Archives for May 21, 2006

'matches, agreed the Sabres have no stars. (Chris Drury, who led them with 30 goals, is their highest-paid player at $2.9 million, half of what is earned by Hossa, the Thrashers' second-highest paid player; Carolina's highest paid is Brind'Amour at $3.8 million.) "We have a group of guys where everyone realizes their role on the team," Grier … [Read more...] about No-name teams take aim at Cup

Lindy Ruff (May 21st) Daniel Briere, Jay McKee, Ryan Miller (May 20th) Lindy Ruff (May 20th) Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Ryan Miller (May 19th) Lindy Ruff, Darcy Regier (May 19th) … [Read more...] about Interviews

'There was some question about Numminen's exact injury, with coach Lindy Ruff first calling it a "lower-body" ailment before adding "mid to lower." Either way, his status for Game 2 on Monday night was questionable. Doug Janik, who didn't play at all this season for Buffalo, would be the replacement. He had five goals and 19 assists in 71 … [Read more...] about Carolina's Cole back on ice for practice

'"In warm-up when they started chanting, 'Let's Go Buffalo,' right away we knew the atmosphere was kind of special," Sabres center Daniel Briere said after Buffalo's 3-2 victory. "Carolina fans kind of came over the top, but it's fun to see so many fans driving (down) here to support us."' … [Read more...] about ClichEs hit with slap shot in East

'The first link takes you to the actual wedding planning site of Brett Hull...Even the guestbook was open to be read and contributed to. And while there were plenty of legitimate entries, including a few from Brett's former teammates, it became obvious that the word was spreading on Monday. That's when the Sabres fans started hitting it.' … [Read more...] about Sabres fans raze Hull

'Buffalo executed a perfect road win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Sabres scored first to neutralize the crowd, they stayed out of penalty trouble and they built a wall around Miller, their rookie goalie, to protect a third-period lead. And keying that effort was Buffalo's ability to disrupt shooting and passing lanes all afternoon.' … [Read more...] about Sticks and bones

'Ryan Miller closed out a sensational performance by denying three shots in the final 70 seconds against six buzzing Carolina forwards. Miller made 16 saves in the third period alone, 29 for the game. Ward stopped 24 shots. "That's the right way to start," Miller said. "We got out and did a lot of things well. And we know we've got to be better as the series goes on because … [Read more...] about Saving the day

'But for the third time in 12 playoff games, Buffalo's unheralded, underappreciated defense found a way to weather the workload while playing a man short. And, as if that wasn't enough, backliners Henrik Tallinder and Jay McKee accounted for two of the goals in a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes that has the Sabres three wins away from a shot at the Stanley Cup.' … [Read more...] about Defense disregards another injury

'In between stuffing pizza into his mouth and swigging from a Pepsi bottle, he was upbeat in discussing a reported leg injury that forced him out of the game after one period. His status is uncertain, although Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said the steady veteran would be evaluated on a "day-to-day" basis.' … [Read more...] about Numminen sits after first-period injury

'Sure, there have been missed calls. It's the norm in this league. Fraser had a rough Game Four with the Sabres trying to sweep the Senators, but his hair spray performed better than the Sabres did. Buffalo lost that game because it didn't show up for the first period, not because Fraser was pulling for Ottawa.' … [Read more...] about Conspiracy theorists whistling in the dark about refs

'The veteran referees, the stone-age guys, don't like the new game any more than any of the dinosaurs in the NHL establishment, but at least they officiated the games as they were directed. Not now.' … [Read more...] about Officials turn back the clock

'The Hurricanes and Sabres are models for the new NHL, which emphasizes speed and aggressiveness, but also discipline on defense. Neither has ridiculously overpaid players -- Buffalo has no players making $3 million-plus, Carolina has two -- but both have game-breakers.' … [Read more...] about Similar teams share a Cup dream

'I'd toss in frugality, too. The Sabres operate $12 million below the NHL's new $39 million cap and have adopted a policy under Golisano, the Paychex billionaire who didn't get that way by buying a fleet of Porsches, whereby the team would not disrupt locker room harmony by signing big-name free agents to fat long-term deals.' … [Read more...] about Bills should emulate overachieving Sabres

'For the first 2 1/2 minutes, the Hurricanes were all over the Sabres, zipping around the net, firing shots at goaltender Ryan Miller, then regrouping and going back to the attack. When the Sabres finally managed to stage a rush, they went down to the other end and scored. The game wasn't even three minutes old. The Hurricanes had dominated. But the Sabres were in front.' … [Read more...] about Same old Sabres

'"I thought our first and third periods were terrific," he said. "I don't know. The second period, we sat on our heels." In fact, the Hurricanes started the second period with such a lethargic stretch that Laviolette seriously considered burning his timeout to burn their ear drums.' … [Read more...] about It just wasn’t Hurricanes’ day