Archives for April 1, 2001

'With Toronto's 4-1 loss to Montreal Saturday night, the Leafs are no longer mathmatically able to overtake Buffalo, meaning the Sabres will finish anywhere from fourth to sixth in the East.'

The Lightning have surprised their fans with a 5-4-0-1 run in their past 10 games. That enthusiasm no doubt will be magnified in the Sabres' game due in large part to the addition of long-time holdout goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.

'Zhitnik arguably has been the Sabres' best skater the past two weeks, a trend he hopes to continue against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in the Ice Palace (6 p.m., Empire, Radio 107.7 FM, 1330 AM).'

'"Sometimes you do (talk to the player beforehand), and sometimes you don't. A lot of times I will talk to them, but in J.P.'s case I didn't say anything. Sometimes there's a message there. Sometimes you do it for a specific reason."'

'[The Sabres have] given up four goals to the Lightning in each of their last two meetings.'

'Heaven forbid anyone even thinks about next year. But, just for giggles, while accepting reality, let's say the Sabres don't win the Cup. What happens then with The Dominator?'

'"It's hard for me to understand everything Dominik says," said [John Rigas]. "But I understood very well he thinks he's "well-paid.' If we sit down in the future (for contract negotiations), I'll be sure to remind him of that."'

'Plain and simple, you'll see free agents Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk and Michael Peca skating for the Sabres before you see Buffalo on an AHL schedule.'

'"If I was a team at the top, I wouldn't want to meet the Sabres in the first round of the playoffs," Atlanta coach Curt Fraser said after Hasek's 4-0 shutout Friday night. "Whoever they play, they'll be trouble."'

'Buffalo leads all NHL teams with 18 wins since the All-Star break and the Sabres have allowed the fewest goals in the league.'