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Jack Eichel‘s latest return to Buffalo is about more than just Jack Eichel.

The Sabres‘ former captain is a headline. What’s happening in Buffalo this season goes beyond the surface.

When the league-leading Vegas Golden Knights drop in to duel on Thursday, it will be the second time Eichel has faced his old team since their messy divorce was finalized in November 2021. That trade of the club’s second overall pick in 2015 signaled the start of its next — and hopefully best — chapter, a slow-but-steady build back to being a contender.

Executing that vision has been Buffalo’s mission this season through a respectable 7-6-0 start. It’s what makes Thursday night important for the Sabres — not as a game against Eichel, but a game of genuine significance for them.

“I think we embrace it. Like, let’s embrace this game,” Buffalo captain Kyle Okposo said. “It’s a big game, and we haven’t been in big games in the last 10 years because we haven’t been in the playoffs. Let’s try and build something to where we can play in these games and have them mean something and rise to the occasion like the few times we did last year. Let’s continue that. I don’t think there’s any more pressure, but let’s rise to the challenge.”

Buffalo was in a different place when that first Eichel circus made landfall on March 10. The Sabres ranked in the bottom five of the standings at 19-32-8 while Vegas had a middle-of-the-pack 32-23-4 record. Still, the hometown team took care of business in a 3-1 victory which included Eichel being resoundingly booed by Sabres’ faithful — and that was just during his tribute video.

Whether it was the poor reception or lousy result, Eichel didn’t hold back in postgame comments fans are bound to remember come Thursday night.

“It was the loudest I’ve heard this place ever,” Eichel opined last spring. “Really. It only took seven years and me leaving for them to get into the game.”

And those boo birds?

“They must just [have been] booing because they wish I was still here.”

Eichel is long gone from Buffalo after a turbulent six-year relationship and a bitter split. The Sabres had high hopes when they selected him, envisioning a surefire superstar center to lead the franchise’s rejuvenation. That never happened. During Eichel’s tenure — including three seasons as captain — the Sabres failed to finish above .500, let alone make a postseason appearance.

The lack of on-ice results was frustrating enough. Both sides’ breaking point was more personal. It stemmed from Eichel’s neck injury in early 2021; he wanted to repair the disc issue with an artificial replacement surgery never performed before on an NHL player. Buffalo wouldn’t allow that, and Eichel wouldn’t budge, so Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams stripped Eichel of the captaincy in September 2021 and then traded him to the Golden Knights in exchange for a package that included Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs.

Vegas immediately gave Eichel the green light to have his procedure. Following a long rehab, Eichel debuted with the Golden Knights in February. A month later, he was leaving Buffalo with zero points and a minus-one rating against his old club.

Eichel’s successful start to this season — six goals and 15 points in 14 games — tracks with how good the Golden Knights have been, producing their current eight-game win streak and rising to the top of the NHL standings at 11-2-0. His hot hand could add extra spice to the impending matchup.

Buffalo has been streaking in the opposite direction, dropping three in a row after going 7-3-0 out of the gate. It’s another reason why Thursday carries so much weight. The Sabres remember how Eichel was greeted last time; that passion plays into their hands. But it’s going head-to-head with the NHL’s best that could be the ultimate slump buster.

“Everybody knows what happened last year,” Okposo said. “We’re just going to play it by ear and try to feed off the crowd. We know that people are obviously excited for this game. And we’re excited to get to our game and show that we can compete and that we can play with some of the top teams in the league. Make no mistake about it, that’s what these guys are and they’re playing extremely well and they’re the No. 1 team in the league. So we’ve got a big test and hopefully use that energy from the crowd.”


DON GRANATO COULD feel the trap coming.

He didn’t like how the Sabres practiced on Monday after losing games on the road to Carolina and Tampa Bay. Buffalo had Arizona in town Tuesday before its matchups against Vegas and Boston. It would be easy, Granato knew, to overlook the Coyotes. And the Sabres did, losing 4-1 to create a season-long three-game spiral.

Which, conveniently, leads directly into facing the Pacific and Atlantic Division leaders back-to-back.

“I didn’t like it,” Granato said of the Arizona game’s place in the schedule. “Now, did me not liking it, did I carry any negative energy into that? That’s something for me to look at too. You can go back after that game and you can probably say, ‘I told you so,’ because it played out the way it played out. That is one that we wish we would have had a better performance in.”

Hard lessons are part of the learning process. So is creating — and then sticking to — an identity. Granato’s focus is downloading that into his players, so it becomes second nature regardless of whether their opponent is rising or reeling.

Vegas is unquestionably in the former category. Eichel has been a major contributor in making it so. Granato, much like Okposo, thinks those are positive things for the Sabres. It gives Buffalo a jolt to shake off some current stagnation.

“We don’t know what the environment will be [on Thursday], but it could be pretty energized,” Granato said. “That’s great. That’s exciting. It’s good for our guys. You have to acknowledge that you are two teams who made a big trade with really good hockey players going both ways. Anybody that plays against their old team always wants to do well. It breaks the monotony of an [82-game season]. But the outcome is going to be decided by who can get to their game and play it. I believe our guys are fully committed and focused to that. I think the other side of it is just added fun and flavor.”

The Eichel trade did allow for one true homecoming, and that was Tuch’s. The player from central New York grew up a Sabres fan. This season he’s tracking towards a potential career year already, with seven goals and 11 points in 13 games. Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Krebs is coming along slowly with two assists in 11 games. It’s all part of the process.

Granato didn’t know what to expect from either Tuch or Krebs when Eichel was traded. Looking back, he has no complaints about how that trade panned out, or what they’ve added since.

“I’m real happy with where they are,” Granato said. “I can’t recollect my expectations from when we first got them, but I feel that they’ve contributed a lot to our team and to the direction we’re going and they’re both players that are going to grow with our group that’s there.”


TAGE THOMPSON DOESN’T care who’s across the ice.

Eichel or no Eichel. There’s one job to do.

“I try not to focus on all that [hysteria],” he said. “Our thing is just to focus on the game, what we’ve got to do to win. Outside noise is just outside noise. It’s a good challenge, and I think we’re ready for it.”

Eric Comrie agrees. The Sabres’ netminder could feel it during Wednesday’s practice. Buffalo’s swagger was making an appearance. Comrie was pleased to welcome it back.

“You start to see the confidence building,” he said. “And the morale gets coming back a little bit, everyone starts getting more positive, and that’s when things start clicking again. It’s always that, at first, your attitude starts to dip and then all of a sudden, your play starts to dip and then all of a sudden, your attitude starts coming back and your play starts coming back. So I think it’s a big correlation between positivity and positive things happening on the ice.”

All Buffalo has to do now is translate that against Vegas. The Sabres have dealt with a few injures of late, including to Rasmus Dahlin (who missed the Tampa Bay game with an upper-body ailment), Mattias Samuelsson (lower-body) and Henri Jokiharju (facial fracture). This recent stretch has given Buffalo its first taste of adversity this season. It won’t be the last.

But the Sabres haven’t forgotten their identity and don’t plan to either, regardless of which former friends are now waiting in the wings.

“I think we’ve got a really good team,” Thompson said. “I think everyone here believes that too. So I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone in this room that we were going to come out hot. We’re going through a little bit of a slump right now, but we’ve got a good opportunity [against Vegas] to get back in the win column, so we’ve just got to turn the page and move forward.”

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.

The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.

If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.

“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”

Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.

“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.

The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.

“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.

Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.

The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.

San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.

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Acuña replaced in HR Derby by teammate Olson

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Acuña replaced in HR Derby by teammate Olson

ATLANTA — Ronald Acuña Jr. won’t participate in the Home Run Derby, replaced Friday by Atlanta teammate and fellow All-Star Matt Olson.

Acuña is a starting outfielder for the National League and still is expected to play in the All-Star Game on his home field. Olson is a reserve infielder.

Instead of Acuña, Olson will try to become the first Atlanta player to win the Home Run Derby on Monday night. He could become the fourth to win at home. The All-Star Game is Tuesday night.

Olson competed in the 2021 Derby while with the Athletics. He was eliminated in the first round. The 31-year-old entered the weekend with 17 homers this season.

The other scheduled participants are Brent Rooker, the first for the Athletics since Olson, along with Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees, Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and James Wood of Washington.

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Bellinger goes deep for 3rd time after Cubs rob HR

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Bellinger goes deep for 3rd time after Cubs rob HR

NEW YORK — Robbed an inning earlier, Cody Bellinger wasn’t sure his first three-homer game had been swiped away again.

“I didn’t know at first,” he said. “For that third one to finally get over feels pretty good.”

Bellinger hit three two-run homers against his former team and was denied a fourth by a spectacular catch, leading the Yankees to an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Aaron Judge made a trio of outstanding grabs in right field for the Yankees, who have won five straight games following a a six-game losing streak.

Bellinger, whose dad Clay played for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, is a two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP.

He spent 2023 and 2024 with the Cubs, hitting .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games last year while missing time because of a broken right rib. The Cubs traded him to New York in December with $52.5 million remaining on his contract and agreed to pay the Yankees $5 million.

He homered in a three-run third off Chris Flexen and in the fifth against Caleb Thielbar for this 18th multihomer game. Bellinger nearly went deep in the seventh but was robbed by Kyle Tucker on a drive above the right-field wall.

“I was watching it. He timed it up perfect, so I was a little sick about it, honestly,” Bellinger said. “But it was a good catch.”

“Boys were giving me a hard time after he robbed it. Boonie was giving me hard time,” Bellinger added.

A four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, Tucker snatched the ball as a fan tried for it, the spectator clasping both sides of the outfielder’s glove.

“I caught the ball and he caught my glove, so I figured even if I dropped it they’d probably look at it and get it overturned,” Tucker said. “I’ve probably had some encounters with me trying to go into the stands and catching a ball and me hitting someone’s hand or whatever but I don’t know if anyone’s ever actually kind of caught my glove while doing it.”

Bellinger homered in the eighth off Jordan Wicks, just above the red glove of leaping center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and into the dark glove of a kid in the front row.

“The fan just beat to the spot,” Crow-Armstrong said. “He just had a better chance of catching it higher than I did.”

Bellinger, who had rounded first, watched and then smiled when he saw he had hit No. 3.

“Glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it,” said Bellinger, who met the boy after and got the ball back. “I’ve seen PCA rob so many homers. He’s a freak athlete out there.”

Bellinger is batting .406 over a career-high 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .285 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs.

He had spoken with his Cubs ex-teammates during batting practice.

“No, no, no revenge,” he said. “Honestly, ultimately it was just fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I hadn’t seen in a while and I shared a bunch of good memories with them for these past two years.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and manager Aaron Boone encouraged Bellinger to emerge from the dugout for a curtain call.

“He was a little reluctant, but then the Bell-lin-ger” over the dugout got pretty loud. So I think he succumbed to it,” Boone said. “Belly’s loved being here and loved playing here in a meaningful place to him, going back to his childhood.”

Bellinger turns 30 on Sunday and can opt out of the final season of his contract this fall. With long balls and wide smiles, he seems to have found a home in the Yankees clubhouse.

He tried not to make much of getting the three homers against the Cubs, but Bellinger’s teammates could sense the significance.

“It’s always good to go against your old teammates that you spend a lot of time with, you know, you respect,” Boone said. “To perform right away against them I’m sure probably is a little cherry on top for him.”

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