Archives for December 5, 2002

'Despite the Sabres terrible record (5-14-4-1, last overall in the NHL), does Ruff still believe in this team and that they can turn things around? "Yes, I do," answered the Sabres head coach. "I still believe in this team. I've never once said throughout this ordeal that I didn't believe in them. If this team were getting outshot and outplayed every night, then I think I would be in dyer straights. Frustrated? Yes, especially with the fact the team hasn't been able to finish off plays or teams. But I haven't given up on this team."'

Lindy's one-and-a-half-hour meeting with the team on Monday sounds fine and dandy, but who really believes the players are going to listening to anything he says for longer than a game or two? Stay tuned. Nathaly Vieira writes…

'Biron posted his first shutout since blanking the Montreal Canadiens in the 2001-02 season finale. But more important, it was his first win of any kind since Oct. 22.'

'The bottom line is this team has underachieved for the better part of two seasons and is nothing without great goaltending. Their best players haven't performed. In the end, it goes back to the coach.'

'The Sabres outshot the Ducks, 36-22. They've held a shooting edge in 10 of their past 13 games and 15 of their past 20. They are averaging 29.8 shots a game, 4.9 shots more than they're allowing.'

'"We haven't done so well," Rudnick said. "And the principal reason we haven't done so well is the uncertainity about the ownership. Now that that's been resolved . . . we have an asset for our effort, and to some degree, elimination of a barrier on the part of certain folks in the community."'

'"Let's give them credit," Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. "They hadn't played since Saturday. It was a huge game for them. They outworked us from the start to the end. It was obvious that we were flat mentally and physically."'

'Gerber, who finished with a season-high 32 saves, turned in four top-notch stops in the first period before J.P. Dumont and Curtis Brown buried juicy second-period rebounds to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.'

'"They were a desperate team and we didn't match their desperation," Kariya said.'

'“This is a good first step,'' Brown said. “In the past, we've played some real good games, but we made some big mistakes that the opposition capitalized on. Anytime you do that, you'll end up with a loss.'''