with injuries and the all-too-difficult Eastern Conference. Mike and Rachel first take a look at the Sabres’ road trip, which began Wednesday in Utah and hardly gets easier from there. They pay a visit to Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche, then head to Detroit before a four-game homestand. From there, it’s the all-too-frequent topic of injuries. Mike and Rachel discuss Jiri Kulich’s unfortunate but scary blood-clot issue and how it affects the Sabres’ center situation. What does Lindy Ruff want from his centers? What about Buffalo’s faceoff percentage … which, in case you hadn’t seen, ranks 32nd in the NHL. There’s also the matter of Jason Zucker’s potential timeline to return. Finally, Mike and Rachel also discuss their most surprising teams in the all-too-tough Eastern Conference, as well as the tall tasks the Sabres face when they do come home – Edmonton, Calgary, Chicago and Carolina. The Buffalo News Ice Time Podcast is sponsored by Express Windows.
Sabres wing Zach Benson sets goal of consistency for third NHL season
Zach Benson keeps going back to the “C” word.
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Sabres left wing Zach Benson moves the puck against the Sharks at KeyBank Center on March 4.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
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Sabres left wing Zach Benson, middle, battles Ducks defenseman Brian Dumoulin in front of Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal on Feb. 25.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
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How miserable are Buffalo sports fans? ESPN has a tool to gauge that
Ryan Evans moved to Western New York in the mid-1990s and became a Buffalo Bills fan a few years after the team’s memorable four-year run of Super Bowl appearances.
It was a little too late to celebrate the full scope of near glory, but close enough that Evans still saw the Bills, led by quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Doug Flutie, make the playoffs from 1995-99. Then Evans endured the Bills’ 17-season playoff drought, a dubious stretch that ran until 2016.
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Bills quarterback Doug Flutie scores the game winner vs. the Jaguars on Oct. 18, 1998, at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park.
Buffalo News file photo
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Although Sabres fans do not need a caption, this is the moment before the Stars won their first Stanley Cup. Brett Hull’s controversial goal late in the third overtime gave Dallas a 2-1 victory over Buffalo in Game 6 in 1999.
Associated Press file photo
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The Sabres see what they could be. The NHL sees them differently. How does this team break the spell?
Ask Tage Thompson about the identity of some of the top teams in the NHL, and he doesn’t hesitate to explain what a winner looks like.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, he said, created an identity based on a zippy, high-octane offense, and by thriving on special-teams play.
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Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams: “We have to be team that, at the end of the night, when we’re home, teams will say: ‘That’s a tough building to come into; that was a tough night.’ I think we’ve been too easy to play against, and I’ll take responsibility for that. That’s not anything to do with age or fighting, but it’s being more competitive. Harder to play against. Competitive.”
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
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The Buffalo Sabres and goalie Alex Lyon completed the preseason with a 5-4 overtime loss Friday in Pittsburgh, and open the season at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center.
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Sabres left wing Jason Zucker: “We’re young. We’re fast. We can make a lot of plays. But we’re still trying to work on what it’s going to be for this year, to be quite honest. I think we have what we’ve been in the past, and I think we’re trying to update that, to be a grittier team, to be a bit harder to play against.”
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
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Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has made one of his team’s defensive goals clear: Cut that goals-against number by at least 50.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
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Sabres center Tage Thompson on the team’s identity: “Blue-collar, speed and work ethic. The simpler we keep things, the better success we set ourselves up for.”
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
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Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, left, and center Tage Thompson celebrate Dahlin’s goal in the third period of an exhibition against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 1 at KeyBank Center.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
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If Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is out for any extended period, it would appear the Sabres will start the season with Alexandar Georgiev and fellow vet Alex Lyon sharing the crease.
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Sabres pack bags, fortitude for longest road trip of season
Don’t expect the Sabres to pack lightly for the next two weeks. They’re toting winter coats, playing cards and shaving kits to Western Canada, but they’re also carrying an expectation: Get wins on the road.
The Sabres are 26 games into an 82-game regular season, and have yet to create consistency outside of Western New York. They prepare for their longest road trip of the season, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Philadelphia, the first game of a six-game, 12-day trip that spans two states, three Canadian provinces and all four North American time zones.
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Buffalo Sabres right wing Josh Doan (91) scores against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom (40) in the first period of their game at KeyBank Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Joed Viera/Buffalo News)
Joed Viera/Buffalo News
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‘He was unbelievable’: Sabres relish Josh Norris’ return in 5-1 win against Winnipeg
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Nine goals against Chicago was a fun one to watch, but this was probably the season’s most complete performance. And it came against what is supposed to be an elite opponent.
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Buffalo block party: Sabres defensemen Conor Timmins, Mattias Samuelsson ready to get in the way
Conor Timmins has never really thought of blocking shots as a skill, or even as a way to make it as a professional hockey player.
To him, it’s an instinctive measure, a means to keep a puck from making it all the way to the goal he is defending.
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Sabres defensemen Conor Timmins, bottom right, and Mattias Samuelsson help kill a Utah Mammoth power play on Nov. 4 at KeyBank Center.
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
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Buffalo Sabres left wing Zach Benson returned from missing 10 games with a lower-body injury, and has nine assists in nine games.
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Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, middle back, blocks a Columbus Blue Jackets shot during the third period on Sept. 23 at KeyBank Center.
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
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‘The greatest goal-scorer of all time’: Sabres to face Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, who pursues 900th goal
Beck Malenstyn only scored eight goals in his four seasons with the Washington Capitals.
The left wing is 10 games into his second season with the Buffalo Sabres, but he remembers one teammate who always led the proverbial parade whenever one of the Capitals put the puck in the net.
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Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin takes a shot during a game against the Sabres on Jan. 6.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
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