Archives for April 15, 2001

Lesser Buffalo Sabres teams of the last half decade would have packed it in after Mark Recchi was allowed to jam an apparently frozen puck into the net before the referee could find his lips with the whistle. Packed it in, tossed it at the ref and pouted back to Western New York, in fact. … [Read more...] about Calm and cool, Sabres collect an unlikely win

'A final decision won't come until team doctors see how the knee responds following Primeau's first full practice Sunday. If cleared, Primeau could play as soon as Monday, when the Flyers play Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres.' … [Read more...] about Primeau practices, says he's ready to return to Flyers lineup

'In what may have been the most telling sign of a playoff series gone awry yesterday, Flyers goaltending spokesman Roman Cechmanek refused to talk.' … [Read more...] about McKee leaves Roman speechless

'But if Games 1 and 2 at the First Union Center revealed anything about the Flyers, it was that they match up very poorly against the Sabres in any category that matters -- speed, size and shooting ability included.' … [Read more...] about After two games, Flyers are at a loss

'Nearly three weeks removed from spraining his left medial collateral ligament in Ottawa, Primeau will practice with the Flyers in Buffalo this afternoon, his first real test for the knee since incurring the injury in Ottawa March 26. If he comes anywhere close to passing that test, Primeau expects to be able to play tomorrow night in Game 3 of a best-of-7 series the … [Read more...] about It may be desperation time for Primeau, doctors willing

'The Sabres went home Saturday night the way few would have expected. They have a two-game lead in the best-of-seven series after defenseman Jay McKee became an unlikely hero and lifted them to a 4-3 victory in overtime against the Flyers before a sellout crowd that fell silent in the First Union Center.' … [Read more...] about Jay Day! Jay Day!

'But it certainly wasn't luck that carried the Sabres through the first two games of this series. It was will, determination and hard work. They didn't record a shot on goal for the first 15 minutes of a dreadful first period. In the locker room, coach Lindy Ruff told them to settle down and they turned up the offense, peppering Cechmanek with 41 shots the rest … [Read more...] about Even McKee surprised to play the hero

'From almost every angle, it looks like LeClair doesn't want them. His agent, Lewis Gross, his intelligence and credibility questioned by Clarke a few months ago, was summoned last week for a meeting with Flyers management about a new contract. Gross not-so-gratefully declined and did not return calls last week.' … [Read more...] about Clarke keeps picking up the phone, but LeClair's not answering

'He was awaiting results from an examination Saturday before deciding whether he can play when the series moves to Buffalo. News reports out of Philadelphia late Saturday said Flyers doctors cleared him to skate today before determining whether he can play Monday.' … [Read more...] about With team hurting worse than his knee, Primeau eyes return

They just don't come any better than this! Jay McKee ended what was one of the most exciting overtimes in recent history when his long shot made it past Roman Cechmanek. With just under two minutes remaining in the first overtime, Erik Rasmussen passed over to McKee coming over the middle and the Sabres defenseman went through the left faceoff circle and put the puck down low … [Read more...] about McKee shoots down the Flyers

'The Flyers' backs are to the wall, no question about it. Can Barber get them to raise their game another notch and come back in this series? We'll see.' … [Read more...] about Digging a hole

'In the NHL playoffs, you only have to be good to win. You don't always need to be spectacular and you don't always need to be dazzling to win the important games on the road to the Stanley Cup. Sometimes, ordinary is good enough. Sometimes, all you need to do is play solid, do what you're supposed to do and things will work out. … [Read more...] about Sabres didn't need to be dazzling

'They had the momentum. The had two chances to win in overtime. They even had a goalie who made up for every one of their turnovers with brilliant saves. What the Flyers didn't have yesterday in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Buffalo Sabres was someone to pick up the trail man.' … [Read more...] about Flyers see hole grow deeper

'Don't let the inflated score in the Flyers' 4-3 overtime loss fool you. Had it not been for Cechmanek, the Flyers wouldn't have been around to test Buffalo's Dominik Hasek in a fourth period - let alone come agonizingly close to winning - time and again.' … [Read more...] about Cechmanek has seen little help from his friends

'There's no pretense about this guy, or about the way he plays the game. In hockey parlance, the 6-foot-4, 201-pound Buffalo Sabre is described as a "stay-at-home" defenseman. It's another way of saying McKee rarely does things on the ice that are memorable. Much of that changed yesterday. This was memorable.' … [Read more...] about A 'stay-at-home' defenseman, McKee steps out big time