Archives for March 2003

'It's been difficult to find bright spots for the Buffalo Sabres this season. But the new line of Daniel Briere, Jochen Hecht and J.P. Dumont may be the brightest.' … [Read more...] about French Connection 2?

'Janik hasn't exactly stood out since he was called up to replace injured Radoslav Hecl, a reinforcement from Rochester himself. But anonymity isn't necessarily bad for a young defenseman.' … [Read more...] about Janik playing steady as fill-in on defense

'C Peter Forsberg has 17 goals and 47 assists in his past 40 games. He had five assists in Saturday's 8-1 victory over Chicago.' … [Read more...] about Sabres vs. Avalanche

'Golisano's bid is self-funded, although he did suggest they may tap into public sector sources such as Empire Zone credits and some minor perks from Erie County. The credits are available to any business located within a designated Empire Zone. HSBC Arena sits in a downtown Buffalo Empire Zone.' … [Read more...] about Deal for Sabres on the road to completion

'The Avalanche has won two in a row after losing two successive games on the road and has gone 20-4-3-2 since Jan. 20 . . . The Tanguay-Forsberg-Hejduk line has accounted for 46 goals and 74 assists during the past 29 games . . . The Avalanche and Sabres are meeting for the only time this season . . . The Sabres have gone 1-4-0-1 in their past six games . . . Satan has … [Read more...] about Avalanche-Sabres preview

'The issue in the next few months will be what direction Golisano wants the franchise to take, and who he wants to run it. Regier has four years left on his contract, and although Golisano could have asked the bankruptcy court to void that deal, he has said he will honor it. But that's no guarantee he will retain Regier.' … [Read more...] about Sabres' fans can breathe easy

'What are the odds of this? The Avalanche will play consecutive games against teams with young forwards whose fathers played for the old Colorado Rockies. Pyatt's father, Nelson, was a swift-skating center for the Rockies whose hands couldn't always keep up with his feet. (Think Shean Donovan.) The Avs will encounter him after facing the Blackhawks, who had Tyler … [Read more...] about Avs prepare for mighty Senators

'The Avalanche trails the overall series 49-55-20-1. When in Buffalo, the Sabres hold an 35-18-9-0 advantage.' … [Read more...] about Avalanche-Sabres preview

'Quinn said the Sabres were playing a 1-3-1 defensive system that the Leafs simply couldn't solve in the second period.' … [Read more...] about Leafs are the rally kings

'For those never-say-die Buffalo Sabres fans out there who still were clinging to hopes of a postseason miracle: You can get on with your lives now.' … [Read more...] about Toronto's OT win seals fate of Sabres

'Sources said Neil Smith, also known as the only living general manager to guide the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup, is intrigued by what's happening in Buffalo. In fact, he's quite interested in becoming president of your hometown team. He's told several people in Toronto and at least one GM that he wants to help run the Sabres, from the trade deadline … [Read more...] about Talent lines up to fill possible positions in Sabres' front office

The end result is nice and all -- Toronto won its 40th game, the fourth time in five years Pat Quinn has reached that milestone as coach -- but the Leafs realize their overall effort must improve in the final seven games before the playoffs start. They mustered little against the Sabres stifling defensive system in the opening 40 minutes, which will be childs play compared to … [Read more...] about The great escape

The whisper around the league was that if Regier had been canned, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman would have exerted his influence to get him a job somewhere else in the league as a reward for his handling of the franchise while it was under the leagues stewardship. … [Read more...] about Strachan on Hockey column

'This was the final meeting of five games between the QEW rivals, but it was tame affair compared to the fight-night in Buffalo on Mar. 6. There were four separate fights in the Sabres 4-2 victory that night, but not one dust up in this meeting. In fact, the two teams combined for just 18 penalty minutes (10 for Toronto and eight for Buffalo).' … [Read more...] about Disciplined Leafs dump Sabres

'When the Maple Leafs and Sabres played last played on March 6, four fights broke out in the first 14 minutes of the game. No fights occurred this time.' … [Read more...] about Maple Leafs 3, Sabres 2, OT