It is common to romanticize the past, and when it comes to hockey, fans of my generation in Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, and New York would tell tales about going to Maple Leaf Gardens, Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium, the Olympia, the Montreal Forum or Madison Square Garden.

For fans in Buffalo, the same can be said about Memorial Auditorium.

“The Aud", as it was lovingly nicknamed, was built in 1940 and remodeled after the Sabres inaugural season in 1970. It served as the club’s home until this day in 1996, when the last NHL game against the Hartford Whalers was played. The club's original home had oddities, but that gave it some charm. Unlike modern-day arenas that are required to have a 200 x 85 ice surface, the Aud was one of three NHL arenas that had slightly smaller sheet due to their older construction and smaller size.

On April 14, 1996, the #Sabres played their last game at the Memorial Auditorium. Here's a tribute that played on @WGRZ that evening. Full game of #Sabrehood vs. #Whalers at https://t.co/xGsGEPOCpzpic.twitter.com/k7auFKxack

— SabresClassics (@SabresClassics) April 14, 2025

Other Sabres Stories

Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday?The Buffalo Sabres are currently focused on finishing off the 2024-25 season on a positive note after most of the campaign being dominated by the negative. The club is looking to win their third game in a row in Utah on Thursday after a shootout win over Vegas on Saturday and an overtime victory in Boston on Monday. Barring an incredibly successful final 16 games, the Sabres are likely to finish in the bottom five of the NHL standings, and with a number of questions that will need to be addressed in the offseason. Sabres Ownership Ranked Worst In NHL By Survey In The AthleticThe Buffalo Sabres season began with the hope of ending their long playoff drought and will end on April 17th with a 14th consecutive year outside of the postseason. There are a number of contributing factors to the club’s struggles, but according to an article in the Athletic that surveyed fans from every NHL club, Sabres owner Terry Pegula is ranked last among the 32 owners. Dahlin Refutes Assertion Of Wanting Out Of BuffaloAs if the Buffalo Sabres do not have enough drama with the club heading for their 14th consecutive season outside of the playoffs, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin refuted a report from TNT panelist and Spittin Chiclets co-host Paul Bissonette that the Sabres team captain met with GM Kevyn Adams and wants out of Buffalo if the club does not improve quickly.

Renovations to the building raised the roof to put an upper deck on it and increased the seating capacity to 16,433. However, unlike the evenly balanced bowl of the Key Bank Center, the Aud was oddly arranged, with one end having a small number of rows because of the suites located there and the other end consisting of over 20 rows.

The upper deck was incredibly steep and hung over the ice, giving fans an incredible view, while others seated in the highest level of the lower bowl — known as the “upper blues” — could not see the scoreboard and had to view the game on TV screens. One of the best features of the old barn is one of the worst features of the Sabres' current home: the sound.

The low roof and hundreds of sound cones helped trap and evenly distribute the noise in the building, making it an especially great venue for concerts and a raucous hockey crowd, which gave the Sabres a distinct home-ice advantage. There have been very few times over nearly 30 years (and not for a lack of fans trying) that KeyBank Center has echoed as the Aud did on many nights.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Vincent Trocheck scored a short-handed goal early in the third period against his former team, and the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday night.

Trocheck, playing in his 800th game, got the go-ahead goal during a Rangers comeback like none other this season. The Rangers were 0-30-1 in games where they trailed by two or more goals, the NHL’s only winless team this season in such a scenario.

But they got goals from Juuso Parssinen and J.T. Miller 1:38 apart late in the second to tie the game, erasing a 3-1 deficit. Matt Rempe and Jonny Brodzinski also scored for the Rangers.

Sam Reinhart scored twice and Carter Verhaeghe also had a goal for Florida, which got two assists from Aleksander Barkov.

The loss means Florida is locked into third place in the Atlantic Division and will open the Stanley Cup playoffs on the road.

Takeaways

Rangers: Florida fans gave retiring Rangers broadcaster Sam Rosen a warm ovation during a first-period stoppage in play when he was shown on the video screens. Panthers coach Paul Maurice and general manager/hockey operations president Bill Zito also paid tribute to Rosen before his final road game.

Panthers: Florida needs a win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday to reach 100 points for the third time in the last four seasons. The Panthers got to the 100-point mark once in the franchise’s first 27 seasons.

Key moment

Trocheck’s blast from the left circle came in a stretch where Florida kept losing the puck with the man advantage, and the Rangers made them pay.

Key stat

For the second consecutive year, the Panthers have five 20-goal scorers. Verhaeghe got there Monday, joining Reinhart, Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett — the same fivesome as last year.

Up next

Rangers end the season at home Thursday against Tampa Bay. Florida visits the Lightning on Tuesday to end its regular season.

The Florida Panthers final regular season game at Amerant Bank Arena did not go very well for the home team.

Florida allowed a multi-goal lead to evaporate before eventually allowing the New York Rangers to score four straight and take down the Panthers 5-3.

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to start the game off on the right paw.

With Florida on an early power play, Sam Reinhart stepped into a one-timer from the high slot that went through the legs of Jonathan Quick to give the Cats a 1-0 lead at the 2:22 mark.

An icing on the Panthers about six minutes later led to the Rangers tying the game.

Right off the faceoff in Florida’s zone, a point shot by K’Andre Miller was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, but the puck trickled behind him and was poked in the net by an observant Matt Rempe.

Early in the second period, a point shot by Gus Forsling was stopped by Quick, but the rebound bounced off the leg of Carter Verhaeghe and into the net, his 20th goal of the season.

The Cats doubled their lead about 10 minutes later when a great play in the corner by Sasha Barkov led to another Reinhart one-timer from the slot.

Just when it looked like the Panthers were in control, the Rangers reeled off a pair of quick goals less than two minutes apart late in the period to send the game into the third knotted at three.

New York scored their third consecutive goal early in the third, and it came while shorthanded.

Sam Bennett brought the puck back into Florida’s zone after the Cats had just cleared it on a Rangers entry, and suddenly New York had an odd-man advantage down low.

J.T. Miller fed Vincent Trocheck and a quick one-timer later, New York had their first lead of the game.

With Florida pushing for a late equalizer, Chris Krieder found the puck below the Panthers goal line and slickly fed Johnny Brodzinski in front to double New York’s lead with only 3:29 to go.

On to Tampa.

QUICK THOUGHTS

The loss locked Florida into third place in the Atlantic Division. They will face either Toronto or Tampa in round one. 

Reinhart’s goals were his 38th and 39th of the season and his first in four games.

Evan Rodrigues is riding a three-game point streak after logging an assist on Reinhart’s PPG.

Verhaeghe has now scored in three straight games and he’s picked up at least a point in four straight.

Barkov has a three-game point streak going after logging a pair of assists on Monday. He’s got 11 points over his past 10 outings.

Another player with points in three straight is Seth Jones. He’s got a goal and five assists over his past nine games.

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The Nashville Predators (29-43-8, 64 points) host the Utah Hockey Club (37-30-13, 87 points) for their penultimate game of the season Monday at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators are looking to complete the season sweep of their Central Division rivals after winning the first two games of the series. Nashville won a 4-0 shutout against Utah at home on Nov. 9 and claimed a 4-3 shootout win last week in Salt Lake City.

Predators defensive prospect Ryan Ufko, who was recalled Monday from the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, will make his NHL debut against Utah. Originally drafted by Nashville in the fourth round (No. 115 overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Ufko made his pro debut with Milwaukee last season after three collegiate seasons at UMass Amherst.

Ufko has recorded 35 points (9 goals, 26 assists) and three power-play goals in 80 AHL games. He is the seventh player to make their NHL debut for the Predators this season, joining Zachary L'Heureux, Joakim Kemell, Fedor Svechkov, Adam Wilsby, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Matthew Wood. Ufko will draw into the Predators' lineup Monday in place of defenseman Andreas Englund, who is out with an illness.

Hot lap number 7 for the #Preds this season: Ryan Ufko pic.twitter.com/2MWMgRDPFz

— Emma Lingan (@emma_lingan) April 14, 2025

How Nashville Lined Up vs. Utah

Forsberg-O'Reilly-Evangelista
Bunting-Stamkos-Wood
L'Heureux-Svechkov-Marchessault
Smith-McCarron-Vrana

Skjei-Blankenburg
Oesterle-Barron
Del Gaizo-Ufko

Saros
Annunen

Extra: Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body), Englund (illness)
IR: Lauzon, Wilsby, Josi

Nashville Predators vs. Utah Hockey Club: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 0, UTA 0)

The Buffalo Sabres have announced that goaltender Scott Ratzlaff has been assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Ratzlaff, 20, spent this season in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds. In 49 games this campaign with the WHL squad, he posted a 23-19-4 record, a .910 save percentage, and a 3.16 goals-against average. Now, with the Thunderbirds' season over, Ratzlaff will finish the campaign with Rochester. 

Ratzlaff was selected by the Sabres with the 141st overall pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. In 160 games over five seasons with the Thunderbirds, Ratzlaff has put together an 87-55-5 record, a .909 save percentage, and a 2.90 goals-against average. 

It will now be interesting to see if Ratzlaff makes his AHL debut with the Amerks before the season is over from here.

Recent Sabres News 

Sabres Star Finishing The Season Red-HotThe end of the season is just about here for the Buffalo Sabres, as the Atlantic Division club will not be in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year. While this is the case, the Sabres have been playing some of their best hockey of the season, winning eight out of their last 10 games.

The Seattle Kraken have recalled defenseman Ville Ottavainen from the Coachella Valley Firebirds on an emergency basis. 

The 22-year-old defenseman has played 66 AHL games this season, scoring three goals and 14 points. It's a step down in production from his rookie season where he scored eight goals and 34 points in 70 games. 

Listed at 6'5, 216 lbs, the Kraken selected Ottavainen in the fourth round (99th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft. 

The Kraken have one final game remaining on the schedule, a home game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. If any defenseman is unable to play, Ottavainen will step into the lineup to make his NHL debut. 

When he returns to the AHL, he'll continue to be a key contributor to their blue line in what they hope will be another long playoff run.

Stay updated with the most interesting Kraken stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

Former Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Chris Simon has been posthumously diagnosed with Stage 3 CTE, Dr. Chris Nowinski, the founding CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, announced Monday morning.

Simon was drafted 25th overall by the Flyers in the second round of the 1990 NHL Draft, but the Flyers later traded Simon to the Quebec Nordiques as part of the package for legendary forward Eric Lindros.

Simon played in the NHL for 15 seasons, with his last NHL game having been played nearly 17 years ago to the day on April 15, 2008. Simon participated in 101 fights in his NHL career.

Breaking: Former #NHL player Chris Simon has been diagnosed with stage 3 #CTE at the @bu_cte Center. The Stanley Cup winner died by suicide at age 52 in 2024. Read his family statement released through @ConcussionLF at the link. https://t.co/l5pkZ5wvni

— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) April 14, 2025

Simon died by suicide at the age of 52 on March 18, 2024, and was long said to have been struggling with the effects of CTE. This was confirmed with Monday’s announcement.

Dr. Ann McKee of the Boston University CTE Center released the following statement in regards to her findings in the posthumous study:

“Mr. Simon had severe CTE pathology in areas of the brain involved with cognition and mood regulation, and it is likely CTE contributed to his memory problems, depression, and apathy. Individuals with a significant history of repetitive head impacts in sports who report these symptoms need to be taken seriously, and our team is committed to providing them the care they need while also continuing to advance CTE research.”

Simon’s family had this to say, as part of a longer full-length statement, in addition to Dr. McKee's words:

“Our family is extremely thankful to Dr. Ann McKee, Lisa McHale and all staff at Boston University CTE Center and the Concussion Legacy Foundation for all of their work and support. We are relieved that stage 3 CTE was definitively found in his brain as it will help bring some closure and healing to his family and friends. The unfortunate feeling of anger is also present due to the negligence of a professional league turning a blind eye to CTE and other significant brain injuries sustained in the sport of hockey.”

Simon’s family agreed to release the results of the brain study in an effort to draw attention and raise awareness for the needs of former hockey players struggling with long-term complications of repeated head traumas.

“With each new diagnosis of CTE in a former NHL player, the NHL’s lack of leadership on this issue becomes more intolerable,” Dr. Nowinski said. “Yet their denial strengthens our resolve to support the hockey community through our free HelpLine and advance research focused on diagnosing CTE during life and developing effective treatments.”

Nineteen of 20 former NHLers studied at the Boston University CTE Center, including Simon, Derek Boogaard, Bobby Hull, and Stan Mikita, have been diagnosed with CTE.

Those in need of assistance can reach the Concussion Legacy Foundation HelpLine at CLFHelpline.org.