Archives for January 13, 2002

It was Redemption Night in Buffalo. Three of the Sabres who have had a gorilla on their backs shed it with vengeance Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres held on to beat the Devils 2-1. Miroslav Satan, Chris Gratton and Martin Biron all had stand out games and kicked the 200-pound gorillas right into the stands.

'"Lindy's really stuck through me through this tough time here," Gratton said.'

'"We got a great game out of our goaltender," said Ruff. "If you want to look at the reason we won, our goaltender made key saves for us."'

'The Sabres were papering the building for the game Thursday night because in their infinite wisdom before the season, the Pens' game was among four contests not sold to the general public when individual game seats went on sale.'

'…it's hard to find a reason why the Sabres won't continue the same uneven performance they've produced over the first 45 games.'

'"All night we played well and got our chances, but it was an uphill battle," Devils Coach Larry Robinson said. "Guys were turning the puck over in all the wrong places."'

'Jason Arnott nearly tied the game with 27 seconds left, but in the scramble in front, the net was dislodged and the whistle blew before Arnott's shot went in.'

'The Devils controlled the tempo of the game and had their chances. But add the misses and mishaps, and it's the recipe for a loss…'

'One glaring error. That's really all the Devils made Saturday night at HSBC Arena.'

The Devils came frustratingly close to sending the game into overtime in the final minute Saturday night.