Archives for October 11, 2001

Marty Biron is ready to face his pedagogue. On Wednesday night in HSBC Arena, Biron came just a second short of two minutes from recording his first shutout of the season. The Sabres scored just enough to pull off a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers and the fact that it was Biron in goal instead of Dominik Hasek didn't seem to matter. The Sabres defense, which won the Jennings Trophy as the top defense in the league last season, put a blanket around their young goalie and the Flyers could not penetrate it until very late in the game.

'"We'd like to score six or seven goals on him," McKee continued jokingly. "It will be tough to do."'

Wheeeeee! Up and down we ride the roller coaster. Four games into the season, and I'm not sure who the Sabres are just yet.

This time, the Buffalo Sabres got the last minute of the second period right.

Float like a butterfly. Sting like a Bi. That's how the Buffalo Sabres landed a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena on Wednesday night in the first of three consecutive early-season gut checks.

'Biron backstopped a magnificent team defensive effort, as the Sabres blocked 24 shots to the Flyers' two.'

'Barnes is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, but both sides intend to shore up a new contract before that happens.'

'The Sabres did a lot of things right. They boxed out the Flyers' big men, denied rebounds by forcing the puck to the boards, then cleared it. Everywhere a Flyer went, he was shadowed by a Sabre. Buffalo double-teamed especially well in the corners.'

'"They sent Mika [Noronen] to Rochester so, to me, the big picture is 50 minutes down the road," said Biron, 24, the Sabres' first-round pick in the 1995 draft.'

'They again spotted the opposition a two-goal edge in the third period, for the third time in four games. This time, their comeback fell short, and they suffered their first loss, 2-1, to the Buffalo Sabres.'