Archives for February 24, 2001

Inside — really inside — the Numbers of the Sabres 7-3 loss to the Coyotes.

Here was a classic example of the sheer brute strength a power forward can use to dominate the opposition.

'"Soft play in our own zone killed us," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We lost the one-on-one battles. They skated a little better, and they won the battle in special teams. They won the fight. They won the goaltending. They won offensively. "That leads up to getting smoked."'

'There was a sense Roenick and Tkachuk were trying to enjoy the fun while it lasts. They're intent on extracting every ounce of skill from one another before the March 13 trade deadline, and they had a ball Friday night. Roenick scored in each period, all three coming with help from Tkachuk.'

'Dominik Hasek was given an early shower after allowing four goals through two periods, including Jeremy Roenick's 400th, his first of three on the night.'

'After 178 minutes and 22 seconds, somebody finally found a way to slip a puck past Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek. And then the floodgates opened.'

'The top line of Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk and Shane Doan combined for five goals and eight assists in demolishing the Dominator, Dominik Hasek.'

'Roenick wound up scoring two more times for his ninth career hat trick as the Coyotes rolled past the Sabres 7-3 with their highest offensive output of the season.'

'Stu Barnes, Curtis Brown and J.P. Dumont scored for Buffalo, which blew a chance to win five straight for the first time in three seasons.'

'"We will look at it as a lesson learned," said Buffalo center Stu Barnes. "We will see some video from it, try to correct our mistakes and go from there."'