Matthew Fairburn

Reporter at The Athletic

Buffalo Sabres reporter for @TheAthletic. Mizzou grad. | [email protected]

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Articles

Buffalo can't sell status quo after another step backward

6 days ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night to end their season with 79 points in the standings. That's the 10th time during this 14-year playoff drought that they've failed to hit 80 points. They haven't finished higher than 20th in the NHL standings since 2011-12, the first year of the drought. That can't be glossed over or sugarcoated. This team wasn't supposed to be rebuilding anymore. Yes, they entered the season with the youngest roster in the NHL.
Sabres' Lindy Ruff becomes fifth NHL coach to reach 900-win milestone

6 days ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Lindy Ruff became the fifth coach in NHL history to win 900 games when the Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in their season finale on Thursday night. Ruff had reached 899 wins a week ago, but a four-game losing streak delayed the milestone. Ruff, 65, joined Scotty Bowman (1,244), Joel Quenneville (969), Paul Maurice (916) and Barry Trotz (914) as the only coaches in NHL history with 900 wins. Ruff has coached the third-most games of all time.
Lindy Ruff will be back, Owen Power's injury and more: Sabres thoughts

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

BUFFALO, N.Y. - If the Buffalo Sabres had any notion that they'd figured things out or turned a corner, their recent four-game stretch should serve as a necessary reminder heading into the offseason. Lindy Ruff is still stuck on 899 career wins after the Sabres extended their losing streak to four with a 4-0 home loss to the Leafs on Tuesday night. It was a tight game throughout in which a few mistakes cost the Sabres before the Leafs tacked on a pair of goals in the final two minutes of the game.
Ten Buffalo Sabres offseason questions after yet another year missing playoffs

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

The Buffalo Sabres entered their final road trip of the season with a chance to get Lindy Ruff to 900 career wins. Instead, he returned to Buffalo stuck on 899 with two games remaining in the regular season. The Sabres blew a lead in a loss to the Blue Jackets, lost a close game in a shootout to the Florida Panthers and had a sloppy 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Chris Pronger, more weigh in on Owen Power

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Pronger has been watching Owen Power since he was a teenager playing for the Chicago Steel in the USHL. So Pronger gets confused when he sees so much criticism about Power's lack of physicality as an NHL defenseman. "He's not physical," said Pronger, who worked in the Florida Panthers' front office and now serves as an analyst on Blues broadcasts. "He doesn't touch a soul. He uses his body and has a good stick, but he doesn't lean on people.
A Jiri Kulich decision, Konsta Helenius' approach, more

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Vinny Prospal wasn't expecting this type of season from Jiri Kulich. The Rochester Americans' assistant coach saw the work Kulich put in during the AHL season last year. He saw his progress backchecking and limiting mistakes in the defensive zone. But even Prospal didn't think he'd see Kulich playing as a No. 1 center alongside Tage Thompson at age 20. "And he belongs," Prospal said. Kulich is on the verge of not being a prospect anymore. He's part of Buffalo's NHL plan next season.
What matters (and what doesn't) about Sabres' late-season hot streak

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

BUFFALO, N.Y. - It's tough to make sense of this Buffalo Sabres season. They just beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0. They've won 10 of their last 13 games, which includes a seven-game home winning streak that is the franchise's longest since 1999. During this stretch, they've gone 7-1 against playoff teams. And yet on Tuesday night they were also officially eliminated from the playoffs for a 14th straight season when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings.
What went wrong this season?

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Sabres have been eliminated from the playoffs, extending their NHL-record playoff drought to 14 seasons. They are now tied with the New York Jets for the longest active playoff drought in pro sports. The Sabres' elimination became official on Tuesday when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings. Even though the Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and have won 10 of their last 13 games, they can no longer catch the Canadiens in the standings.
Noah Ostlund's debut, Tage Thompson scores 40th and more

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

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.
'This is where I need to be'

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Matthew Fairburn

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Devon Levi has come to enjoy the drive down the Thruway from Buffalo to Rochester. After starting the season in the NHL, Levi still has his home in Buffalo and spends the weeks in a hotel in Rochester. The Sabres first sent their top goalie prospect to the AHL in mid-November. He got recalled for one game against Toronto in mid-December and another in Seattle in January, but he has otherwise been in the AHL. He goes back to Buffalo on off days to catch up on housework and unwind.