Archives for December 9, 2001

Buffalo Sabres fans thought their team was out of the doldrums. Well, look again! They are right back where they were a couple weeks ago. The goaltending is shaky, the powerplay is working in reverse and the hitting has gone south for the winter. After winning three straight road games and looking as if they were about to make a run up the standing ladder, the Sabres have slipped and fallen back into last place. The Boston Bruins handed the Sabres a bitter dose of reality Saturday night in Boston as they doused them 4-2.

'"Special teams obviously cost us the game," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "We were just caught standing around."'

'The Bruins were outshot, 29-27, for only the third time all year.'

'Now with 14 goals and 24 points in 29 games, Rolston is on a pace for what would be a career-high 68 points.'

'''It was a little long,'' said Stock. ''And the refs were saying, `We're not going in until you guys stop.' I was looking over like, `Hey, don't be shy.''''

'Outworked by the Buffalo Sabres in the first period, the B's cranked their play up a notch thereafter and rolled to an impressive 4-2 victory at the FleetCenter.'

'In an entertaining 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at the FleetCenter last night, Stock brought appreciative fans, not to mention teammates, to their feet with a grueling third-period bout against Buffalo's pugilist Eric Boulton.'

'Brian Rolston, who leads the NHL in shorthanded goals with four, became the first Bruin to net a pair of shorthanded goals in the same game since Bryan Smolinski in March, 1994. Smolinski netted both goals on the same shift.'

'The highlight of the period — heck, maybe the game — was a prolonged fight between Boston's P.J. Stock, playing his first game after missing the last 12 with a high ankle sprain, and Buffalo's Eric Boulton. They tangled deep in the Buffalo end for what B's coach Robbie Ftorek estimated was 70 seconds. It was truly an exciting, two-way, free-swinging clash of designated bad guys.'

'"That's the way the game goes," Biron said. "There are time where you really don't have it, times where it's for different reasons, but it seemed like we played a very good third period."'