Archives for May 2007

'"We kind of realized a little too late how to play."' … [Read more...] about Sabres Season Ends At Home

'The Sabres were dumping and chasing the puck more often in this game, but were unable to win most of the foot races for the puck. Once again Buffalo struggled against the Senators' strong penalty killing.' … [Read more...] about Penalty killing lifts Senators over Buffalo

'Many thought this was over in the third, but a 5-on-3 man advantage with Anton Volchenkov and Christoph Schubert off was costly. It resulted in the tying goal by Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov that sent it to OT at 10:58.' … [Read more...] about Sens heading to finals

'With just over ten minutes left in the third the Sabres would get a chance to tie it with a two man advantage. The Senators would kill off the first penalty but Maxim Afinogenov smacked home a rebound to tie it 2-2. Buffalo would have two more chances on the power play but could not net the game winner in regulation as the two teams would head to sudden death … [Read more...] about Sabres Season Ends With 3-2 OT Loss

'Jochen Hecht and Maxim Afinogenov scored for the Sabres, who failed to advance beyond the conference finals for the second consecutive season. Daniel Briere added a pair of assists in defeat.' … [Read more...] about Ottawa 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)

'The Sens haven’t connected since Wade Redden’s goal on a two-man advantage with 16 seconds left in the second period of Game Two. But it’s hardly like their power play has been horrendous. After getting no shots on their first three chances in Game Four, Ottawa began peppering the Buffalo net, only to be turned away by goaltender Ryan Miller.' … [Read more...] about Senators seek some tweaks for power play

'“All those things are snowballing to fuel confidence in our room,” Mair said. That snowball will need to turn into an avalanche for the Sabres to play past today. The Senators haven’t lost two games in a row since December, and they remain confident the berth in the Stanley Cup finals belongs to them. Only two teams in NHL history have coughed up a … [Read more...] about Belief alone won&#8217t cut it

'But it’s a little too convenient to hear the Sabres telling us how loose they’ve become all of a sudden. Oh look, Drury and Derek Roy played goal in practice! The boys are having fun again, forgetting about the money and the pressure, acting like innocent kids on the pond!' … [Read more...] about Inside the home sweater, contents under pressure

'“I’m just going to stay simple and not try to be like Derek,” Gaustad said. “I can’t thread passes like he can. He’s a great playmaker. I’m going to play my game, clear some ice for them and get pucks for them as much as I can.”' … [Read more...] about Goose flying for Zubrus in fast formation

'They may have some difficulty matching the expertise of the Versus crew -- play-by-play man Joe Beninati and analyst Darren Eliot -- that has worked the Sabres-Sens series. They had a strong game Wednesday night. Eliot frequently noted that Sabres coach Lindy Ruff shortened his bench, especially defensively, in a must-win game.' … [Read more...] about NBC team on tap for Game Five

'“We made an offer to bring her back to a game in Ottawa at her convenience. We tried to make right a bad situation,” Leeder said. “We feel this is the least we should be doing.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres&#8217 rivals apologize for assaults

'"When you start sitting on the bench," he said, "sometimes you have to re-focus and try to keep your mind in (the game)." There's time for the mind to think about fatigue. There's time for muscles to stiffen." But, Lydman said, "When you're playing a lot, you just keep going."' … [Read more...] about Sabres hope heavy workload pays dividends

'However, at least the Sabres have a pulse and a feeling that a miracle is still possible. "If there's a team around the league that can do it, we're definitely one of them," said right wing Jason Pominville. "You look back at last year, we were up 3-0 on them and they came in and stole one from us in our building so they went home and probably felt pretty good about … [Read more...] about Sabres spirited

'"I'm optimistic. We're not an eighth seed and not a team that snuck into the playoffs," said Ruff yesterday. No, but it is a team that has been inconsistent through these playoffs with a power play that wouldn't scare your child's peewee team.' … [Read more...] about Sabres in seven a four-gone conclusion

'That means he'll stick with the makeshift line of Chris Drury, Tim Connolly and Derek Roy, which struck twice in Wednesday's 3-2 win at Scotiabank Place.' … [Read more...] about Ruff sticking with what worked